Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to plan for work overflow. By identifying and
Speaker 1: planning for certain overflow work spots, you can keep on
Speaker 1: top of things during busy seasons and also keep work
Speaker 1: from taking over your life. We have probably all faced
Speaker 1: certain times when work can't stay confined between nine and five.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's because of a huge project with a tight deadline.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's a predictably busy season like audit and tax season.
Speaker 1: Four accountants and sometimes elements of our personal lives wind
Speaker 1: up taking big chunks of normal business hours, and so
Speaker 1: we need to work outside those hours to fulfill our
Speaker 1: work responsibilities. Sometimes people get very out of sorts about
Speaker 1: working at night or on weekends, and I get it.
Speaker 1: It is not necessarily fun. But if it is going
Speaker 1: to happen, it is best to identify the spots where
Speaker 1: you would like it to happen so that it is
Speaker 1: not always an option which can keep you from relaxing
Speaker 1: or enjoying anything else. For instance, when I've got something
Speaker 1: big I have got to finish, I identify a few
Speaker 1: spots that could work We generally have our sitters stay
Speaker 1: later one night a week, so if I need to,
Speaker 1: I can go to the library then and work an
Speaker 1: extra few hours. If the three year old goes down
Speaker 1: to bed at a normal time, I can generally work
Speaker 1: from nine thirty to ten thirty or so at night
Speaker 1: and still get to bed by my bedtime. I will
Speaker 1: sometimes have a conversation with my husband and about splitting
Speaker 1: weekend coverage. He often has some work overflow too, so
Speaker 1: each of us gets some solo time with the little kids,
Speaker 1: and each of us gets some time to work as well.
Speaker 1: The upside of knowing these slots ahead of time is
Speaker 1: that it helps me relax. I am not frantic as
Speaker 1: I am needing to drive a kid somewhere at five
Speaker 1: point thirty pm, thinking I need to be working because
Speaker 1: I know that I have four hours blocked on the weekend.
Speaker 1: I can take half an hour to run during the day,
Speaker 1: even if it is a very busy day, because I
Speaker 1: know that I can make up the time at night.
Speaker 1: That keeps me from making the shortsighted choice of not exercising,
Speaker 1: thinking I will somehow get more done while I am
Speaker 1: sluggish and tired. Now I know that not all work
Speaker 1: overflow is predictable. Sometimes people wind up staying late with
Speaker 1: little notice, and they don't have the option to say, Nope,
Speaker 1: Thursday night isn't working for me. I'll get to this
Speaker 1: Saturday morning. But even if not, all overflow is predictable,
Speaker 1: and even if not, everyone has autonomy over their work hours.
Speaker 1: Some overflow is predictable, and many people have some control
Speaker 1: over their worktime. Maybe you are managing toward a big
Speaker 1: deadline and you know you need to make a plan
Speaker 1: to hit that deadline, but your manager is only going
Speaker 1: to be in there dictating things. When things go wrong,
Speaker 1: it is up to you to make it all come
Speaker 1: out all right. So identify work overflow spots. Maybe you
Speaker 1: extend your childcare one to two nights a week. You
Speaker 1: don't have to use it, but it's there if you
Speaker 1: need it, and if you don't need it for work,
Speaker 1: Maybe you and your spouse can do something fun, or
Speaker 1: you can do something one on one with each particular
Speaker 1: kid if you've got a big brood, or maybe you
Speaker 1: have an agreement with your spouse that if things get harried,
Speaker 1: you will get up at five am to start work
Speaker 1: and he or she will cover the morning routine. Then
Speaker 1: you take over later in the day or you switch
Speaker 1: off with bedtime routines, so each of you has the
Speaker 1: option to work longer bits after dinner. On those nights
Speaker 1: when you identify spots and you know how to seize
Speaker 1: them if necessary, you can feel more relaxed during busy seasons.
Speaker 1: You know you will be able to do the work
Speaker 1: that doesn't fit between nine and five, and you don't
Speaker 1: have to skip everything in your personal life thinking you
Speaker 1: should be working. The time is there and you know
Speaker 1: where the time is, so things feel more under control
Speaker 1: in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b the number four then Breakfast pod. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at
Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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