Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to plan
Speaker 1: your brakes. When you're working remotely or even just working flexibly,
Speaker 1: you have more autonomy over your hours. You can set
Speaker 1: a schedule that maximizes your productivity and your enjoyment of
Speaker 1: work in life. A big part of that is figuring
Speaker 1: out optimal times for brakes. Now, if you're thinking to yourself,
Speaker 1: I don't take breaks, or even if you're thinking I
Speaker 1: don't need breaks, well think again. Traditional offices are distracting places.
Speaker 1: Breaks happened there, whether we seek them out or not,
Speaker 1: and brakes aren't a bad thing. We can all recall
Speaker 1: being completely stumped by something. Talk to a colleague about
Speaker 1: the weather, drive home, go for a run, or cook dinner,
Speaker 1: and boom, there's the solution. Once we ease up the
Speaker 1: pressure to solve the problem, it seems to solve itself.
Speaker 1: Breaks can do that. When you're working from home. It
Speaker 1: pays to be intentional about building in breaks, since casual
Speaker 1: interactions in your workplace won't create the breaks for you.
Speaker 1: Many people like to have a rough template to follow
Speaker 1: most days so that they don't have to plan their
Speaker 1: days from scratch. Over the years, I've noticed that some
Speaker 1: schedules work better for optimizing energy than others. As you
Speaker 1: think about your time, aim to work in two to
Speaker 1: three hour chunks punctuated by fifteen to twenty minute breaks,
Speaker 1: with one slightly longer break for lunch or a workout.
Speaker 1: So for example, maybe you start your day around eight
Speaker 1: thirty am, take a ten thirty coffee break to face
Speaker 1: time with a friend, work until twelve forty five when
Speaker 1: you get ready, and then go for a thirty minute run,
Speaker 1: then take a three thirty break for a hearty snack.
Speaker 1: Or maybe you like to get up early and seize
Speaker 1: the day. You work from sixty am, break deat breakfast
Speaker 1: with the college students who are now home with you,
Speaker 1: work until one and then eat lunch with them, and
Speaker 1: break around four pm to walk the dog. Whatever your
Speaker 1: specific template, aim to make at least one break physical
Speaker 1: and one break social. Both exercising and socializing boost energy.
Speaker 1: If the weather is nice, it's good to get outside
Speaker 1: to chat with a friend by phone as you walk
Speaker 1: around the block or do a yoga video with a
Speaker 1: family member. All of these are great ideas. But here's
Speaker 1: what's not a great idea. Thinking you don't need breaks,
Speaker 1: and then finding yourself around three pm reading the same
Speaker 1: email five times in a row. Then you get an
Speaker 1: alert on your phone letting you know that a friend
Speaker 1: posted a photo on Facebook. You go check it out,
Speaker 1: read other posts, and wow, is it time for my
Speaker 1: four pm call? Already? When you don't take real breaks,
Speaker 1: your brain takes fake breaks, ones that consume time but
Speaker 1: aren't actually energizing. Better to enjoy the real deal. Of course,
Speaker 1: some people who work from home like to use brakes
Speaker 1: as opportunities to tackle life maintenance tasks. Fifteen minutes here
Speaker 1: and there can't afford you a chance to keep the
Speaker 1: laundry moving, to do some dinner prep, or to weed
Speaker 1: a small flower bed. As long as you're getting some
Speaker 1: activity and maybe some sunshine, these can be okay. Just
Speaker 1: make sure that these tasks stay within specific time limits.
Speaker 1: As with email and web surfing, housework can expand to
Speaker 1: fill all available space, and if it feels too much
Speaker 1: like drudgery, well then you won't feel rejuvenated, which is
Speaker 1: the point of a break. What's your approach to breaks?
Speaker 1: Have you tried anything memorable lately? I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: about it. You can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office.
Speaker 1: The New Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio.
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