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Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more

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Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to have

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Speaker 1: a go to second workspace. When you're working from home.

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Speaker 1: You don't have to stay in your own version of

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Speaker 1: a cubicle, and sometimes you shouldn't. Moving around can put

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Speaker 1: you in a different frame of mind. I've worked in

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Speaker 1: my home office for years, and I like to think

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Speaker 1: I'm pretty efficient, but sometimes I need to do different

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Speaker 1: sorts of projects. When I was working on the manuscript

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Speaker 1: for a novel called The Courtland Boys a few years ago,

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Speaker 1: I started driving over to my local library and working there.

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Speaker 1: It was generally pretty quiet, and the space felt different.

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Speaker 1: When I surrounded myself with other people's novels, it somehow

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Speaker 1: easier to convince my brain that it was time to

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Speaker 1: write fiction. Libraries are great. Coffee shops can serve the

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Speaker 1: same secondary space function, as can a restaurant during off

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Speaker 1: peak hours, as long as you order enough to make

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Speaker 1: your table profitable. Of course, as I'm writing this, many

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Speaker 1: coffee shops, libraries, and restaurants are still closed to promote

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Speaker 1: social distancing. But even if you're sheltering in place, you

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Speaker 1: might be able to generate a second workspace in your home.

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Speaker 1: If you normally work at the kitchen table, try sitting

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Speaker 1: on the sofa for a while. If you normally work

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Speaker 1: in the guest room, take your laptop out to the

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Speaker 1: back porch to coax out some different thoughts. I have

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Speaker 1: a dedicated home office with a desk, as does my husband,

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Speaker 1: but we both have reading chairs wedged into the corners

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Speaker 1: of our offices so we can hang out in our

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Speaker 1: secondary workspaces. Within our workspaces, I find it easier to

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Speaker 1: focus on reading for work when I'm not sitting in

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Speaker 1: the place where I return emails. Plus the backdrop is

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Speaker 1: nicer for video calls. I know that some people are

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Speaker 1: sharing small homes with lots of people right now. Even

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Speaker 1: finding a primary workspace with a door might be tough.

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Speaker 1: In times of crisis, we do what we can, But

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Speaker 1: if you think you'll be working at home for a while,

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Speaker 1: it's smart to think about reworking space to support your goals.

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Speaker 1: Maybe you're working in a closet right now for privacy,

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Speaker 1: but you could think of the kitchen as a co

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Speaker 1: working space where your fellow workers just happen to be

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Speaker 1: kids doing their homework. If you and a spouse or

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Speaker 1: roommate are both working from home, maybe you just switch

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Speaker 1: spots on occasion when you're both feeling stuck. Or get

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Speaker 1: a little chair for your yard, the front stoop or

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Speaker 1: apartment balcony. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but it

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Speaker 1: helps to have some options, So survey your surroundings and

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Speaker 1: figure out what could function as your secondary workspace. Soon,

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Speaker 1: I hope we'll have lots of options, but getting into

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Speaker 1: the practice of shifting when you're stuck can help train

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Speaker 1: your brain to make breakthroughs. In the meantime, This is Laura,

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's the succeeding in the New

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Speaker 1: Corner Office. The New Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 1: For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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Speaker 1: wherever you get your favorite shows.