WEBVTT - Give yourself a chance

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about what to do when you're faced

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<v Speaker 1>with suboptimal working conditions. Give yourself a chance to accomplish

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<v Speaker 1>something important before you decide it's not duable. I hear

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<v Speaker 1>all the time from people who wake up early, stay

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<v Speaker 1>at work late, or work at home after their families

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<v Speaker 1>are in bed, because they say that is the only

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<v Speaker 1>time they have for focused work, and I definitely sympathize.

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<v Speaker 1>Whether you work in an office or remotely, you can

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<v Speaker 1>encounter all sorts of suboptimal working conditions. Maybe it's tree

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<v Speaker 1>work in your neighbor's yard or elevator work in your

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<v Speaker 1>office building. Maybe it's children running and screaming through your

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<v Speaker 1>home when they have a random half day off from school,

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<v Speaker 1>or a colleague in a cube near yours whose sighs

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<v Speaker 1>and hums whenever she's not yelling into the phone. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if you've got quiet, your space might feel suboptimal. A

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<v Speaker 1>four hour flight with no kids or colleagues asking questions

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<v Speaker 1>seems ideal for getting a lot done, until you feel

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<v Speaker 1>frustrated by the lack of elbow room on the plane.

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<v Speaker 1>And then there are the moments when your energy and

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<v Speaker 1>mood aren't conducive to deep work. Maybe you're exhausted after

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<v Speaker 1>a sleepless night, or consumed with anxiety about a family issue.

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<v Speaker 1>It's tempting to assume that all you'll be able to

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<v Speaker 1>do is delete email, but the truth is that we

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<v Speaker 1>seldom get perfect conditions. So even if conditions aren't ideal,

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<v Speaker 1>give yourself a chance to do something meaningful before you

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<v Speaker 1>decide it's impossible. A chance doesn't need to me forever.

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<v Speaker 1>It just means that a chance. Maybe you commit to

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<v Speaker 1>working for fifteen minutes on your computer on the plane

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<v Speaker 1>before you give up and read a magazine. Or you

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<v Speaker 1>might commit to twenty minutes of creative writing while you're

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<v Speaker 1>at your daughter's basketball practice before peeking at Instagram. You

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<v Speaker 1>might put in ear plugs and do your best to

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<v Speaker 1>get absorbed in a graphic design project while roadwork is

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<v Speaker 1>happening outside your window, before you call it a day

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<v Speaker 1>for deep work and start preparing invoices. When you commit

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<v Speaker 1>to a few minutes of honestly trying to do something deep,

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<v Speaker 1>even in less than ideal conditions, you'll sometimes find it's

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<v Speaker 1>more doable than you assumed. Often getting started is the

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<v Speaker 1>hardest part. Once you're in the flow, you may decide

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<v Speaker 1>to continue with what you're doing even after the committed

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<v Speaker 1>time is over. What could have been mindlessly past time

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<v Speaker 1>ends up being productive or even enjoyable. And if, after

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<v Speaker 1>a real attempt, you decide that it's just not happening,

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<v Speaker 1>then you can shift to something less intense, guilt free,

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<v Speaker 1>without wondering what else you could have been doing. You've

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<v Speaker 1>given yourself a chance and sometimes that's good enough. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in te Uch. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah.