WEBVTT - How to work in a mess

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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 about how to ignore a mess, particularly as

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<v Speaker 1>more people work from home. Sometimes we need to get

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<v Speaker 1>stuff done even if the house is not one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>percent clean. By learning to work in a mess, you

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<v Speaker 1>can open up all sorts of possibilities for productivity. So

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<v Speaker 1>I will start this episode by noting that I personally

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<v Speaker 1>don't need a spotless home to work. I love a

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<v Speaker 1>clean space as much as the next person, but I

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<v Speaker 1>value my time far more. With five kids plus various

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<v Speaker 1>community engagements, there's just a lot going on. If I

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<v Speaker 1>have got two focused hours to do something, I am

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<v Speaker 1>not going to spend the first forty five minutes cleaning up.

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<v Speaker 1>Plus I know that those five kids are just going

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<v Speaker 1>to mess everything up again and I will never get

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<v Speaker 1>that time back. However, I've been studying time and productivity

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<v Speaker 1>for long enough to know that some people really can't

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<v Speaker 1>focus if their house is a mess. Now, I believe

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<v Speaker 1>some of this is cultural conditioning. Many women have been

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<v Speaker 1>taught that if their homes are messy, they are total failures,

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<v Speaker 1>So there is no point even thinking about doing anything

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<v Speaker 1>else until the mess on the floor is gone. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>that might be the patriarchy talking, but some of this

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<v Speaker 1>cultural conditioning isn't as nefarious. It just is what it is.

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<v Speaker 1>I like a lot of what decluttering expert Marie cos

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<v Speaker 1>writes and teaches about, but I do cringe every time

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<v Speaker 1>I read her phrase your real life begins after putting

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<v Speaker 1>your house in order. No it doesn't. Life is not

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<v Speaker 1>dependent on your house being perfectly tidy. You can enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>life no matter what state your house happens to be in.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you are looking for permission to let things

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<v Speaker 1>be a little messy so you can get your work done,

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<v Speaker 1>here it is. But if you really truly have trouble

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<v Speaker 1>focusing in a mess, then you just might need to

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledge this about your personality and figure out a way

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<v Speaker 1>to deal with it. If you work from home, one

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<v Speaker 1>option is to do your best to create a workspace

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<v Speaker 1>that can be shut off from the rest of your house.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if this is a very small room or a

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<v Speaker 1>converted closet or something. Figure out a way that you

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<v Speaker 1>can shut the door and not see anything else. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>if your office is pristine, you can consider that your environment.

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<v Speaker 1>You might even want to put a little fridge in

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<v Speaker 1>your office with some snacks and water and create a

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<v Speaker 1>pristine pathway to the nearest bathroom. That way, you do

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<v Speaker 1>not have to encounter any chaos that might make you

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<v Speaker 1>think it is time to put away the laundry, do

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<v Speaker 1>the dishes, and pick up the toys when you are

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<v Speaker 1>supposed to be working. Really, this amounts to cleaning one room,

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<v Speaker 1>shutting the door, and sitting in there. Another option is

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<v Speaker 1>to leave your messy house. One listener mentioned recently that

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<v Speaker 1>her husband took the kids to daycare at seven point

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<v Speaker 1>thirty and she often didn't have virtual meetings until nine

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<v Speaker 1>or so. She tended to use those ninety minutes to

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<v Speaker 1>tidy up, but she realized that they might be more

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<v Speaker 1>profitably invested in focused work. Someone else, hearing this, suggested

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<v Speaker 1>that she leave at the same time as the daycare

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<v Speaker 1>crew to go to a coffee shop. She might work

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<v Speaker 1>on her top priority non meeting task for the day

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<v Speaker 1>from seven thirty to nine, and then be able to

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<v Speaker 1>relax during the day's meetings, knowing she had already gotten

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<v Speaker 1>it done. Yes, there would still be clutter, but if

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<v Speaker 1>she felt she had to deal with it, she could

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<v Speaker 1>do that during small breaks in the afternoon. Most people

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<v Speaker 1>have less energy and focus after lunch, so the opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>cost wouldn't be so great. If that is not feasible,

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<v Speaker 1>another option is to set an absolute limit on cleaning time.

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<v Speaker 1>In the scenario I just talked about, this person might

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<v Speaker 1>decide to clean for a maximum of thirty minutes and

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<v Speaker 1>then have an eight am check in with her work buddies.

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<v Speaker 1>They could set their goals for the day and hold

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<v Speaker 1>each they're accountable for working on them until their meetings

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<v Speaker 1>began around nine. No, not everything would get cleaned, but

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<v Speaker 1>the most visible stuff probably would, and this would prevent

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<v Speaker 1>the cleaning from stretching to fill the available space. And

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<v Speaker 1>if someone truly wants a tidy house but also needs

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<v Speaker 1>to spend that time working, maybe it would be possible

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<v Speaker 1>to hire someone for an hour or two a few

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<v Speaker 1>days per week to come in and clean. Perhaps someone

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<v Speaker 1>might want to pick up some extra money by working

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<v Speaker 1>before another job started, or maybe they'd be supplementing other

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<v Speaker 1>things they were doing. It might be worth exploring. In

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<v Speaker 1>any case, there is nothing wrong with wanting a neat house.

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<v Speaker 1>The problem is if that desire keeps you from getting

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<v Speaker 1>your work done. Or advancing in your career because you

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<v Speaker 1>keep hopping up to put things away when you should

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<v Speaker 1>be focusing, especially if you live with other people. Things

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<v Speaker 1>will never be one hundred percent perfect, so better to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out how to limit the time devoted to it

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<v Speaker 1>or how to limit your exposure to it. Otherwise it's

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<v Speaker 1>going to be hard to get anything done in the meantime.

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

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four than Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that Before Breakfast is out with all the letters. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.

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

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