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 create
Speaker 1: your own soundscape. When you're working remotely, you have the
Speaker 1: opportunity to control the soundtrack for your work, So take
Speaker 1: advantage of this opportunity to boost your productivity and mood.
Speaker 1: If sitcoms and comic strips or any indication, plenty of
Speaker 1: people find office sounds distracting, cracking knuckles, whispered phone arguments
Speaker 1: that were awkwardly audible, sniffles and stiezes. That's why when
Speaker 1: you're in an office, headphones are key. At home, though,
Speaker 1: you can consider more options. What do you like to
Speaker 1: hear when you're working Silence, white noise, the sound of
Speaker 1: the outdoors like singing birds or wind rustling through the trees. Music,
Speaker 1: and if so, what kind of music? Also notice what
Speaker 1: may be competing with your ideal soundtrack other people in
Speaker 1: your house, yard work or maintenance at your neighbor's houses, traffic,
Speaker 1: barking dogs, other outdoor sounds. Once you know what you
Speaker 1: want and what you want to block out, you can
Speaker 1: find the tools you need for starters. If nature sounds
Speaker 1: work for you and the weather is co operative, open
Speaker 1: your windows. If you prefer working in silence, you could
Speaker 1: try noise canceling headphones, though they're often pricy. A lower
Speaker 1: cost option is old fashioned disposable ear plugs. I like
Speaker 1: max Pillow soft earplugs. I wear them at night and
Speaker 1: they can work for work too. White noise apps can
Speaker 1: be great as well, either played directly from your computers
Speaker 1: or phone speakers or through headphones. Free White Noise dot
Speaker 1: Com and the app called Simply White Noise are worth trying.
Speaker 1: I also have a few stand alone white noise machines
Speaker 1: at my house. They help with letting babies nap regardless
Speaker 1: of household noise, and it turns out that they can
Speaker 1: help adults work regardless of household noise too. Try placing
Speaker 1: one by the door of your office so you can
Speaker 1: have it going even while you're on a call. An
Speaker 1: added bonus, a free standing machine muddles your sound so
Speaker 1: that other people in your home don't hear what you're saying.
Speaker 1: That's great for having private phone conversations when you need
Speaker 1: to and when kids can't hear your voice, they'll be
Speaker 1: less aware of your presence while you're trying to work.
Speaker 1: Lots of people love listening to music, but it needs
Speaker 1: to be the right kind of music. Take a week
Speaker 1: or so to experiment. You might like soaring movie soundtracks
Speaker 1: for writing, maybe Modzart and Handle for editing, or maybe
Speaker 1: a psych up playlist. Before you lead a team meeting,
Speaker 1: you could play music that sounds like a coffee shop
Speaker 1: in the background during a social conversation. If creating a
Speaker 1: playlist doesn't sound like fun to you, well, fortunately other
Speaker 1: people have done this work. Just try out a few
Speaker 1: Spotify work from home playlists until you find one you like.
Speaker 1: What's your ideal soundscape for working from home? You can
Speaker 1: let me know at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New
Speaker 1: Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your favorite shows.