WEBVTT - Know how long you can go dark

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to figure out how long you can be

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<v Speaker 1>off email and other communications. Time away from email, Slack,

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<v Speaker 1>and other such things creates space for you to do

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<v Speaker 1>the high-value work you are hired to do. So you

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<v Speaker 1>want to know how much time you can give yourself

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<v Speaker 1>without slowing all the gears of the machine. Today's tip

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<v Speaker 1>comes from Kelly Nolan, a former patent litigator who developed

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<v Speaker 1>the Bright Method of time management. She was a guest

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<v Speaker 1>on my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds. In her

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<v Speaker 1>conversation with Sarah Hart Unger, my co-host, Kelly advised considering

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<v Speaker 1>what a reasonable email response time is, given your role

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<v Speaker 1>and the norms of your workplace. In other words, if

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<v Speaker 1>someone really important emailed you at 9.15 Monday morning, when

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<v Speaker 1>is the latest time it would be reasonable for you

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<v Speaker 1>to respond? Once you know what a reasonable response time is,

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<v Speaker 1>you can use that information to figure out how long

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<v Speaker 1>you could be off email, or as Kelly puts it,

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<v Speaker 1>how long you can go dark. Maybe for the president

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<v Speaker 1>of your company or your biggest client, A message that

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<v Speaker 1>comes in at 9.15 needs a response by 11. That

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<v Speaker 1>means the longest you can go dark is probably about

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<v Speaker 1>an hour and 15 minutes. That way, even if you

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<v Speaker 1>have a handful of emails in your inbox requiring a

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<v Speaker 1>fast response, you will be able to reply to all

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<v Speaker 1>of them within an appropriate amount of time. Now, I

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<v Speaker 1>imagine most of us don't have anyone who truly requires

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<v Speaker 1>that quick of a response. I would also point out

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<v Speaker 1>that if you go out to lunch with your boss

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<v Speaker 1>or your biggest client, you would probably be off email

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<v Speaker 1>longer than an hour and 15 minutes, meaning you wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>respond to the other one of those very important people

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<v Speaker 1>if they emailed you within your identified window. And the

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<v Speaker 1>world would keep spinning. But even accepting an hour and

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<v Speaker 1>45 minutes as your maximum response time and an hour

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<v Speaker 1>and 15 minutes as your max time to go dark Suddenly,

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<v Speaker 1>you have realized something valuable about your schedule. You have

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<v Speaker 1>chunks of time for other things. This is a huge win.

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<v Speaker 1>As Kelly explained, your value is more than your responsiveness.

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<v Speaker 1>You could think big picture about a business challenge. You

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<v Speaker 1>could write a thoughtful report or presentation. You could work

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<v Speaker 1>your way down a list of customers you want to

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<v Speaker 1>check in with. An hour and 15 minutes creates space

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<v Speaker 1>to do truly important work. So if you feel like

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<v Speaker 1>you never get to your real work because you are

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<v Speaker 1>always responding to messages, figure out how long you can

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<v Speaker 1>go dark. And then aim to go dark for that

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<v Speaker 1>amount of time routinely. Get off email and get into

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<v Speaker 1>the work that matters most. If you figure out how

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<v Speaker 1>long you can go dark, I would love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>what that number is. You can reach me at laura

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<v Speaker 1>at lauravandercam.com In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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