1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: tip is about how to ignore a mess, particularly as 4 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: more people work from home. Sometimes we need to get 5 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: stuff done even if the house is not one hundred 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: percent clean. By learning to work in a mess, you 7 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: can open up all sorts of possibilities for productivity. So 8 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: I will start this episode by noting that I personally 9 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 1: don't need a spotless home to work. I love a 10 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: clean space as much as the next person, but I 11 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: value my time far more. With five kids plus various 12 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: community engagements, there's just a lot going on. If I 13 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: have got two focused hours to do something, I am 14 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: not going to spend the first forty five minutes cleaning up. 15 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: Plus I know that those five kids are just going 16 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: to mess everything up again and I will never get 17 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: that time back. However, I've been studying time and productivity 18 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,199 Speaker 1: for long enough to know that some people really can't 19 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 1: focus if their house is a mess. Now, I believe 20 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: some of this is cultural conditioning. Many women have been 21 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: taught that if their homes are messy, they are total failures, 22 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: So there is no point even thinking about doing anything 23 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: else until the mess on the floor is gone. Now, 24 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: that might be the patriarchy talking, but some of this 25 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: cultural conditioning isn't as nefarious. It just is what it is. 26 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: I like a lot of what decluttering expert Marie cos 27 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: writes and teaches about, but I do cringe every time 28 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: I read her phrase your real life begins after putting 29 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: your house in order. No it doesn't. Life is not 30 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: dependent on your house being perfectly tidy. You can enjoy 31 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: life no matter what state your house happens to be in. 32 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: So if you are looking for permission to let things 33 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: be a little messy so you can get your work done, 34 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: here it is. But if you really truly have trouble 35 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: focusing in a mess, then you just might need to 36 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: acknowledge this about your personality and figure out a way 37 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: to deal with it. If you work from home, one 38 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: option is to do your best to create a workspace 39 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: that can be shut off from the rest of your house. 40 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 1: Even if this is a very small room or a 41 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: converted closet or something. Figure out a way that you 42 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: can shut the door and not see anything else. Then, 43 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: if your office is pristine, you can consider that your environment. 44 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: You might even want to put a little fridge in 45 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: your office with some snacks and water and create a 46 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 1: pristine pathway to the nearest bathroom. That way, you do 47 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: not have to encounter any chaos that might make you 48 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: think it is time to put away the laundry, do 49 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: the dishes, and pick up the toys when you are 50 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: supposed to be working. Really, this amounts to cleaning one room, 51 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: shutting the door, and sitting in there. Another option is 52 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: to leave your messy house. One listener mentioned recently that 53 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: her husband took the kids to daycare at seven point 54 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: thirty and she often didn't have virtual meetings until nine 55 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: or so. She tended to use those ninety minutes to 56 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: tidy up, but she realized that they might be more 57 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: profitably invested in focused work. Someone else, hearing this, suggested 58 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: that she leave at the same time as the daycare 59 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: crew to go to a coffee shop. She might work 60 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,119 Speaker 1: on her top priority non meeting task for the day 61 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,359 Speaker 1: from seven thirty to nine, and then be able to 62 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: relax during the day's meetings, knowing she had already gotten 63 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: it done. Yes, there would still be clutter, but if 64 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: she felt she had to deal with it, she could 65 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: do that during small breaks in the afternoon. Most people 66 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: have less energy and focus after lunch, so the opportunity 67 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: cost wouldn't be so great. If that is not feasible, 68 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: another option is to set an absolute limit on cleaning time. 69 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: In the scenario I just talked about, this person might 70 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: decide to clean for a maximum of thirty minutes and 71 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: then have an eight am check in with her work buddies. 72 00:04:57,960 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: They could set their goals for the day and hold 73 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: each they're accountable for working on them until their meetings 74 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: began around nine. No, not everything would get cleaned, but 75 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: the most visible stuff probably would, and this would prevent 76 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: the cleaning from stretching to fill the available space. And 77 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: if someone truly wants a tidy house but also needs 78 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: to spend that time working, maybe it would be possible 79 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: to hire someone for an hour or two a few 80 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: days per week to come in and clean. Perhaps someone 81 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: might want to pick up some extra money by working 82 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: before another job started, or maybe they'd be supplementing other 83 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: things they were doing. It might be worth exploring. In 84 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: any case, there is nothing wrong with wanting a neat house. 85 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,239 Speaker 1: The problem is if that desire keeps you from getting 86 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 1: your work done. Or advancing in your career because you 87 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: keep hopping up to put things away when you should 88 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: be focusing, especially if you live with other people. Things 89 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: will never be one hundred percent perfect, so better to 90 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: figure out how to limit the time devoted to it 91 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:18,480 Speaker 1: or how to limit your exposure to it. Otherwise it's 92 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: going to be hard to get anything done in the meantime. 93 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 94 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to 95 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 96 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 97 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the 98 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:54,159 Speaker 1: number four than Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me 99 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com 100 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is out with all the letters. Thanks 101 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch. 102 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 103 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 104 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.