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 make a commitment after work, especially
Speaker 1: if you are working from home, as many people still
Speaker 1: are these days. Work and life can bleed into each other.
Speaker 1: Having something big in your personal life can make you
Speaker 1: more efficient at work and make your non working hours
Speaker 1: seem bigger and more memorable. When I first started working
Speaker 1: from home full time in late two thousand two, I
Speaker 1: was living in New York City with a roommate who
Speaker 1: traveled a lot for work. In other words, I spent
Speaker 1: a lot of time alone in my apartment. I would
Speaker 1: half work and half not work well into the evening.
Speaker 1: Now this was before the days of social media, but
Speaker 1: I would read a lot of comment threads on discussion
Speaker 1: boards if you remember those. I wasn't exactly getting anything done,
Speaker 1: but I wasn't really relaxing either, with my inbox right
Speaker 1: there where I could see the numbers rising. What helped
Speaker 1: break the cycle for me was joining three community choirs,
Speaker 1: each met once a week, so on three week nights,
Speaker 1: I'd need to stop work by six or six thirty
Speaker 1: and haul myself to rehearsal. Seeing other people put me
Speaker 1: on a more regular shower schedule, which was good, but
Speaker 1: a hard stop on work also had the upside of
Speaker 1: making me better at my job. I'd work hard and
Speaker 1: get it done by six instead of getting distracted, because
Speaker 1: I knew I could keep working until midnight if I
Speaker 1: wanted these days. I have five children who make it
Speaker 1: difficult to keep working until midnight, what with their need
Speaker 1: to be fed and put to bed and such. Their
Speaker 1: activities often force a stop to work, but I have
Speaker 1: made sure to still be in one choir whose Thursday
Speaker 1: rehearsals still punctuate my week. If you have the sort
Speaker 1: of job that can bleed into all hours of the
Speaker 1: day and night, then I would highly suggest that you
Speaker 1: to commit to something in your personal life. Yes, you
Speaker 1: are busy, and making commitments can seem ridiculous when every
Speaker 1: hour is spoken for with work and family responsibilities. But
Speaker 1: hear me out here. One of the reasons people feel
Speaker 1: like they spend all their time working is that work
Speaker 1: is structured. Hours have jobs to do. We plan how
Speaker 1: we will spend our time and what we will accomplish
Speaker 1: with that time. We are working towards something and have
Speaker 1: commitments with other people that happen at specific hours. All
Speaker 1: of these make time feel more full. Many people's personal
Speaker 1: lives do not feature these same attributes, and that makes
Speaker 1: the time feel malleable and sadly, more often forgettable. Now,
Speaker 1: I am not saying that you need to plan in
Speaker 1: fifteen minute chunks like you would at work, but a
Speaker 1: once a month book club, a run every Monday morning
Speaker 1: with a friend, and your Wednesday night tennis game with
Speaker 1: your sister will all make your leisure time feel more expansive.
Speaker 1: Then if you just scroll around social media for the
Speaker 1: same quantity of time, that's because these commitments are memorable,
Speaker 1: you will remember and notice them, whereas lower quality leisure
Speaker 1: time just seems to disappear. Plus, work can expand to
Speaker 1: fill the available space when we give it less space.
Speaker 1: Because we have commitments in our personal life, well sounds good.
Speaker 1: It'll find a way to fit and that will mean
Speaker 1: we will waste less time. And if you are working
Speaker 1: from home, it's also good to get out and see people.
Speaker 1: Even if you do have a family, you can trade
Speaker 1: off with a partner or relative or neighbor, or hire
Speaker 1: a sitter for kid coverage just a few hours a
Speaker 1: week can make a big difference between feeling like you
Speaker 1: are always working but not necessarily getting much done, and
Speaker 1: feeling like you are efficient and have a real life.
Speaker 1: I think I know which one sounds better. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. M Hey everybody, I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.