WEBVTT - Don't turn a 30-minute task into an hour-long one

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that it is a bad idea to turn

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<v Speaker 1>a thirty minute task into an hour long one. You

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<v Speaker 1>are almost universally better off focusing on one task fully

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<v Speaker 1>rather than trying to fit it into something else. So,

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<v Speaker 1>as I am recording this episode, people are marking the

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<v Speaker 1>fourth anniversary of COVID uprooting daily life for so many

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<v Speaker 1>of us. At this point four years ago, my kids

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<v Speaker 1>had been out of school for a few weeks already

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<v Speaker 1>we were starting to realize that they weren't going back

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<v Speaker 1>for the rest of the school year. I know so

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<v Speaker 1>many parents had to work remotely with their kids around

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<v Speaker 1>them for many months. Wise families soon figured out that

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<v Speaker 1>if it was at all possible to swap coverage for

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<v Speaker 1>little kids between parents, or with older kids or other relatives,

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<v Speaker 1>or with neighbors that you decided to form a pod

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<v Speaker 1>with everyone was going to get more done. You can

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<v Speaker 1>get more done in four focused hours, then you can

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<v Speaker 1>get done in eight hours when you are being interrupted

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<v Speaker 1>every few minutes. Plus, there are no good ways to

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<v Speaker 1>meet the needs of a four year old and a

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<v Speaker 1>client simultaneously. You wind up feeling frustrated and cranky. No doubt,

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<v Speaker 1>the four year olds and the clients get frustrated and

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<v Speaker 1>cranky too. Better to switch off and be fully present

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<v Speaker 1>for one at a time. I mention this because I

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<v Speaker 1>spent a lot of time pre COVID trying to convince

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<v Speaker 1>people that while working from home was great, it was

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<v Speaker 1>not a smart way to save money on childcare. I

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<v Speaker 1>would see parents trying to build businesses with toddlers underfoot,

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<v Speaker 1>and in many cases they would wind up feeling like

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<v Speaker 1>they were failing at everything, so they would come to

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<v Speaker 1>me and ask me for help with time management. But

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<v Speaker 1>I would note that this wasn't a time management problem,

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<v Speaker 1>it was a focus problem. Even if money was a

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<v Speaker 1>little tight, it was best to figure out this focus

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<v Speaker 1>problem first by paying for a few hours of childcare

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<v Speaker 1>each day. These entrepreneurial parents could focus on building their

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<v Speaker 1>businesses to the point where the revenue could pay for

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<v Speaker 1>the childcare and then some. Thanks to that focus, they

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<v Speaker 1>could also be more relaxed and play with the kids

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<v Speaker 1>when they weren't working, rather than trying to respond to

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<v Speaker 1>client emails at the same time. So it goes for

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<v Speaker 1>much in life. Trying to manage too many things at

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<v Speaker 1>once is a great way to turn a thirty minute

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<v Speaker 1>task into an hour long one. If you are trying

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<v Speaker 1>to answer a few emails while you're on a zoom call,

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<v Speaker 1>it is going to take twice as long to get

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<v Speaker 1>through those emails. If you are trying to write a

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<v Speaker 1>report while answering slack messages as they come in, that

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<v Speaker 1>report is going to take twice as long. I know

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<v Speaker 1>that it often feels efficient to try to cross two

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<v Speaker 1>things off the list at once, particularly if you are

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<v Speaker 1>stuck in a really boring meeting. Sometimes the problem is

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<v Speaker 1>that we don't want to acknowledge what we are doing.

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<v Speaker 1>We need to catch up with work on the weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>but we don't really want to be officially working on

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend, so we try to flit in and out

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<v Speaker 1>of it. Then our families are annoyed and we have

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<v Speaker 1>taken twice as long to get everything done. Better to

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<v Speaker 1>go to a coffee shop for two hours and then

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<v Speaker 1>come home and be present verse being on your phone

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<v Speaker 1>for the entire day while you are theoretically with your family.

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<v Speaker 1>There is absolutely nothing efficient about having something take longer

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<v Speaker 1>than it should. Just because you can theoretically manage more

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<v Speaker 1>than one thing at once doesn't mean it's a great idea.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes we have no choice, as happened for many people

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<v Speaker 1>during COVID, but when we do have a choice, fully

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<v Speaker 1>focusing is the way to go. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.