WEBVTT - This is not a real emergency

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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 keep your work in perspective. Most stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is not a true emergency, and staying calm will make

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<v Speaker 1>work more sustainable. So I know that in many workplaces

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<v Speaker 1>these days there is a constant sense of emergency. Every

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<v Speaker 1>deadline brings panic and a sprint to get things done.

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<v Speaker 1>I know lots of places are short staffed and everyone's

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<v Speaker 1>trying to do more with less, but is it truly

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<v Speaker 1>an emergency. I know of a wise manager who reminds

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<v Speaker 1>her team when they are getting stressed out. You are

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<v Speaker 1>not first respect. Paramedics, EMTs, firefighters and police officers are

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<v Speaker 1>first responders when an emergency occurs. They do, in fact

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<v Speaker 1>drop everything and deal with it. But if your work

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<v Speaker 1>is not fighting fires, providing critical medical care, or stopping crimes,

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<v Speaker 1>then you are probably not dealing with a true emergency.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I'm not saying your work isn't important. It probably is,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's best to behave in line with the actual stakes.

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<v Speaker 1>Keeping a sense of calm makes life more sustainable, helping

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<v Speaker 1>your workplace have fewer things that feel like emergencies can

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<v Speaker 1>also make life more sustainable for everyone around you, So

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<v Speaker 1>how do you do that? First, you don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>mirror everyone else's frenzy. Even if people around you are

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<v Speaker 1>canceling everything else and insisting they'll need to work all

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<v Speaker 1>weekend and such, that doesn't mean you automatically have to

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<v Speaker 1>do this. Do you have enough time to do your

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<v Speaker 1>part of your project before it's supposed to be done?

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<v Speaker 1>If so, awesome, someone else's panic doesn't need to be

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<v Speaker 1>your panic, and you don't need to augment theirs. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if you're not leading the team, you can work on

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<v Speaker 1>reducing the sense of emergency. For projects involving multiple people

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<v Speaker 1>and multiple steps help map out the schedule and when

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<v Speaker 1>each step needs to happen. It can help to make

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<v Speaker 1>the relationship between incremental steps and the finished product as

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<v Speaker 1>explicit as possible. For instance, you might say for the

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<v Speaker 1>report to be published by March first, the final text,

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<v Speaker 1>photos and graphics have to go to the graphic designer

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<v Speaker 1>by February fifteenth, so that the report can be sent

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<v Speaker 1>to the printer February twenty second, Or for the mailing

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<v Speaker 1>to go out in Monday's mail, I'll need the spreadsheet

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<v Speaker 1>by close of business Thursday. You could even go on

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<v Speaker 1>to say, if I get the spreadsheet on Friday, we'll

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<v Speaker 1>have to get the mailing out in tuesday's mail. That way,

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<v Speaker 1>your colleagues won't assume that if they run late, you

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<v Speaker 1>will be working all weekend to get back on schedule.

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<v Speaker 1>And to be clear, for the vast majority of things,

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<v Speaker 1>a mailing going out on Tuesday is really not that

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<v Speaker 1>different from one going out on Monday. The earth will

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<v Speaker 1>keep spinning, No buildings are going to burn down. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>if your workplace is in a constant state of emergency,

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<v Speaker 1>communicating about timelines will only get you so far. You

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<v Speaker 1>may need to be prepared to deal with time crunches

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<v Speaker 1>that should have been avoidable but for whatever reason, are not. Fortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>there are still a few ways that you can insulate yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, you can build in as much buffer to

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<v Speaker 1>your schedule as you can, work ahead on projects where

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<v Speaker 1>you can, and don't overschedule yourself so there's always slack

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<v Speaker 1>in your schedule so you can get unexpected big tasks

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<v Speaker 1>done fast. If you know your colleagues and just realize

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<v Speaker 1>that every Monday you're going to be turning around a

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<v Speaker 1>big task that landed on your desk over the weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>You are going to be much happier than if you

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<v Speaker 1>get to your desk Monday morning expecting to accomplish something

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<v Speaker 1>in particular and end up having to delay it until

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<v Speaker 1>you've dealt with the latest emergency. Just plan that there

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<v Speaker 1>will be an emergency. Dealing with so called emergencies also

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<v Speaker 1>requires knowing yourself. If you are energized by a tight

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<v Speaker 1>deadline for an important project, or if you tend to

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<v Speaker 1>get everything done at the last minute, you can just

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<v Speaker 1>try to make the most of that adrenaline rush. But

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<v Speaker 1>do try not to spread this to everyone else. Most

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<v Speaker 1>stuff will get done. Most unexpected complications aren't truly unexpected.

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<v Speaker 1>The vast majority of normal working stuff is not actually

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<v Speaker 1>an emergency. We are better off not taking it quite

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<v Speaker 1>so seriously. 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 times. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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