1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:09,479 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: tip is to keep your work in perspective. Most stuff 4 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: is not a true emergency, and staying calm will make 5 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: work more sustainable. So I know that in many workplaces 6 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: these days there is a constant sense of emergency. Every 7 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,959 Speaker 1: deadline brings panic and a sprint to get things done. 8 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,919 Speaker 1: I know lots of places are short staffed and everyone's 9 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: trying to do more with less, but is it truly 10 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: an emergency. I know of a wise manager who reminds 11 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: her team when they are getting stressed out. You are 12 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: not first respect. Paramedics, EMTs, firefighters and police officers are 13 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: first responders when an emergency occurs. They do, in fact 14 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: drop everything and deal with it. But if your work 15 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: is not fighting fires, providing critical medical care, or stopping crimes, 16 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: then you are probably not dealing with a true emergency. 17 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: Now I'm not saying your work isn't important. It probably is, 18 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: but it's best to behave in line with the actual stakes. 19 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,919 Speaker 1: Keeping a sense of calm makes life more sustainable, helping 20 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: your workplace have fewer things that feel like emergencies can 21 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: also make life more sustainable for everyone around you, So 22 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: how do you do that? First, you don't have to 23 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: mirror everyone else's frenzy. Even if people around you are 24 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: canceling everything else and insisting they'll need to work all 25 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: weekend and such, that doesn't mean you automatically have to 26 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: do this. Do you have enough time to do your 27 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: part of your project before it's supposed to be done? 28 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: If so, awesome, someone else's panic doesn't need to be 29 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: your panic, and you don't need to augment theirs. Even 30 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: if you're not leading the team, you can work on 31 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: reducing the sense of emergency. For projects involving multiple people 32 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: and multiple steps help map out the schedule and when 33 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: each step needs to happen. It can help to make 34 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: the relationship between incremental steps and the finished product as 35 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: explicit as possible. For instance, you might say for the 36 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: report to be published by March first, the final text, 37 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: photos and graphics have to go to the graphic designer 38 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: by February fifteenth, so that the report can be sent 39 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:02,519 Speaker 1: to the printer February twenty second, Or for the mailing 40 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: to go out in Monday's mail, I'll need the spreadsheet 41 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: by close of business Thursday. You could even go on 42 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: to say, if I get the spreadsheet on Friday, we'll 43 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,959 Speaker 1: have to get the mailing out in tuesday's mail. That way, 44 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: your colleagues won't assume that if they run late, you 45 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: will be working all weekend to get back on schedule. 46 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: And to be clear, for the vast majority of things, 47 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: a mailing going out on Tuesday is really not that 48 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: different from one going out on Monday. The earth will 49 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: keep spinning, No buildings are going to burn down. Of course, 50 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: if your workplace is in a constant state of emergency, 51 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: communicating about timelines will only get you so far. You 52 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: may need to be prepared to deal with time crunches 53 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: that should have been avoidable but for whatever reason, are not. Fortunately, 54 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: there are still a few ways that you can insulate yourself. 55 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: For instance, you can build in as much buffer to 56 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: your schedule as you can, work ahead on projects where 57 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: you can, and don't overschedule yourself so there's always slack 58 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: in your schedule so you can get unexpected big tasks 59 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: done fast. If you know your colleagues and just realize 60 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: that every Monday you're going to be turning around a 61 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: big task that landed on your desk over the weekend. 62 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: You are going to be much happier than if you 63 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 1: get to your desk Monday morning expecting to accomplish something 64 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,160 Speaker 1: in particular and end up having to delay it until 65 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: you've dealt with the latest emergency. Just plan that there 66 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: will be an emergency. Dealing with so called emergencies also 67 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: requires knowing yourself. If you are energized by a tight 68 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: deadline for an important project, or if you tend to 69 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: get everything done at the last minute, you can just 70 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: try to make the most of that adrenaline rush. But 71 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: do try not to spread this to everyone else. Most 72 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 1: stuff will get done. Most unexpected complications aren't truly unexpected. 73 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: The vast majority of normal working stuff is not actually 74 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: an emergency. We are better off not taking it quite 75 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: so seriously. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, 76 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our times. Thanks 77 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 78 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 79 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 80 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:58,359 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio, app, 81 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, wherever you listen to your favorite shows.