WEBVTT - Second Cup: Keep a Good Time journal

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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 use a journal to identify the

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<v Speaker 1>aspects of your work you find energizing and engaging and

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<v Speaker 1>those you don't. Once you know this, you can arrange

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<v Speaker 1>your life to do more of the work you love.

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<v Speaker 1>This tip, like others we've talked about before on Before Breakfast,

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<v Speaker 1>comes from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans book Designing Your Life.

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<v Speaker 1>This book shows how to use design principles to create

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<v Speaker 1>a life that works for you. Long time listeners know

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<v Speaker 1>that I am a big believer in tracking your time.

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<v Speaker 1>We learn a lot by seeing where the time really goes.

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<v Speaker 1>Collecting the data allows us to adjust our schedules and

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<v Speaker 1>routines to spend our time better. Burnett and Evans proposed

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<v Speaker 1>keeping something called a good Time journal to help you

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<v Speaker 1>do something very similar. Here's how it works. Jot down

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<v Speaker 1>your activities at the end of each work day, staff meeting,

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<v Speaker 1>client lunch, preparing for a presentation, and so forth. Note

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<v Speaker 1>how engaged you were during each activity and whether you

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<v Speaker 1>felt energized or drained afterwards. If you're tracking your time

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<v Speaker 1>on a spreadsheet as I do, you could create an

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<v Speaker 1>additional column for engagement level and energy level or next

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<v Speaker 1>to the activity just right h M or L to

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<v Speaker 1>signify if your engagement was high, moderate, or low, and

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<v Speaker 1>then energy can get a plus or minus, kind of

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<v Speaker 1>like a battery going up or down. Burnett and Evans

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<v Speaker 1>proposed keeping a good time journal for at least three

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<v Speaker 1>weeks and reviewing your journal and reflecting on what you

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<v Speaker 1>learn at the end of each week. When were you

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<v Speaker 1>engaged or in a state of flow, What activities left

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<v Speaker 1>you energize and which left you drained? What patterns do

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<v Speaker 1>you see? What you learned may surprise you. Burnett and

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<v Speaker 1>Evans describe an engineer who was bored and restless in

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<v Speaker 1>his job. His good time journal revealed that he actually

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<v Speaker 1>loved engineering, He just didn't thrive on the inner personal

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<v Speaker 1>interactions that came with it, like writing proposals for new

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<v Speaker 1>work or negotiating fees. When you know this about yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>you can figure out ways to minimize or contain the

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<v Speaker 1>draining work, or even how to swap it with a

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<v Speaker 1>colleague who loves whatever you don't. As you look at

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<v Speaker 1>your own good time journal, if you're having trouble identifying

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<v Speaker 1>patterns in your engagement and energy, Burnett and Evans suggest

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<v Speaker 1>using the A E I O U framework developed by

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<v Speaker 1>Dave pet Nayak. As you examine your journal, consider these factors.

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<v Speaker 1>The activities that's A. What were you doing? What was

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<v Speaker 1>your role? The environments that's e. Where were you How

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<v Speaker 1>did you feel in this place? Was it quiet or loud,

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<v Speaker 1>calm or stimulating? Indoors or outdoors? Consider the interactions I

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<v Speaker 1>Were you working with other people or objects, words, numbers,

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<v Speaker 1>or ideas. Was the interaction formal or informal, routine or new?

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<v Speaker 1>And what about the objects that's oh, what were you

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<v Speaker 1>working with and what tools did you use? And finally,

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<v Speaker 1>the users that's you were other people around? How did

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<v Speaker 1>they make the activity more or less pleasant for you?

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<v Speaker 1>Oftentimes the context of our work is just as important

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<v Speaker 1>as the actual task in influencing our engagement and energy.

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<v Speaker 1>I love working on the train, but only if I'm

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<v Speaker 1>in the Amtrak quiet car. If I'm somewhere else on

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<v Speaker 1>the train and somebody starts talking into their cell phone,

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<v Speaker 1>I pretty much want to jump off the train. Something

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<v Speaker 1>I'd find fun to write becomes tedious, and it's very hard.

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<v Speaker 1>To stay engaged. But because I know that well, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>careful where I sit. Of course, just because something is

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<v Speaker 1>draining to you personally doesn't mean you get out of it.

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<v Speaker 1>For activities that are essential but that you find draining,

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<v Speaker 1>Burnett and Evans advised making sure you have any of

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<v Speaker 1>energy going into them. So if big meetings leave you

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<v Speaker 1>feelings spent, do something engaging and energizing beforehand. Maybe that's

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<v Speaker 1>a one on one with a direct report. You especially

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy mentoring or studying the performance data from the last quarter.

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<v Speaker 1>We can't always eliminate the parts of our work we

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<v Speaker 1>don't love, but thinking about when they occur and what

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<v Speaker 1>else we're doing before or after can be helpful for

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<v Speaker 1>managing our energy and engagement. Burnett and Evans advice, follow

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<v Speaker 1>the joy. Follow what engages and excites you, what brings

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<v Speaker 1>you alive. A good time journal can be a great

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<v Speaker 1>tool for finding that joy so you can pursue more

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<v Speaker 1>of it. If you try keeping a good time journal,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear how it goes. You can email

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<v Speaker 1>me at Before Breakfast podcast at ihart media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. M 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>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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