Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is that you might have more flexibility during
Speaker 1: the work day than you think, particularly if you're working
Speaker 1: from home more now than in the past. You might
Speaker 1: be able to have some little adventures and enjoy some
Speaker 1: real leisure during breaks, as long as the work gets done.
Speaker 1: How it gets done is largely up to you. Now.
Speaker 1: Some people get paid by the hour, in which case
Speaker 1: you need to work your contracted hours. Some people also
Speaker 1: have to do certain kinds of work in specific places.
Speaker 1: It's going to be hard to clean someone's teeth remotely
Speaker 1: awesome as that might be for people who don't like
Speaker 1: going to the dentist. However, a lot of work is
Speaker 1: far more fluid, particularly these days, and this is especially
Speaker 1: true now that many people are working from home more regularly,
Speaker 1: and as organizations are considering hybrid models of in office
Speaker 1: and remote work. One of the best things remote workers
Speaker 1: and managers can do is to get clear on the
Speaker 1: objectives for any given week. What would you like to
Speaker 1: say by Friday afternoon that you've done What would make
Speaker 1: for a challenging but doable week. People can propose these
Speaker 1: objectives to their managers, or managers can set them for
Speaker 1: people who need some guidance, but in either case, we
Speaker 1: should all know what success looks like once we know
Speaker 1: that though, there can be incredible freedom in the details.
Speaker 1: And that means that if you are on target for
Speaker 1: achieving your objectives, the exact hours don't matter so much. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that means that you can do a lot of things
Speaker 1: during the work day that you might not have considered before.
Speaker 1: Finish the day's objectives early and the weather is beautiful,
Speaker 1: take your kids to the pool at four pm when
Speaker 1: they get home from day camp. On track for everything,
Speaker 1: you could take a ninety minute lunch to go to
Speaker 1: a local museum that's only open from nine to two
Speaker 1: every day. If you need to make up the time,
Speaker 1: you could work until six instead of five, or for
Speaker 1: an hour at night after the kids go to bed.
Speaker 1: Maybe you could go to a less crowded during the
Speaker 1: day workout class, our run to the library or bookstore
Speaker 1: and enjoy browsing. You could start work a little early
Speaker 1: if you wanted to make up the time, or maybe
Speaker 1: you are so efficient that the longer breaks fit fine
Speaker 1: as they are when I have suggested using this time
Speaker 1: flexibility to people. Some have eagerly started planning one little
Speaker 1: adventure each week, just one, it can change everything, but
Speaker 1: others are more reticent to even try one per week.
Speaker 1: I've explored this reticence and seen a few reasons for it.
Speaker 1: One is that some people want an absolute strict separation
Speaker 1: between work and life. Work is nine to five, life
Speaker 1: is outside that never the twain shall meet. I do
Speaker 1: think folks are becoming a little bit less rigid about this,
Speaker 1: as we've experienced working from home during the pandemic, But
Speaker 1: it's still there. You have to know yourself. But I'd
Speaker 1: suggest that you might want to re examine this mindset.
Speaker 1: Where is this coming from. Sometimes people absolutely never want
Speaker 1: to do work after five pm, and I get that,
Speaker 1: but it's really not so terrible if you get a
Speaker 1: little bit more free time during the day. But sometimes
Speaker 1: I think it's that people have a deep seated fear
Speaker 1: that if their boss, say, saw them at the swimming
Speaker 1: pool at four pm, they might be fired. Okay, I guess,
Speaker 1: but you know what, if your boss is at the
Speaker 1: swimming pool at four pm, clearly she thinks there's some
Speaker 1: flexibility involved in work too. I think more often some
Speaker 1: people just feel so busy at work that they can't
Speaker 1: step away from their desks for even a few minutes.
Speaker 1: I understand the feeling, but I also think that sometimes
Speaker 1: we become wedded to the identity of being the crazy
Speaker 1: busy person. Look how much everyone needs us. We are
Speaker 1: martyrs to being needed. Going to an art museum for
Speaker 1: an hour during the day changes that narrative. And changing
Speaker 1: a narrative can be scary, but it can also be liberating.
Speaker 1: So try changing your story. Look at how powerful I
Speaker 1: am in control of my time. I'd also point out
Speaker 1: that getting away from your desk ocasionally can allow you
Speaker 1: to get some great ideas, and if you need ideas
Speaker 1: in your job that during the day, trip to a
Speaker 1: botanical garden might actually wind up being more productive than
Speaker 1: spending the equivalent amount of time deleting email. In any case,
Speaker 1: if you have never tried a little during the workday
Speaker 1: adventure and you have at least some flexibility in your job,
Speaker 1: I challenge you to try it at some point over
Speaker 1: the next week. Take at least an hour during a
Speaker 1: work day to do something you've figured you can't do
Speaker 1: because you have a nine to five job. If you
Speaker 1: don't have to clock in and out, there is no
Speaker 1: need to announce it. There's no need to figure out coverage.
Speaker 1: It is only sixty minutes. See how it goes. Did
Speaker 1: earth crash into the sun? No, Then you may have
Speaker 1: more freedom than you have been realizing, so why not
Speaker 1: use it. If you are hitting it out of the
Speaker 1: park in your job, then your time really can be
Speaker 1: your own. Little adventures can make life feel more fulfilling.
Speaker 1: And if they are adventures that are easier to do
Speaker 1: during the work day, well no need to write them
Speaker 1: off just for that reason. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four, then
Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
Speaker 1: com That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
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