WEBVTT - Make yourself replaceable

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make yourself replaceable. When other people can

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<v Speaker 1>do what you do, you have the freedom to do

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<v Speaker 1>other things, at least for a little while. Today's tip

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<v Speaker 1>comes partly from Jenny Blake's book Free Time. Jenny writes

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<v Speaker 1>about how to lose the busy work and love your business.

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<v Speaker 1>Many small business owners work incredibly long hours because they

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<v Speaker 1>need to do everything. It can be a recipe for burnout.

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<v Speaker 1>Even people in big businesses can wind up taking on

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<v Speaker 1>a lot when no one else knows exactly what they do.

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<v Speaker 1>A simple long weekend becomes problematic because long term projects

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<v Speaker 1>grind to a halt when the person isn't there. I'd

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<v Speaker 1>add that we can feel this way about our home

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<v Speaker 1>lives as well. If you do everything and no one

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<v Speaker 1>else seems to know how to do anything, you feel trapped.

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<v Speaker 1>You can't take a break because everything falls apart. You

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<v Speaker 1>get more and more exhausted. So Jennie Blake recommends thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about the Fiji test. The idea is that if any

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<v Speaker 1>team member were to get whisked off to a three

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<v Speaker 1>week surprise vacation in Fiji, with no devices and no

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<v Speaker 1>ability to give notice. Could the rest of the team

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<v Speaker 1>seamlessly step in and take over the role. My guess

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<v Speaker 1>is that for many of us the answer is no,

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<v Speaker 1>and we might not worry about this too much because

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<v Speaker 1>no fairy godmother is going to whisk us to Fiji,

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<v Speaker 1>and yet we might encounter various less lovely situations than

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<v Speaker 1>the Fiji test. We are mortal, and any of us

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<v Speaker 1>could wind up in the hospital for weeks or worse.

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<v Speaker 1>So Jenny recommends that each person works toward making themselves

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<v Speaker 1>replaceable every day. One of the best ways to do

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<v Speaker 1>this is to document common processes, get granular on the

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<v Speaker 1>steps so that someone else reasonably competent could step in

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<v Speaker 1>and do them. Then you might figure out who else

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<v Speaker 1>could do this stepping in on various rolls. Sometimes this

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<v Speaker 1>is obvious. For my Best of Both Worlds podcast. When

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<v Speaker 1>I am out of commission, my co host Sarah can

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<v Speaker 1>do everything about the show start to finish on her own,

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<v Speaker 1>as can I if she is unavailable. It's a little

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<v Speaker 1>trickier for something like a solo show before breakfast, though.

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<v Speaker 1>One way to make yourself replaceable is to work ahead.

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<v Speaker 1>I record about three weeks ahead of time, so if

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<v Speaker 1>I were whisked off to Fiji, you wouldn't know about

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<v Speaker 1>it until I got back. If you work closely with people,

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<v Speaker 1>you want to make sure that people are empowered to

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<v Speaker 1>make decisions about smaller things that do not truly require

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<v Speaker 1>your input. Likewise, you should get to know what they

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<v Speaker 1>do so you can make some small decisions as well.

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<v Speaker 1>What is true for work is also true on the

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<v Speaker 1>home front. If you were suddenly unable to do any

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<v Speaker 1>of your home responsibilities and you live with other people,

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<v Speaker 1>would things still work. Perhaps there are some efficiencies gained

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<v Speaker 1>by one partner mostly knowing how the home routine works

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<v Speaker 1>and one partner concentrating their efforts in the workplace. But

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<v Speaker 1>when mom gets sick, oh boy, both parties should know

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<v Speaker 1>enough that the other party could travel somewhere and the

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<v Speaker 1>kids would still get to school, get fed, get bathed,

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<v Speaker 1>and so forth. This is all common sense, and yet

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<v Speaker 1>many of us resist it. We resist learning our colleagues

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<v Speaker 1>or partner's tasks because we're busy, or we resist teaching

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<v Speaker 1>other people what we do because sometimes it can feel

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<v Speaker 1>like a source of power. You are the one the

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<v Speaker 1>client wants to talk to and that feels good, except

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<v Speaker 1>you are going to be the one the client wants

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<v Speaker 1>to talk to even when you're on the beach in Fiji.

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<v Speaker 1>That is more of an issue. And even if you

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<v Speaker 1>never plan to go to Fiji, you could be the

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<v Speaker 1>one the client wants to talk with while you are

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<v Speaker 1>in the ICU and that would be a big problem.

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<v Speaker 1>So aim to make yourself replaceable. I mean, you aren't

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<v Speaker 1>really replaceable in terms of being a unique human being.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone is, but it is a gift to those around

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<v Speaker 1>us to have our homes and businesses function even when

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<v Speaker 1>we aren't there. This takes time, but it is well

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<v Speaker 1>worth doing in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in Touch Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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<v Speaker 1>favorite shows.