WEBVTT - Make a commitment after work

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.720
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:14.960
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:21.600
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to make a commitment after work, especially

0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.160
<v Speaker 1>if you are working from home, as many people still

0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:28.760
<v Speaker 1>are these days. Work and life can bleed into each other.

0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:33.559
<v Speaker 1>Having something big in your personal life can make you

0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:37.320
<v Speaker 1>more efficient at work and make your non working hours

0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:43.160
<v Speaker 1>seem bigger and more memorable. When I first started working

0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.599
<v Speaker 1>from home full time in late two thousand two, I

0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:49.360
<v Speaker 1>was living in New York City with a roommate who

0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:53.160
<v Speaker 1>traveled a lot for work. In other words, I spent

0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:57.160
<v Speaker 1>a lot of time alone in my apartment. I would

0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.520
<v Speaker 1>half work and half not work well into the evening.

0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:04.480
<v Speaker 1>Now this was before the days of social media, but

0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:07.520
<v Speaker 1>I would read a lot of comment threads on discussion

0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:11.720
<v Speaker 1>boards if you remember those. I wasn't exactly getting anything done,

0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:16.600
<v Speaker 1>but I wasn't really relaxing either, with my inbox right

0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:21.600
<v Speaker 1>there where I could see the numbers rising. What helped

0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:25.280
<v Speaker 1>break the cycle for me was joining three community choirs,

0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:29.360
<v Speaker 1>each met once a week, so on three week nights,

0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:32.720
<v Speaker 1>I'd need to stop work by six or six thirty

0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:36.640
<v Speaker 1>and haul myself to rehearsal. Seeing other people put me

0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.240
<v Speaker 1>on a more regular shower schedule, which was good, but

0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:43.479
<v Speaker 1>a hard stop on work also had the upside of

0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:47.240
<v Speaker 1>making me better at my job. I'd work hard and

0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.160
<v Speaker 1>get it done by six instead of getting distracted, because

0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.680
<v Speaker 1>I knew I could keep working until midnight if I

0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:59.040
<v Speaker 1>wanted these days. I have five children who make it

0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.440
<v Speaker 1>difficult to keep working until midnight, what with their need

0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.760
<v Speaker 1>to be fed and put to bed and such. Their

0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:09.960
<v Speaker 1>activities often force a stop to work, but I have

0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:13.600
<v Speaker 1>made sure to still be in one choir whose Thursday

0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.920
<v Speaker 1>rehearsals still punctuate my week. If you have the sort

0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:20.560
<v Speaker 1>of job that can bleed into all hours of the

0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:23.839
<v Speaker 1>day and night, then I would highly suggest that you

0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:29.600
<v Speaker 1>to commit to something in your personal life. Yes, you

0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:34.720
<v Speaker 1>are busy, and making commitments can seem ridiculous when every

0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:39.880
<v Speaker 1>hour is spoken for with work and family responsibilities. But

0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:43.440
<v Speaker 1>hear me out here. One of the reasons people feel

0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:47.440
<v Speaker 1>like they spend all their time working is that work

0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:53.799
<v Speaker 1>is structured. Hours have jobs to do. We plan how

0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.080
<v Speaker 1>we will spend our time and what we will accomplish

0:02:56.160 --> 0:03:00.120
<v Speaker 1>with that time. We are working towards something and have

0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:05.519
<v Speaker 1>commitments with other people that happen at specific hours. All

0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:12.520
<v Speaker 1>of these make time feel more full. Many people's personal

0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.600
<v Speaker 1>lives do not feature these same attributes, and that makes

0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:22.520
<v Speaker 1>the time feel malleable and sadly, more often forgettable. Now,

0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:24.360
<v Speaker 1>I am not saying that you need to plan in

0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:28.000
<v Speaker 1>fifteen minute chunks like you would at work, but a

0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.919
<v Speaker 1>once a month book club, a run every Monday morning

0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:35.080
<v Speaker 1>with a friend, and your Wednesday night tennis game with

0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:39.960
<v Speaker 1>your sister will all make your leisure time feel more expansive.

0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:43.720
<v Speaker 1>Then if you just scroll around social media for the

0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:49.160
<v Speaker 1>same quantity of time, that's because these commitments are memorable,

0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:55.760
<v Speaker 1>you will remember and notice them, whereas lower quality leisure

0:03:55.800 --> 0:04:01.400
<v Speaker 1>time just seems to disappear. Plus, work can expand to

0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:05.080
<v Speaker 1>fill the available space when we give it less space.

0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:09.760
<v Speaker 1>Because we have commitments in our personal life, well sounds good.

0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:12.880
<v Speaker 1>It'll find a way to fit and that will mean

0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:16.920
<v Speaker 1>we will waste less time. And if you are working

0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:19.560
<v Speaker 1>from home, it's also good to get out and see people.

0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:24.159
<v Speaker 1>Even if you do have a family, you can trade

0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.279
<v Speaker 1>off with a partner or relative or neighbor, or hire

0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:31.240
<v Speaker 1>a sitter for kid coverage just a few hours a

0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:34.880
<v Speaker 1>week can make a big difference between feeling like you

0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:39.000
<v Speaker 1>are always working but not necessarily getting much done, and

0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:43.440
<v Speaker 1>feeling like you are efficient and have a real life.

0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:49.480
<v Speaker 1>I think I know which one sounds better. In the meantime,

0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:54.320
<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

0:04:54.320 --> 0:05:03.760
<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. M Hey everybody, I'd love

0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:06.040
<v Speaker 1>to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:10.720
<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:15.600
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:19.920
<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:23.359
<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.440
<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.200
<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:37.440
<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.799
<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.799
<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:46.200
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.