WEBVTT - Make your first days back better

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:06.720
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:12.720
<v Speaker 2>Good Morning, This is Laura.

0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:14.880
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:20.080
<v Speaker 2>Today's tip is to think ahead of time about your

0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:24.000
<v Speaker 2>first few days back from my vacation or any extended

0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:28.800
<v Speaker 2>time away from work. With a little planning, you can

0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:35.200
<v Speaker 2>make this transition a lot more gentle. So this summer,

0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:38.000
<v Speaker 2>I decided to take one of my longest stretches of

0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:41.839
<v Speaker 2>time ever away from my desk. I planned to be

0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.159
<v Speaker 2>away from my office for about three weeks, and I

0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:48.120
<v Speaker 2>would do some work during the time, but I knew

0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.680
<v Speaker 2>that recording in general was going to be challenging, so

0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.760
<v Speaker 2>I recorded episodes for this podcast and my other podcast,

0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.120
<v Speaker 2>Best of Both Worlds ahead of time for the time

0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:04.160
<v Speaker 2>I was gone, And that makes sense. But I knew

0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:06.880
<v Speaker 2>that my first week back would also be the first

0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:11.080
<v Speaker 2>week of school. With five kids and four different schools,

0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:14.640
<v Speaker 2>there were just going to be a lot of logistical

0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.440
<v Speaker 2>matters to deal with in addition to whatever non urgent

0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.200
<v Speaker 2>work had piled up over three weeks.

0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.160
<v Speaker 1>If I was racing to record content to meet my deadlines,

0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:31.520
<v Speaker 1>that would just add to the stress. So that meant

0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:35.480
<v Speaker 1>I needed to work an extra week ahead. But if

0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.800
<v Speaker 1>I could do that, I would find my reentry to

0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:40.560
<v Speaker 1>feel a lot more doable.

0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:44.200
<v Speaker 2>Now. I know that not all sorts of work lend

0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.920
<v Speaker 2>themselves to working ahead. If you are running a bakery

0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:51.640
<v Speaker 2>where you bake everything fresh every morning, then this tip

0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.440
<v Speaker 2>might not be relevant. But many of us do have

0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:58.800
<v Speaker 2>at least some kinds of work that can be done ahead.

0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:02.680
<v Speaker 2>You can't do everything for that first week back ahead

0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:05.720
<v Speaker 2>of time, but if there is some work you can do,

0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.080
<v Speaker 2>then by working ahead on that, you'll free up time

0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:12.920
<v Speaker 2>to do the stuff that must be done more immediately.

0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:17.320
<v Speaker 2>So if you know that your team member evaluations are

0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.600
<v Speaker 2>going to be due four days after you get back

0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:23.760
<v Speaker 2>from a week away, why wait to start until after

0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:27.560
<v Speaker 2>you return. You're going to be catching up on other

0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:30.880
<v Speaker 2>things the first day or two, and then suddenly this

0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:35.839
<v Speaker 2>is going to feel like a huge looming deadline. Take

0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:39.120
<v Speaker 2>at least a little time before you go to start

0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.960
<v Speaker 2>on the project, and you will be in a much

0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:46.400
<v Speaker 2>better position for your first days back. If you produce

0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.720
<v Speaker 2>some sort of weekly report, you might have asked a

0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.080
<v Speaker 2>colleague to take over for the week you're gone, but

0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:55.520
<v Speaker 2>you can go ahead and get started on anything you

0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:57.799
<v Speaker 2>can do ahead of time for the report that will

0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.520
<v Speaker 2>come out the week you're back. That way, you've got

0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:05.280
<v Speaker 2>one less thing to worry about. Now. I know that

0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:09.760
<v Speaker 2>this isn't particularly easy to do. Before you head out

0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:11.959
<v Speaker 2>of the office for a while, you are no doubt

0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.440
<v Speaker 2>racing to get stuff done for while you're gone, or

0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:18.280
<v Speaker 2>figuring out who can cover for you and filling them in.

0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:22.359
<v Speaker 2>Adding one more thing to the to do list might

0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:27.560
<v Speaker 2>seem like a big ask, and maybe it is. If

0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.280
<v Speaker 2>you look ahead and see that your first days back

0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.960
<v Speaker 2>are going to be pretty light, then maybe you can

0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:37.520
<v Speaker 2>just trust that your future self will be able to

0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:42.480
<v Speaker 2>dig deep and do everything that needs to get done.

0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:44.600
<v Speaker 2>But if you can look ahead and see that it

0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:48.520
<v Speaker 2>isn't a light week, then that can weigh on you

0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:53.960
<v Speaker 2>and keep you from enjoying your time away. Get a

0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:56.520
<v Speaker 2>little bit ahead and make a plan for when you're back,

0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:01.680
<v Speaker 2>and you can feel just a little more in control

0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:08.160
<v Speaker 2>in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.160
<v Speaker 2>here's to making the most of our time.

0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.520
<v Speaker 1>Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:24.039
<v Speaker 1>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:27.960
<v Speaker 1>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. At before

0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:33.960
<v Speaker 1>breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then breakfast Pod.

0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:37.680
<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:41.680
<v Speaker 1>Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled

0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:44.120
<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I

0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:52.240
<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:57.000
<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the

0:04:57.040 --> 0:05:00.640
<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or where whatever you listen to

0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:10.400
<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows. Mm hmm.