Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to know what you could get done if
Speaker 1: you have unexpected free time. Just like you have a
Speaker 1: backup slot to make sure you have time available for
Speaker 1: important activities, it is wise to have a backup task
Speaker 1: so you can put your time to good use even
Speaker 1: if what you are planning to do doesn't happen. Today's
Speaker 1: tip comes from a participant in my September reset project.
Speaker 1: She realized that she wanted to have a backup task
Speaker 1: in mind in case an appointment canceled. I really love
Speaker 1: that idea. Without a backup task planned, when something cancels
Speaker 1: and we don't know what to do, it's easy to
Speaker 1: end up processing email, tidying the house, or doing something
Speaker 1: else that feels productive but probably doesn't need to consume
Speaker 1: more time than it already is. With a little forethought, though,
Speaker 1: you can be ready to pivot to a backup task
Speaker 1: when an appointment cancels or unexpected free time comes up.
Speaker 1: At work, you could have a list of professional development
Speaker 1: tasks that would help you build your skills. Then, when
Speaker 1: you have unexpected free time, you could spend it learning.
Speaker 1: You could create a spreadsheet listing learning opportunities, videos you
Speaker 1: want to watch, articles you want to read. Then when
Speaker 1: you pursue one of the opportunities, you could note the date,
Speaker 1: a few words about what you learned, plus any ideas
Speaker 1: for how you can apply your insights to your work.
Speaker 1: Another natural place to look for a backup task is
Speaker 1: your task list for to tomorrow or the tasks you
Speaker 1: have slated for later in the day. This lets you
Speaker 1: get a little ahead. I love to plow through these
Speaker 1: small tasks I have on my list for the next day.
Speaker 1: Then when I start work the next morning, all that
Speaker 1: is waiting for me are the big projects that I
Speaker 1: know I really should spend my time doing. If you
Speaker 1: are in a role where a lot of your meetings
Speaker 1: get canceled, you might want to regularly tea up projects
Speaker 1: to have on hand. This might mean looking ahead in
Speaker 1: your calendar and identifying big projects you can start early.
Speaker 1: You could also develop ideas for speculative projects work your
Speaker 1: boss has an assigned to you, but that you think
Speaker 1: could be beneficial to you or your company. Speculative work
Speaker 1: is great to work on when time presents itself because
Speaker 1: it's likely to be something you're excited about, but there
Speaker 1: is no deadline to add pressure. After all, nobody is
Speaker 1: expecting it. I think it's a good idea to have
Speaker 1: back up tasks for non work time too. What will
Speaker 1: you do if your friend with the tricky work schedule
Speaker 1: cancels your plans for a midweek lunch when you are
Speaker 1: already getting ready to go to the restaurant. What about
Speaker 1: if you end up waiting a long time for a
Speaker 1: doctor's appointment. What if you are planning to pick up
Speaker 1: your daughter from a friend's house after your yoga class,
Speaker 1: but the host asks if you can delay by an
Speaker 1: hour so the kids can finish a puzzle. Most of
Speaker 1: us just pick up our phones and start reading headlines
Speaker 1: or looking at social media posts. But my guess is
Speaker 1: that if you thought about it, you could come up
Speaker 1: with something else to do with this time that might
Speaker 1: be more productive and fulfilling. So if you are trying
Speaker 1: to squeeze more productivity out of your days, or if
Speaker 1: you often find yourself annoyed when plans change, consider planning
Speaker 1: backup tasks. You can avoid spinning your wheels or feeling
Speaker 1: grumpy when your schedule changes. Unexpectedly. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.