1 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office, 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,319 Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the 3 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: new world of work or location and hours are more 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to work 5 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: before the house is up. By waking up early, you 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 1: can get in a couple of hours of work before 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: the demands on your attention begin. If you're aiming to 8 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,599 Speaker 1: maintain a forty hour work week these days, it can 9 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: be hard to do that between the hours of nine 10 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: and five. This is particularly true if you have little 11 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,919 Speaker 1: kids at home and no childcare. But even if your 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: home is a place of library like calm, the constant 13 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: ping of emails, texts, and slack notifications can get in 14 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: the way of deep work. You want to be responsive, 15 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: and you don't want to be a bottleneck, but still 16 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: you've got stuff you need to do. Early morning hours 17 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: can give you an opportunity to concentrate on important projects 18 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: while your colleagues are still snoozing, or at least while 19 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,759 Speaker 1: you can unapologetically silence your notifications before the standard work 20 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,559 Speaker 1: day begins and before other family members get up. Time 21 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 1: is full of yours. You're not accountable to anyone, so 22 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,279 Speaker 1: you can make progress on work that requires focus. Getting 23 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: stuff done is always good, But I find that getting 24 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: stuff done early has two spillover benefits. First, you may 25 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: find that when you've established momentum on important projects in 26 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: the morning, you're able to pick them back up in 27 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,279 Speaker 1: little chunks of time. If you're not working on anything 28 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: in particular, then fifteen minutes between calls or when the 29 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: kids are playing independently, it's just enough time to check 30 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: the news or delete a few emails. But if you 31 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: have something important in process, you can return to it 32 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: and use that same chunk of time to tie up 33 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: a small loose thread, like recording the video you wrote 34 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: the script for this morning. Establishing momentum early in the 35 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: day means you get more substantive work done throughout the day. Second, 36 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: I find that if I've completed my most important project 37 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: in the morning, I'm more relaxed about the inevitable distractions 38 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: that come up later. What does it matter if I'm 39 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: on a pointless call, if I've already recorded my podcasts 40 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: for the week, well, probably it's still wise to get 41 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: rid of pointless calls. But if I've already accomplished my 42 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: most important task. Anything more I do is gravy. I'm 43 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: not the only person to discover this. Many of the 44 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: leaders I studied for my book What the Most Successful 45 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: People Do Before Breakfast spent the early morning hours pursuing 46 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: their top professional, personal, and relationship priorities. Then they were 47 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: available for responding to and supporting other people's priorities later 48 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: in the day. So how do you seize the early 49 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: morning power hours? Start the night before, identify the most 50 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: pressing work requiring concentration, and prepare yourself to dive right 51 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: in first thing tomorrow morning. Gather any documents or resources 52 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: you need to develop a vision of what you need 53 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: to do. Get clarity on any questions you have by 54 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: connecting with your boss or colleagues, and go to bed 55 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: early enough that you'll be able to function at the 56 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: appointed time. So, if you're planning to work from five 57 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: thirty to eight am tomorrow morning, you probably need to 58 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,079 Speaker 1: have your head on the pillow by ten tonight. Get 59 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: up when your alarm goes off, Resist the temptation to 60 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: hit snooze, grab a cup of coffee, and go directly 61 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: to work. Do not go online, Do not check email. 62 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: This is your time, so make the most of it. 63 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: After your morning shift ends, attend Danny family responsibilities, Shower 64 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: and get dressed, have breakfast, and start work with a 65 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: sense of accomplishment and momentum from what you've already done. 66 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: What a great way to begin the day. What do 67 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: you do in the early morning hours to pave the 68 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: way for success? You can let me know at Laura 69 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 70 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding in the New 71 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: Corner Office. The New Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio. 72 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 73 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: wherever you get your favorite shows.