Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning, This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 2: Today's tip is that productivity doesn't always look productive. If
Speaker 2: you know that you are making progress or you're working
Speaker 2: on something important, then it doesn't really matter if it
Speaker 2: doesn't look like you are doing all that much. So
Speaker 2: the day I wrote this would probably not look like
Speaker 2: a banner day from the outside. I took multiple long breaks,
Speaker 2: and during the time I was at my desk I
Speaker 2: was not always incredibly focused. But after several false starts,
Speaker 2: I did write something that I needed to write. I
Speaker 2: had a long conversation with someone who is both thoughtful
Speaker 2: and influential, which is always a good thing to do.
Speaker 2: I made a difficult business decision that needed to be made,
Speaker 2: so that is not bad as things go. Even if
Speaker 2: much of the day looked like open space and random
Speaker 2: email checks, I am sure that you have had similar days.
Speaker 2: Maybe you even kept looking at the clock to see
Speaker 2: if the day was over yet. But sometimes getting things
Speaker 2: done involves making decisions, or coming up with ideas, or
Speaker 2: deciding that something is wrong and needs to be done differently.
Speaker 2: Often all of this thinking doesn't look like doing anything.
Speaker 2: It's just a nagging sense that you need to stop
Speaker 2: working on something and think about it, and you realize
Speaker 2: it's not working and you need to go in a
Speaker 2: different direction. Or maybe you are stumped on something and
Speaker 2: need to let your brain process it for a while
Speaker 2: before you remember that Kevin from two jobs ago knew
Speaker 2: something about this topic. Maybe if you reach out, he
Speaker 2: could give you some direction. Or you think you are
Speaker 2: about to offer a job to a certain candidate, but
Speaker 2: something is telling you to wait. It feels like you're
Speaker 2: just putting things off and slowing things down, but actually
Speaker 2: you are checking another reference and you find out that
Speaker 2: something is definitely off. All of this is actually very productive.
Speaker 2: Hiring a person who is a bad match can result
Speaker 2: in tons of wasted time, not to mention tough emotions
Speaker 2: for everyone involved. Or if you are working on a
Speaker 2: project and it's not going right, it doesn't actually help
Speaker 2: to go faster in the wrong direction, So best to
Speaker 2: take it slow and be okay with sitting there looking
Speaker 2: like you are just spinning your wheels for a while.
Speaker 2: It will be okay when those spinning wheels do gain traction.
Speaker 2: You will be ready to go. In the meantime, this
Speaker 2: is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making the
Speaker 2: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 2: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 2: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 2: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 2: number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
Speaker 2: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 2: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much. Should I look forward to saying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
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