WEBVTT - Plan for depletion

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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 to plan for depletion. At some point in

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<v Speaker 1>your life, you start to realize that certain activities are

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<v Speaker 1>always going to exhaust you. When you know that, you

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<v Speaker 1>can be sure to plan in some downtime afterwards, or

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<v Speaker 1>you may wind up even more exhausted or not following

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<v Speaker 1>through on your commitments. I do a lot of public speaking,

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<v Speaker 1>and when I go to an event, it is very

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<v Speaker 1>clear to me that I have done something. I've been

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<v Speaker 1>up on stage. I've often talked with people or signed

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<v Speaker 1>books afterwards. Then I tend to go to the airport

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<v Speaker 1>and fly home. I do some light work on the plane,

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<v Speaker 1>but I generally know that I'll be tired, and since

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<v Speaker 1>I'm unavailable on the plane anyway, I'm not trying to

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<v Speaker 1>set meetings shortly after a speech. Virtual speaking, on the

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<v Speaker 1>other hand, is different. Theoretically, I am just in my

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<v Speaker 1>little recording studio speaking into my laptop. I don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to fly anywhere afterwards, so I could just schedule other

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<v Speaker 1>calls or meetings right afterwards. But when I first started

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<v Speaker 1>speaking virtually during COVID. I did so, but I quickly

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<v Speaker 1>realized that a virtual speech takes a lot of energy

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<v Speaker 1>to Even if I'm on a screen, i am still performing.

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<v Speaker 1>I probably need to take a short breather after a

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<v Speaker 1>virtual speech, too, even if I don't have to hop

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<v Speaker 1>in a cab headed toward the airport. So I've gotten

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<v Speaker 1>better about not scheduling anything for the hour or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>even two after a speech. The other day, when I

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<v Speaker 1>did a virtual event, I let myself put her around

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<v Speaker 1>the house for about ninety minutes. Afterward, I made rice,

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<v Speaker 1>putting out of some leftover rice, and read the newspaper.

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<v Speaker 1>It was nice and wasn't really any different productivity wise

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<v Speaker 1>than reading a magazine on a plane. If you too

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<v Speaker 1>have things that take a lot of energy, you might

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<v Speaker 1>want to structure your schedule to allow for that. I know.

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<v Speaker 1>My co host on Best of Both Worlds, doctor Sarah Hartunger,

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<v Speaker 1>has talked about her call weeks being very intense. She's

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<v Speaker 1>often up in the night answering questions and directing care

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<v Speaker 1>plans for very sick children, so she's been trying to

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<v Speaker 1>keep the day or two after her call week's lighter.

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<v Speaker 1>This is challenging, as all the other things she didn't

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<v Speaker 1>get to when she was on call stack up. But

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<v Speaker 1>she knows she'll be exhausted. Best to plan life with

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<v Speaker 1>that in mind. Even if it's not possible to take

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of downtime, it's still worth scanning your schedule

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<v Speaker 1>in advance so you can spot activities that will take

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of energy. Then you can proactively plan in

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<v Speaker 1>at least something that will boost your energy levels. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're going to have to give tough feedback to someone,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you can plan in a ten minute break to

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<v Speaker 1>go to for a walk to clear your head. If

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<v Speaker 1>you're going to be presenting to someone who is always critical,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you can plan to take a slightly longer lunch

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<v Speaker 1>break and go to a favorite restaurant. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>we aren't machines, and even machines often need scheduled maintenance

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<v Speaker 1>if they've had to run harder than usual. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you know you will be depleted, figure out what you

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<v Speaker 1>can do to take care of yourself. That way, you

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<v Speaker 1>will be your energetic chip yourself soon enough, and you

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<v Speaker 1>can keep going with all the amazing things that you're

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<v Speaker 1>doing in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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