WEBVTT - Make your minutes matter

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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 make your minutes matter. Use time you

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<v Speaker 1>would otherwise be wasting to do something you actually need

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<v Speaker 1>to do at some point, so your best time is

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<v Speaker 1>available for your most important pursuits. Everybody has moments of

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<v Speaker 1>running behind when everything takes longer than you reasonably expected,

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<v Speaker 1>But from time to time we also all have moments

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<v Speaker 1>when we are ahead of schedule. Maybe you need to

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<v Speaker 1>leave home at eight thirty for an appointment, but you

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<v Speaker 1>are ready to go at eight ten. At times like that,

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<v Speaker 1>it's easy to wander around the house tidying, But what

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<v Speaker 1>if instead use that twenty minutes to batch the little things? Hopefully,

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<v Speaker 1>As someone who listens to this podcast, you have a

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<v Speaker 1>running list of tasks you know you need to get

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<v Speaker 1>to at some point. Generally, you set aside a chunk

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<v Speaker 1>of time to do all of these, But when a

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<v Speaker 1>low opportunity cost chunk of time presents itself and you

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<v Speaker 1>know you won't be able to use this time for

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<v Speaker 1>other things, this is a great occasion to plow through them.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty minutes you could fill out that permission slip,

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<v Speaker 1>order that birthday present, respond to those two meeting invites

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<v Speaker 1>for next week, and book a doctor visit through the

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<v Speaker 1>online portal, and hopefully still be out the door at

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<v Speaker 1>eight twenty five. To give yourself a little buffer. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>when you get back to your desk after your appointment,

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<v Speaker 1>the decks are clear and you can dive into your

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<v Speaker 1>highest priority project for the day. And now, to be clear,

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<v Speaker 1>I am not saying you need to clear the decks

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<v Speaker 1>in general before getting to your high priority stuff. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the reasons I tell people to batch the little

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<v Speaker 1>things and then designate a time for doing all the

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<v Speaker 1>little things is that I don't want people to feel

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<v Speaker 1>like they have to get through all the little stuff

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<v Speaker 1>before they get to the big things. If you tell

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<v Speaker 1>yourself you'll get through all the little things in the

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<v Speaker 1>morning before you start the day's important work, you will

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<v Speaker 1>likely run out of steam and then get to your

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<v Speaker 1>first meeting, and you won't have the focused time you

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<v Speaker 1>are hoping for. But I also know that small bits

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<v Speaker 1>of time are incredibly hard to use well. People check

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<v Speaker 1>email or read headlines, They check the comments on social

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<v Speaker 1>media posts. If you are just looking for the quick

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<v Speaker 1>dopamine hit that these things create. Then when you have

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<v Speaker 1>bits of time that are hard to use well, you

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<v Speaker 1>may as well do the things that you know you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to need to do at some point, so not us.

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<v Speaker 1>When you have one of these awkward gaps, keep a

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<v Speaker 1>list near you. Then you can make your minutes matter.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't try to cram in too much. I don't want

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<v Speaker 1>people to be late. If you have a tendency to

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<v Speaker 1>be late places, then don't do this at all, because

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<v Speaker 1>you are probably misjudging how much time you have. That said,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the reasons people wind up working later than

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<v Speaker 1>they want to is that they don't make the minutes matter.

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<v Speaker 1>During the day, small bits of time get wasted on

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<v Speaker 1>things that didn't really have to happen. As for things

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<v Speaker 1>that do have to happen at some point, the temptation

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<v Speaker 1>to clear the decks first during uninterrupted stretches of time

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<v Speaker 1>can be strong, So then there are no actual uninterrupted

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<v Speaker 1>stretches of time. For important work that requires focus, you

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<v Speaker 1>have to wait until all your meetings are done, and

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<v Speaker 1>then things take longer than you want because if very

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<v Speaker 1>few people are at their best at say five pm.

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<v Speaker 1>Better to treat your minutes like they matter. Use low

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity cost time for the things that must get done.

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<v Speaker 1>Then you can keep other stretches open for things that

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<v Speaker 1>move you forward. In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks 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 Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or where however you listen to your favorite shows.