WEBVTT - Second Cup: Try some work puttering time

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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 to try some work puttering time. If

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<v Speaker 1>you have open space in your work schedule and nothing

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<v Speaker 1>immediately pressing, try not setting a goal and not relying

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<v Speaker 1>on your usual time killers. You just might come up

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<v Speaker 1>with some interesting things to pursue. I know that on

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<v Speaker 1>many work days it feels like every minute and more

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<v Speaker 1>is spoken for. But maybe you have a week where

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<v Speaker 1>you've just knocked it out of the park up until Wednesday.

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<v Speaker 1>You've finished all your top priority work and even gotten

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<v Speaker 1>a bit ahead of things. You have a few hours

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<v Speaker 1>around your normal Thursday and Friday commitments. Now what Oftentimes

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<v Speaker 1>people wind up feeling almost unproductive in this open space.

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<v Speaker 1>You are not going to solve the world's problems in

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<v Speaker 1>a few hours, or even rework your business model, or

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<v Speaker 1>hire new employees or anything big like that. Often people

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<v Speaker 1>just delve into their inboxes and try to make a

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<v Speaker 1>dent there. But since email expands to fill the available space,

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<v Speaker 1>this can feel even more like a waste of time. See,

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<v Speaker 1>you might want to consider another option, which is what

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<v Speaker 1>I call work puttering. If you think about puttering. It

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<v Speaker 1>is usually in a home context. People putter around the yard,

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<v Speaker 1>doing a little weeding here, a little pruning there, moving

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<v Speaker 1>something in the garden and then moving it back. People

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<v Speaker 1>putter around the house too, picking up a room and

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<v Speaker 1>then seeing if maybe that end table would look better

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<v Speaker 1>in another spot. It's not particularly intentional. It's more experimental,

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<v Speaker 1>just seeing what works and what doesn't. We can do

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<v Speaker 1>this at work too, if you've got some open space,

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<v Speaker 1>see what you're thinking about, See what catches your attention,

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<v Speaker 1>See what you think you'd like to spend more time on,

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<v Speaker 1>See who you think about. I interviewed someone recently who

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<v Speaker 1>did some of this work puttering on a Friday, and

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<v Speaker 1>in that open space, she came up with an idea

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<v Speaker 1>for someone who would be good to interview for her

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<v Speaker 1>organization's podcast. It was a slightly out of the box idea,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was a good one. Or maybe you actually

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<v Speaker 1>read that article you've been saving in your inbox. You

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<v Speaker 1>could read it all the way to the end. You

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<v Speaker 1>could follow a thread looking up a new bit of

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<v Speaker 1>information once you read that article and mull over all

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<v Speaker 1>of it like a gardener pondering if she needs some

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<v Speaker 1>more impatience or petunias. The idea is to have some

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<v Speaker 1>time where there is no intended outcome. Now, don't get

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<v Speaker 1>me wrong, it is good to be intentional about time,

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<v Speaker 1>but that means having some time where we pursue things

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<v Speaker 1>a bit randomly. Not only do we occasionally get good

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<v Speaker 1>ideas or have people bubble up to the top of

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<v Speaker 1>our minds. This can make us feel like time is

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<v Speaker 1>more abundant. We have space. It feels a little more open.

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<v Speaker 1>So why not try some work puttering time. Much of

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<v Speaker 1>time should be directed so we get done what we

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<v Speaker 1>need to get done in a reasonable number of hours.

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<v Speaker 1>But a little puttering time can make it all feel

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<v Speaker 1>more sustainable, so it's worth seeking out in the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pop that's B the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

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