WEBVTT - Give yourself some longer days

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

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<v Speaker 2>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 2>tip is to give yourself some longer workdays, particularly if

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<v Speaker 2>you work flexibly and are responsible for kids or other

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<v Speaker 2>tasks on the home front. You want some days when

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<v Speaker 2>you don't have such a hard stop. In this extra time,

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<v Speaker 2>you'll do a little speculative work, or maybe think ahead,

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<v Speaker 2>or do the work that makes you feel more on

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<v Speaker 2>top of things. All of this can make life feel

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<v Speaker 2>a little more calm. So one of the sharpest life

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<v Speaker 2>transitions with parenthood, I mean, at least for some of us,

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<v Speaker 2>comes at the end of the workday. Pre kids, if

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<v Speaker 2>you needed extra time to wrap something up, you might.

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<v Speaker 1>Have just done it. But for those trying to make

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<v Speaker 1>a daycare pickup where you are charged by the minute

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<v Speaker 1>if you are late, there is a hard stop at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the day. Even if you have another

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<v Speaker 1>childcare arrangement like a nanny, this person no doubt has

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<v Speaker 1>a time that they are expecting to leave, and you

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<v Speaker 1>would probably like to see your kids before bed. This

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<v Speaker 1>means that the end of the workday features a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of awareness of the clock, and this isn't a bad thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Lots of people become way more efficient and effective when

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<v Speaker 1>they are accountable for their time. But sometimes it is

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<v Speaker 1>nice to feel a little more relaxed about the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the day. This is particularly true if you work

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<v Speaker 1>flexibly and wind up spending late afternoons going in and

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<v Speaker 1>out of work as you are driving to kid activities

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<v Speaker 1>and such. None of this is either or you can

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<v Speaker 1>choose to be present some afternoon yanes and not on

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<v Speaker 1>a few others. I like to think of having one

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<v Speaker 1>longer work day every week or so. If you are

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<v Speaker 1>normally doing daycare pickup or school pickup, maybe your partner

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<v Speaker 1>can take one to two days a week. If that

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<v Speaker 1>is not an option, maybe you can hire a sitter

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<v Speaker 1>for an evening one day a week, or trade off

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<v Speaker 1>with a friend or neighbor. Both of you get an

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<v Speaker 1>evening where you can be a little more relaxed about

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<v Speaker 1>work time. In my case, we often have a night

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<v Speaker 1>or two a week where the five year old is

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<v Speaker 1>out at activities that I don't have to drive him to.

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<v Speaker 1>That means my workday can extend right up until dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>which is often as late as I want to work Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>in that five to six thirty pm window. I do

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<v Speaker 1>the extra work that doesn't have to be done urgently,

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<v Speaker 1>but that I do want to get done. I feel

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<v Speaker 1>much more on top of things by giving myself this

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<v Speaker 1>extra space. Now to be show. This language of giving

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<v Speaker 1>yourself some longer days might sound silly to some people

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<v Speaker 1>if your manager is forcing you to work late every night,

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<v Speaker 1>this is a different matter entirely. If you are not

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<v Speaker 1>in charge of little people in the evenings, and you

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<v Speaker 1>often do half work and half not work into the

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<v Speaker 1>wee hours, you might actually benefit by giving yourself a

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<v Speaker 1>hard stop at least a few days a week. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you are like a lot of people who listen

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<v Speaker 1>to this show, and by default you would have a

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<v Speaker 1>hard stop every work day, consider if you might feel

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<v Speaker 1>better about work if you gave yourself enough space to

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<v Speaker 1>really think and plan and try things out. You don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to work around the clock to make that happen.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes just giving yourself one longer day a week can

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<v Speaker 1>be enough. I think that is real work life balance.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't always mean working less in the meantime. This

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

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Thanks for listening. To Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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