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 work slower. Sometimes doing things at
Speaker 1: a deliberate pace can lead to better work. It can
Speaker 1: also lead to you feeling better about your work, which
Speaker 1: is no small thing. Today's tip, like some others this week,
Speaker 1: comes from Chris Bailey's new book, How to Calm Your Mind.
Speaker 1: This book is all about finding presents and productivity in
Speaker 1: anxious times. Chris notes that the opposite of burnout isn't
Speaker 1: doing nothing, it's engagement. The more engaged we are with
Speaker 1: our lives, the less anxious and the more productive of
Speaker 1: we will be. While we can certainly build engaging hobbies
Speaker 1: and activities into our lives, it's even better if we
Speaker 1: can feel actively engaged in our work. One way to
Speaker 1: do that, according to Chris, it's working slower. As you
Speaker 1: turn down the stimulation factor by ending multitasking, you will
Speaker 1: naturally dive deeper into what you're doing. Chris writes, there
Speaker 1: is great joy to be found in working with a
Speaker 1: thoughtful deliberateness on what's important. If you value productivity as
Speaker 1: I do, don't worry what you'll lose in speed, you'll
Speaker 1: easily earn back and making progress on what's important. This
Speaker 1: is a lesson I am continually relearning when it comes
Speaker 1: to doing deep knowledge work. The more slowly I work,
Speaker 1: the more impact my work tends to have. Now, Chris's
Speaker 1: argument here doesn't mean pointlessly delaying things or leaving your
Speaker 1: coworkers waiting. I think the best image to keep in
Speaker 1: mind is using the space you would have used for
Speaker 1: multitasking to actually engage in your work more deeply. Rather
Speaker 1: than interrupting yourself ten times in an hour to check
Speaker 1: email as you write a memo, take fifty minutes to
Speaker 1: write that memo, focusing only on that memo, and then
Speaker 1: check your email for ten minutes, which do you think
Speaker 1: will produce a more carefully crafted statement. You are working
Speaker 1: slower and more deliberately, but the good news is that
Speaker 1: the task as a whole might not really take any
Speaker 1: more time. Rather than have a superficial conversation with a
Speaker 1: colleague as you are both flitting in and out of messages,
Speaker 1: put the screens away entirely and really talk through a topic.
Speaker 1: You can end a little early and then check all
Speaker 1: of your other inputs. But the slow conversation might produce
Speaker 1: more interesting results. You can also work slower in a
Speaker 1: way by leaving space to revisit things. I know. I
Speaker 1: always try to leave time to come back to the
Speaker 1: things I write. When I write these scripts, for instance,
Speaker 1: I write them, then I edit them, then I practice
Speaker 1: speaking them out loud. That way, I can think through
Speaker 1: the argument and also think if a word choice would
Speaker 1: be better for material that is meant to be heard
Speaker 1: rather than read silently. I know I generally work fast,
Speaker 1: and I make no apologies for that. That's how I
Speaker 1: get things done in a world where a kid could
Speaker 1: come home from school sick, or a plumber could show
Speaker 1: up to deal with the various problems in my home renovation.
Speaker 1: But a bowing for let's say, a full hour on
Speaker 1: something with no chosen interruptions can often feel quite leisurely
Speaker 1: and luxurious. Feeling that work is luxurious is a decadent sensation. Indeed,
Speaker 1: I enjoy it, and I'm guessing you will too. It will,
Speaker 1: as Chris puts it, calm your mind, and that makes
Speaker 1: life feel more doable. 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 E then Before 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
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.