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Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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Speaker 1: new world of work, where the location and ours are

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Speaker 1: more flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to

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Speaker 1: have a project outside of work, or, as the kids

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Speaker 1: like to tell us, to get a life. Work goes

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Speaker 1: better and it is less stressful when we do something

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Speaker 1: besides work for part of the day. For those who

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Speaker 1: are parents as well as professionals, and outlet beyond work

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Speaker 1: and family can make us feel like whole, happier people.

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Speaker 1: Hobbies and projects outside of work also keep us balanced

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Speaker 1: and interesting. This is especially true if you have the

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Speaker 1: sort of job that lacks a hard stop or start,

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Speaker 1: and where work can quickly bleed into all available hours.

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Speaker 1: I first discovered the wisdom of having projects outside of

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Speaker 1: work back when I was twenty three years old and

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Speaker 1: first started working from home full time. My roommate back

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Speaker 1: then disappeared for a month long work trip, and I

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Speaker 1: soon realized that there was nothing to keep the days

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Speaker 1: from blending into each other. This was before the days

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Speaker 1: of video conferencing. I'm pretty sure I still had a

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Speaker 1: dial up internet connection there for a while. So there

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Speaker 1: was no reason to get dressed. I also had the

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Speaker 1: disconcerting thought that without any formal, time specific commitments, my

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Speaker 1: friends might not notice if anything happened to me for

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Speaker 1: a while. So, since I've always loved singing, I auditioned

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Speaker 1: for and joined three choirs. Soon enough. On Monday's, Tuesdays

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Speaker 1: and Thursdays I had summer, I was supposed to be

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Speaker 1: around seven pm. This meant I had to quit work

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Speaker 1: around six or six fifteen to get ready and traveled

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Speaker 1: to rehearsals. That quitting time provided a lot of structure

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Speaker 1: to my weeks, and it made me more efficient. If

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Speaker 1: I knew i'd just work or half work and half

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Speaker 1: served the web until ten pm, there was no reason

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Speaker 1: to get going on anything. Knowing that anything do the

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Speaker 1: next day had to be done by six pm made

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Speaker 1: me a lot more focused. Since then, I've recommended coming

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Speaker 1: up with a non work evening commitment to all sorts

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Speaker 1: of folks who work from home. People who have kids

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Speaker 1: might naturally have a stopping point to their days, at

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Speaker 1: least in normal times you have to pick up the

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Speaker 1: kids at daycare or send your sitter home, But people

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Speaker 1: without these constraints need to come up with something else,

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Speaker 1: and so joining a softball team or volunteering at a

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Speaker 1: food bank once a week might serve the same function.

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Speaker 1: These commitments give you a reason to clock out and

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Speaker 1: have an engaging life outside of work. Of course, these days,

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Speaker 1: many activities are on a hiatus. That's six thirty pm

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Speaker 1: spin class or an eight pm book club or five

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Speaker 1: thirty pm volunteer shift at the library. Can no longer

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Speaker 1: tell you if it's time to stop work, so we

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Speaker 1: have to set our own rhythms for pursuing projects. Maybe

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Speaker 1: you remind yourself six p m. Is when I go

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Speaker 1: for a walk, or six pm is when I start

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Speaker 1: my daily project of cooking through the joy of cooking.

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Speaker 1: In warmer parts of the US, now is a great

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Speaker 1: time of year to plant a little garden, So maybe

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Speaker 1: you'll want to clock out early enough to get a

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Speaker 1: good chunk of time in your garden before sunset. Maybe

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Speaker 1: you can pick up a craft you used to enjoy,

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Speaker 1: or read all the works of George Elliott. Whatever your

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Speaker 1: particular interests, you'll be happier and more productive if you

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Speaker 1: do something besides work and worry. When you get a life,

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Speaker 1: you enjoy life more if you're working from home. What

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Speaker 1: lets you know when it's time to end your work day.

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Speaker 1: Do you have a project that makes your days richer

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Speaker 1: and more rewarding. I'd love to hear about it. You

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Speaker 1: can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkim dot com.

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Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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Speaker 1: here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New

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Speaker 1: Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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Speaker 1: more podcasts, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you get your favorite shows. H