WEBVTT - Yes you can do that during the workday 

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.720
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:14.640
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:19.319
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that you might have more flexibility during

0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:23.720
<v Speaker 1>the work day than you think, particularly if you're working

0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:26.560
<v Speaker 1>from home more now than in the past. You might

0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:30.040
<v Speaker 1>be able to have some little adventures and enjoy some

0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:35.360
<v Speaker 1>real leisure during breaks, as long as the work gets done.

0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:41.080
<v Speaker 1>How it gets done is largely up to you. Now.

0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:44.160
<v Speaker 1>Some people get paid by the hour, in which case

0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:48.520
<v Speaker 1>you need to work your contracted hours. Some people also

0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.640
<v Speaker 1>have to do certain kinds of work in specific places.

0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:54.920
<v Speaker 1>It's going to be hard to clean someone's teeth remotely

0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:57.640
<v Speaker 1>awesome as that might be for people who don't like

0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:01.600
<v Speaker 1>going to the dentist. However, a lot of work is

0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:06.160
<v Speaker 1>far more fluid, particularly these days, and this is especially

0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.160
<v Speaker 1>true now that many people are working from home more regularly,

0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:13.280
<v Speaker 1>and as organizations are considering hybrid models of in office

0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:17.480
<v Speaker 1>and remote work. One of the best things remote workers

0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.720
<v Speaker 1>and managers can do is to get clear on the

0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:24.680
<v Speaker 1>objectives for any given week. What would you like to

0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:29.600
<v Speaker 1>say by Friday afternoon that you've done What would make

0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:34.959
<v Speaker 1>for a challenging but doable week. People can propose these

0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.039
<v Speaker 1>objectives to their managers, or managers can set them for

0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:41.679
<v Speaker 1>people who need some guidance, but in either case, we

0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:47.000
<v Speaker 1>should all know what success looks like once we know

0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:50.320
<v Speaker 1>that though, there can be incredible freedom in the details.

0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:53.920
<v Speaker 1>And that means that if you are on target for

0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:59.880
<v Speaker 1>achieving your objectives, the exact hours don't matter so much. Yeah,

0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:01.880
<v Speaker 1>that means that you can do a lot of things

0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.440
<v Speaker 1>during the work day that you might not have considered before.

0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:09.280
<v Speaker 1>Finish the day's objectives early and the weather is beautiful,

0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:12.480
<v Speaker 1>take your kids to the pool at four pm when

0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.840
<v Speaker 1>they get home from day camp. On track for everything,

0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:19.040
<v Speaker 1>you could take a ninety minute lunch to go to

0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:22.200
<v Speaker 1>a local museum that's only open from nine to two

0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.560
<v Speaker 1>every day. If you need to make up the time,

0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:29.560
<v Speaker 1>you could work until six instead of five, or for

0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:31.400
<v Speaker 1>an hour at night after the kids go to bed.

0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:35.280
<v Speaker 1>Maybe you could go to a less crowded during the

0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:39.000
<v Speaker 1>day workout class, our run to the library or bookstore

0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.720
<v Speaker 1>and enjoy browsing. You could start work a little early

0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:45.480
<v Speaker 1>if you wanted to make up the time, or maybe

0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.919
<v Speaker 1>you are so efficient that the longer breaks fit fine

0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:53.720
<v Speaker 1>as they are when I have suggested using this time

0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:58.720
<v Speaker 1>flexibility to people. Some have eagerly started planning one little

0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:03.960
<v Speaker 1>adventure each week, just one, it can change everything, but

0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.280
<v Speaker 1>others are more reticent to even try one per week.

0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.799
<v Speaker 1>I've explored this reticence and seen a few reasons for it.

0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:17.079
<v Speaker 1>One is that some people want an absolute strict separation

0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:21.560
<v Speaker 1>between work and life. Work is nine to five, life

0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:26.360
<v Speaker 1>is outside that never the twain shall meet. I do

0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:29.000
<v Speaker 1>think folks are becoming a little bit less rigid about this,

0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:32.320
<v Speaker 1>as we've experienced working from home during the pandemic, But

0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:35.640
<v Speaker 1>it's still there. You have to know yourself. But I'd

0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:38.480
<v Speaker 1>suggest that you might want to re examine this mindset.

0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:43.840
<v Speaker 1>Where is this coming from. Sometimes people absolutely never want

0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:46.760
<v Speaker 1>to do work after five pm, and I get that,

0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:49.040
<v Speaker 1>but it's really not so terrible if you get a

0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:52.360
<v Speaker 1>little bit more free time during the day. But sometimes

0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:54.560
<v Speaker 1>I think it's that people have a deep seated fear

0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.680
<v Speaker 1>that if their boss, say, saw them at the swimming

0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:02.440
<v Speaker 1>pool at four pm, they might be fired. Okay, I guess,

0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.760
<v Speaker 1>but you know what, if your boss is at the

0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:09.720
<v Speaker 1>swimming pool at four pm, clearly she thinks there's some

0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:14.480
<v Speaker 1>flexibility involved in work too. I think more often some

0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:17.040
<v Speaker 1>people just feel so busy at work that they can't

0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:19.840
<v Speaker 1>step away from their desks for even a few minutes.

0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:24.039
<v Speaker 1>I understand the feeling, but I also think that sometimes

0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:27.560
<v Speaker 1>we become wedded to the identity of being the crazy

0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:33.680
<v Speaker 1>busy person. Look how much everyone needs us. We are

0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:38.200
<v Speaker 1>martyrs to being needed. Going to an art museum for

0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:42.159
<v Speaker 1>an hour during the day changes that narrative. And changing

0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:47.159
<v Speaker 1>a narrative can be scary, but it can also be liberating.

0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:52.560
<v Speaker 1>So try changing your story. Look at how powerful I

0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:58.200
<v Speaker 1>am in control of my time. I'd also point out

0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.880
<v Speaker 1>that getting away from your desk ocasionally can allow you

0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:03.840
<v Speaker 1>to get some great ideas, and if you need ideas

0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:06.560
<v Speaker 1>in your job that during the day, trip to a

0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:10.760
<v Speaker 1>botanical garden might actually wind up being more productive than

0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:15.920
<v Speaker 1>spending the equivalent amount of time deleting email. In any case,

0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:18.640
<v Speaker 1>if you have never tried a little during the workday

0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:22.880
<v Speaker 1>adventure and you have at least some flexibility in your job,

0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:28.560
<v Speaker 1>I challenge you to try it at some point over

0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:31.560
<v Speaker 1>the next week. Take at least an hour during a

0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.680
<v Speaker 1>work day to do something you've figured you can't do

0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:38.440
<v Speaker 1>because you have a nine to five job. If you

0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:40.760
<v Speaker 1>don't have to clock in and out, there is no

0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:45.040
<v Speaker 1>need to announce it. There's no need to figure out coverage.

0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:50.360
<v Speaker 1>It is only sixty minutes. See how it goes. Did

0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:55.200
<v Speaker 1>earth crash into the sun? No, Then you may have

0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:59.480
<v Speaker 1>more freedom than you have been realizing, so why not

0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:02.599
<v Speaker 1>use it. If you are hitting it out of the

0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.160
<v Speaker 1>park in your job, then your time really can be

0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:10.600
<v Speaker 1>your own. Little adventures can make life feel more fulfilling.

0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:13.600
<v Speaker 1>And if they are adventures that are easier to do

0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.600
<v Speaker 1>during the work day, well no need to write them

0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:22.520
<v Speaker 1>off just for that reason. In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:27.200
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:36.919
<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.839
<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:44.159
<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:49.039
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four, then

0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:52.520
<v Speaker 1>Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:56.320
<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot

0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:59.280
<v Speaker 1>com That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:01.960
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:10.880
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:14.040
<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart

0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.480
<v Speaker 1>Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:18.200
<v Speaker 1>favorite shows.