1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: tip is to focus on one sphere of your work 4 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: at a time. Today's tip, like another this week, comes 5 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: from psychologist Tessa West. She is a professor at New 6 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: York University and author of the book Job Therapy, Finding 7 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: Work that Works for You. West explains that jobs have 8 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: different spheres, that is, different areas that require different sorts 9 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: of tasks. For instance, the spheres of my work are 10 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: my two podcasts, Before Breakfast and Best of Both Worlds, 11 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: my blog and newsletters, speaking and writing books. For a teacher, 12 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: the spheres of work might be less in planning, grading, 13 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: providing extra support tailored to students' needs, and other things. 14 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:09,559 Speaker 1: A freelance graphic designer's spheres might be design administrative matters 15 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: like billing and marketing, or she might think of the 16 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: spheres of her work as each of her major clients. 17 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: Wes says that people are more productive and interruptions are 18 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: less costly when they generally stay within a sphere for 19 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: a while, rather than switching among different spheres of their work. 20 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: This makes sense to me if I am spending the 21 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: morning on before breakfast. There is an elegance and efficiency 22 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: to writing scripts, then reviewing audio files from a previous 23 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: batch of recordings, then brainstorming topics for future episodes. If 24 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: I need to let in the plumber to fix a leak, 25 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: it is fairly easy to get back in the zone 26 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: of before breakfast once he's gone, because I was so 27 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: focused on it before the interruption. On the other hand, 28 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: if I had spent the morning writing before breakfast scripts, 29 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: making notes for my next book, and working out travel 30 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: arrangements for a speech i'm giving, I would have been 31 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: less efficient to start with, and recovering from the plumber's 32 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: interruption would have taken longer because I might not be 33 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: so sure what to work on after. Given that we 34 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: can be more productive and less vulnerable to interruptions when 35 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: we're working within one sphere of our work, West suggests 36 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: planning each day by identifying the spheres you'll work in 37 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: that day and the tasks you'll do within each sphere. 38 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: Then she advises working in one sphere at a time, 39 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: not switching back and forth among the spheres planned for 40 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: the day. She suggests doing the miscellaneous tasks associated with 41 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: a given sphere, like emails right after you complete the 42 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: other work within that sphere. It could also be helpful 43 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: to plan work within a given sphere around the same 44 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: time that you will have meetings related to that sphere. 45 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: West suggests using physical cues like a whiteboard with color 46 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: coded tasks or post it notes on your desk to 47 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: remind you of your spheres and your tasks within itach. 48 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: I think working within one's sphere at a time could 49 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: work well for many people. Much like time blocking, working 50 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: in one sphere at a time will make you as 51 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: focused as possible and will probably lead to some insights 52 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: because your brain is in one particular space. What's more, 53 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: I suspect that planning which spheres you'll work on in 54 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: a given day also helps ensure that you actually work 55 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: in all the intended spheres of your core work. Over time, 56 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: it is easy to realize you have spent a whole 57 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: day on email and meetings, or a whole day in 58 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: reactive mode dealing with what's urgent without even touching a 59 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: particular aspect of your work or a major project that 60 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: you know is due soon. Planning which spheres you'll work 61 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: in lets you avoid that you probably won't work in 62 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: every sphere every day, particularly if you have a lot 63 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: of spheres, but you can be sure that over the 64 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: course of a week or so, you will invest time 65 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: in all of them. So if it feels like your 66 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: workdays are all over the place, consider planning your days 67 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: to stay in your sphere. You may just find yourself 68 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: feeling much more effective in the meantime. This is Laura. 69 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 70 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 71 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 72 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 73 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. Or more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 74 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 75 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.