1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to balance long work days with occasional 4 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: shorter work days. This can feel better than working medium 5 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: long hours day after day. Fall tends to be racing season, 6 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: and so a lot of people are training for marathons 7 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: and half marathons. Training for a marathon naturally requires a 8 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: lot of running, but you don't run the same amount 9 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: every single day. You do a weekly long run with 10 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: increasing mileage up to a point at which point you 11 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: go down again. You do some shorter days focused on 12 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: speed work or what they call tempo, hard but sustained efforts, 13 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: and of course there are rest or cross training days. 14 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: Rest isn't what you do when you are not training. 15 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: Letting your body rest and recover is a part of training. 16 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: This varying rhythm can make even intense training feel more 17 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: doable than running the same amount day after day. We 18 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: can use the same thought process in planning our weeks 19 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: as well. For instance, when I plan out the kids 20 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: activity schedule, I aim to have some days be very 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: busy and others be not so busy at all. I 22 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: find It is better to do multiple things on one 23 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: night and then have a night off than to do 24 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: medium amounts of stuff every single day. Long days are 25 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: followed by short days. We know there is a break coming, 26 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: so it is easier to push through a longer evening. 27 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: Same with work. Varying the rhythm can help make work sustainable. 28 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: Some of this is just about building in recovery time. 29 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: When you have a major project or a tight deadline, 30 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: or when you are covering for a colleague who is out, 31 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: you may work some long days. You get in early, 32 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: you stay late. It is amazing how much you can 33 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: get done in a day when you need to, and 34 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: it feels good to work hard and accomplish something important. 35 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: But it is inefficient to work like that long term 36 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: because you wind up getting cranky and making mistakes. So 37 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: when you work a really long day or several long 38 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: days in a row, aim to make the next day shorter. 39 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: For instance, if you work several long days in anticipation 40 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: of your company's annual meeting, and then you have the 41 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: high demands of fulfilling your role during the meeting, aim 42 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: to take it easy the next day. Perhaps you get 43 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: in at instead of eight, or go for a long 44 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: walk in the park on your lunch break, or call 45 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: it a day after you wrap up from a one 46 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: o'clock meeting. Or maybe you work eight hours, which is 47 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: theoretically a standard work day, but it's actually a lot 48 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: shorter than your usual. Leaving work at five is very 49 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: different from leaving at eight, so recognize that and make 50 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: the most of those hours. At some companies, working a 51 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: shorter day after a long day may be formalized as 52 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: camp time. At a lot of workplaces, though, and just 53 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: about universally for remote workers and freelancers, you can decide 54 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: on a shorter day for yourself. This is especially true 55 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: if your shorter day is nine to five. It is 56 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: unlikely you need permission for that. Use those extra hours 57 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: to do whatever will energize you. But honestly, as we 58 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: think about our schedules, I find the long day short 59 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: day mix can help us take advantage of time in 60 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: a smarter way, even if we are not thinking about 61 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: rest and recovery. For instance, when people talk about combining 62 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: work and life, they often talk themselves into a corner 63 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: because their young kids go to bed around seven pm, 64 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: and with a full time job in a commute, they 65 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: don't get home until let's say six pm. Life is 66 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: horrible and terrible, and clearly no one can have it 67 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: all right. But if you have some flexibility, which many 68 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: people do to some extent, why not divide the same 69 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: number of work hours into long days and short days. 70 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: Rather than settle for half an hour with the kids 71 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: every night, work really late past bedtime two days per week, 72 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: then leave much earlier on the other days. Come home 73 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: at ten thirty pm two days, and come home at 74 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 1: four pm three other days, and it's like coming home 75 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: at six thirty pm every day, except you triple your 76 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: evening time with the kids. Now, I know this doesn't 77 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 1: work for everyone, but it does for some, and working 78 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: until ten thirty pm feels far more doable. If you 79 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: know the next day is going to end at four 80 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: You can do this split even if you don't have children. 81 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: Early nights might allow you to play in a softball league, 82 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: or volunteer, or just bike when it's light out. If 83 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: you have an expectation of long hours, then alternating some 84 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: really late nights with earlier ones might make this all possible. 85 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: So the next time you've worked a lot of long 86 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 1: hours and are starting to feel exhausted, build in a 87 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: shorter day, and if you are looking for more work 88 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: life balance in general, try alternating the length of your days. 89 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: You will probably find the mix more rewarding. In the meantime, 90 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 91 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to 92 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,039 Speaker 1: hear from you. 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Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. 100 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:08,919 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i 101 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 102 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.