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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is that if you'll be working particularly late

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Speaker 1: some night, take a longer break in the middle of

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Speaker 1: the day. That way, you will be sharp and at

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Speaker 1: your best for your late commitment, and you won't necessarily

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Speaker 1: have to give up your personal priorities either. We have

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Speaker 1: all likely put in some long days this year, and

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Speaker 1: we've all likely noticed that being at a computer from

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Speaker 1: eight am to eight p m is seldom a recipe

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Speaker 1: for doing your best work. Even something different like a

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Speaker 1: work dinner can feel tedious if you have been on

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Speaker 1: since the morning. So here's an idea. Okay, if you

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Speaker 1: have a late meeting, or you are gathering with a

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Speaker 1: team for an evening push to a deadline, or you

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Speaker 1: have an event, take a chunk of time off mid day,

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Speaker 1: do something totally different from work. Use whatever flexibility you

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Speaker 1: have to rethink the day. Just because it is two

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Speaker 1: pm doesn't mean you have to be doing something work related,

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Speaker 1: particularly if you will be doing something work related at

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Speaker 1: eight p m. So what else can you do? I

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Speaker 1: am a big fan of moving time around like tiles

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Speaker 1: in a mosaic. The best idea might be to do

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Speaker 1: exactly what you would have done in the evening during

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Speaker 1: the midday instead. Now, yes, this is easier said than done.

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Speaker 1: You might have spent the evening with your family, and

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Speaker 1: your family might not be available at one pm. But

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Speaker 1: maybe you could get creative. Perhaps your spouse is available

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Speaker 1: for a date lunch. If you have a short commute

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Speaker 1: or you mostly work at home, perhaps you could pick

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Speaker 1: up a kid at school at three p m. And

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Speaker 1: go get hot chocolate together. That way, when you're gone

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Speaker 1: for the evening, you'll know you still got some quality time.

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Speaker 1: But family isn't the only option. For instance, if you

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Speaker 1: normally run errands after work on Tuesdays, but now you

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Speaker 1: have a late Tuesday meeting, go run your errands during

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Speaker 1: your longer mid day break. You might be amazed at

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Speaker 1: how empty the grocery store feels. If you usually meet

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Speaker 1: up with a friend after work on Wednesdays, but this

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Speaker 1: Wednesday you have a work dinner, see if your friend

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Speaker 1: might be available for coffee or lunch instead. If you

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Speaker 1: usually go to the gym after work, go mid day,

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Speaker 1: even if this means taking an extra shower. If that

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Speaker 1: is not possible. Take a good long walk that will

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Speaker 1: get you some exercise but won't leave you sweaty. You

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Speaker 1: will still get some physical activity even on a day

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Speaker 1: when you are working late. Contrary to what we tell ourselves,

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Speaker 1: we don't have unlimited capacity. Breaks are good. They help

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Speaker 1: us manage our energy. Well designed breaks are an investment

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Speaker 1: in our performance. I can also speak from personal experience

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Speaker 1: here that things often get a little inefficient in the

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Speaker 1: middle of a super long work day. If I know

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Speaker 1: I am heading to a work dinner in the evening,

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Speaker 1: I am sometimes more focused on that than on getting

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Speaker 1: through my tasks. If little would be getting done, best

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Speaker 1: to use that time for other things. Indeed, a visit

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Speaker 1: to the art museum in the middle of the day

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Speaker 1: might give you more interesting things to talk about over

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Speaker 1: cocktails with your clients. I have suggested thinking of time

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Speaker 1: flexibly like this for a long time, but I have

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Speaker 1: found it is a surprisingly hard sell. Few professionals are

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Speaker 1: paid by the hour. No one is chained to their desks,

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Speaker 1: especially now as many people work from home at least

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Speaker 1: part of the time. There is no rule that you

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Speaker 1: have to work straight through the day, especially if work

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Speaker 1: is claiming extra hours beyond the usual work day. People

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Speaker 1: who get paid by the hour can often arrange for

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Speaker 1: comp time in these circumstances. So why do people who

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Speaker 1: don't get paid by the hour feel funny or even

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Speaker 1: guilty about using their flexibility. There is no difference between

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Speaker 1: working from nine to five and going to the gym

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Speaker 1: from five thirty to six thirty, and working from nine

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Speaker 1: to three, going to the gym from three thirty to

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Speaker 1: four thirty, and then dialing into an evening meeting from

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Speaker 1: six to eight. If option A is acceptable, then so

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Speaker 1: is option B. So the next time you have an

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Speaker 1: extended work day, aim to schedule a mid day break,

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Speaker 1: perhaps to find time for what you usually would have

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Speaker 1: done in your off hours, and to get a change

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Speaker 1: of pace from your work day activities. The midday change

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Speaker 1: of focus will enable you to perform at your best

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Speaker 1: for all the time that you are working, which is

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Speaker 1: a win all around. In the meantime, this is Laura,

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. At

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Speaker 1: before breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then

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Speaker 1: Breakfast p O D. You can also shoot me an

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Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot

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Speaker 1: com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart

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Speaker 1: favorite shows.