Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 2: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 2: tip is to set your summer hours. Work might look
Speaker 2: a little bit different in the summer, and that's okay.
Speaker 2: It's better to be mindful of it and acknowledge it
Speaker 2: than to set expectations that won't work with reality. So
Speaker 2: after Memorial Day, some companies switch to what are known
Speaker 2: as summer hours.
Speaker 1: Generally, these are shorter half days on Fridays are common,
Speaker 1: and I view them as a nod to reality. The
Speaker 1: opportunity cost of working into the evening just feels different.
Speaker 1: When it's light and nice out. People want to be
Speaker 1: out in parks and restaurants and such. They want to
Speaker 1: leave for the beach on Friday afternoon. You can have
Speaker 1: resentful employees watching the clock and sneaking out, or you
Speaker 1: can seem magnanimous, build it in and get the exact
Speaker 1: same amount of work out of your people. Even if
Speaker 1: you work for yourself, though, there are just certain summer realities.
Speaker 1: Many of us have different childcare situations than we do
Speaker 1: during the school year. We might have more days off
Speaker 1: or half days because of out of work commitments. Colleagues
Speaker 1: might be gone, which slows things down to If that
Speaker 1: is the case, it might help to decide on summer
Speaker 1: hours so you can set your expectations accordingly. If you
Speaker 1: might normally be able to tackle two projects in a week,
Speaker 1: but that assumes a forty hour work week and you
Speaker 1: wind up working thirty hours in the summer, you are
Speaker 1: going to feel behind. But if you know that you
Speaker 1: are working those summer hours, you might set the timeline
Speaker 1: as eight working days for completing those two projects rather
Speaker 1: than five days, and you'll wind up feeling a lot
Speaker 1: better about it. Setting summer hours can also give you
Speaker 1: permission to relax. You might not be getting much done
Speaker 1: on Friday afternoons anyway, but if you do have control
Speaker 1: over your time and you decide that work is done
Speaker 1: at two pm on Fridays, then you won't feel bad
Speaker 1: about reading a book or going for a walk at
Speaker 1: three pm. The key realization here is that if the
Speaker 1: work isn't getting done anyway, it's best to spend the
Speaker 1: time on something worthwhile rather than just puttering around. Now.
Speaker 1: I know that not everyone can set their own hours,
Speaker 1: and some people are busier over the summers, but if
Speaker 1: you've got a different slow season, then by all means,
Speaker 1: set winter hours or fall hours or whatever it happens
Speaker 1: to be for you, and if nothing else, you might
Speaker 1: try setting a true ending time during the summer. Many
Speaker 1: people who don't get paid by the hour drift out
Speaker 1: of work at various points based on when they think
Speaker 1: it is acceptable, or when their boss leaves or whatever.
Speaker 1: So go ahead and set your forty hours and stick
Speaker 1: to it and see how it goes. You might find
Speaker 1: that you are getting just as much done and that
Speaker 1: you like having the boundary when you get outside and
Speaker 1: explore those summer nights. Do you have summer hours. I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear about how they differ from your work
Speaker 1: hours in other seasons. You can let me know about
Speaker 1: it at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else.
Speaker 2: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Speaker 2: before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then
Speaker 2: breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters thanks so much, should I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
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