Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to give yourself a time window for
Speaker 1: when things will get done. Choosing a range rather than
Speaker 1: an exact time can cut down on all kinds of
Speaker 1: time anxiety. We've all been on the receiving end of
Speaker 1: time windows. The groceries will be delivered between ten am
Speaker 1: and noon. The cable guy will come sometime between the
Speaker 1: window of nine am and five pm, we hope. Wider
Speaker 1: ranges are often frustrating as you cool your heels waiting
Speaker 1: for the plumber to show up, but tighter ranges can
Speaker 1: be smart. If you, like me, get quite worked up
Speaker 1: about being on time to things, arrange turns down the
Speaker 1: temperature a bit for deadlines that don't need to be
Speaker 1: that strict. So to be clear, the tip is mostly
Speaker 1: for the punctual folks listening to this, though if you
Speaker 1: listen to productivity podcasts, my guess is that you're more
Speaker 1: likely to fall into this category than the average person.
Speaker 1: As I'm writing this, many of us haven't gone anywhere
Speaker 1: for a while. But as life goes back to normal,
Speaker 1: people will make plans and plans often involve times. If
Speaker 1: someone tells me to be somewhere at ten am, I
Speaker 1: tend to figure out how long it will take me
Speaker 1: to get there, and figure out how long it will
Speaker 1: take me to get ready, and then I build in
Speaker 1: a buffer so I will be arriving by nine am,
Speaker 1: even if there is traffic or a complicated parking situation.
Speaker 1: And that's fine for a really important meeting. It's less
Speaker 1: necessary if ten families are all meeting up at a playground,
Speaker 1: or if I just need to touch base with someone
Speaker 1: briefly by phone. My personality is such that if someone
Speaker 1: tells me to get them something by two pm on Thursday,
Speaker 1: I will then move heaven and earth to do so
Speaker 1: without asking if there's a reason for that timing. This
Speaker 1: can be frustrating for everyone if it turns out there
Speaker 1: isn't really a reason. So recently, as I was in
Speaker 1: a seemingly endless email chain about setting a time for
Speaker 1: a call, trying to figure out an exact time that
Speaker 1: would work around baby feedings and such, I realized that
Speaker 1: I was better off saying, Hey, could I just call
Speaker 1: you some time between ten and eleven? The person agreed,
Speaker 1: especially since I made it very clear that she didn't
Speaker 1: need to sit around waiting for my call. If it
Speaker 1: didn't work to pick up what I called, well, we'd
Speaker 1: try back in a little bit. I was so much
Speaker 1: more relaxed about this then if I tried to set
Speaker 1: an exact time, and I'm sure that came through when
Speaker 1: we did connect. If you find yourself doing similar acrobatics
Speaker 1: to meet an exact time that doesn't have to be exact,
Speaker 1: maybe you could try giving yourself a window too. We'll
Speaker 1: be at the playground around two or two thirty and
Speaker 1: would love to see you there. Or I can give
Speaker 1: this report back to you sometime next week, unless there's
Speaker 1: a more specific time you need it by now. If
Speaker 1: you are not the punctual sort, this tip is not
Speaker 1: for you, because, as I've found that chronically late people
Speaker 1: have already taken the liberty of giving themselves a range
Speaker 1: to them Saying you'll be somewhere at ten really means
Speaker 1: you'll be there by ten thirty or possibly even eleven.
Speaker 1: The problem is that no one else is aware of
Speaker 1: this assumed range, and this can lead to bad feelings.
Speaker 1: For a range to work, it needs to be transparent
Speaker 1: and mutually agreed upon but if it is, then this
Speaker 1: builds in flexibility for things that don't need to be exact,
Speaker 1: and sometimes schedules work better when there's a little bit
Speaker 1: of give to them. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
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