WEBVTT - The New Corner Office: Work before the house is up

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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<v Speaker 1>new world of work or location and hours are more

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<v Speaker 1>flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to work

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<v Speaker 1>before the house is up. By waking up early, you

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<v Speaker 1>can get in a couple of hours of work before

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<v Speaker 1>the demands on your attention begin. If you're aiming to

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<v Speaker 1>maintain a forty hour work week these days, it can

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<v Speaker 1>be hard to do that between the hours of nine

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<v Speaker 1>and five. This is particularly true if you have little

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<v Speaker 1>kids at home and no childcare. But even if your

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<v Speaker 1>home is a place of library like calm, the constant

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<v Speaker 1>ping of emails, texts, and slack notifications can get in

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<v Speaker 1>the way of deep work. You want to be responsive,

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<v Speaker 1>and you don't want to be a bottleneck, but still

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<v Speaker 1>you've got stuff you need to do. Early morning hours

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<v Speaker 1>can give you an opportunity to concentrate on important projects

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<v Speaker 1>while your colleagues are still snoozing, or at least while

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<v Speaker 1>you can unapologetically silence your notifications before the standard work

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<v Speaker 1>day begins and before other family members get up. Time

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<v Speaker 1>is full of yours. You're not accountable to anyone, so

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<v Speaker 1>you can make progress on work that requires focus. Getting

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<v Speaker 1>stuff done is always good, But I find that getting

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<v Speaker 1>stuff done early has two spillover benefits. First, you may

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<v Speaker 1>find that when you've established momentum on important projects in

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<v Speaker 1>the morning, you're able to pick them back up in

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<v Speaker 1>little chunks of time. If you're not working on anything

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<v Speaker 1>in particular, then fifteen minutes between calls or when the

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<v Speaker 1>kids are playing independently, it's just enough time to check

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<v Speaker 1>the news or delete a few emails. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>have something important in process, you can return to it

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<v Speaker 1>and use that same chunk of time to tie up

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<v Speaker 1>a small loose thread, like recording the video you wrote

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<v Speaker 1>the script for this morning. Establishing momentum early in the

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<v Speaker 1>day means you get more substantive work done throughout the day. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>I find that if I've completed my most important project

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<v Speaker 1>in the morning, I'm more relaxed about the inevitable distractions

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<v Speaker 1>that come up later. What does it matter if I'm

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<v Speaker 1>on a pointless call, if I've already recorded my podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>for the week, well, probably it's still wise to get

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<v Speaker 1>rid of pointless calls. But if I've already accomplished my

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<v Speaker 1>most important task. Anything more I do is gravy. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not the only person to discover this. Many of the

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<v Speaker 1>leaders I studied for my book What the Most Successful

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<v Speaker 1>People Do Before Breakfast spent the early morning hours pursuing

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<v Speaker 1>their top professional, personal, and relationship priorities. Then they were

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<v Speaker 1>available for responding to and supporting other people's priorities later

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<v Speaker 1>in the day. So how do you seize the early

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<v Speaker 1>morning power hours? Start the night before, identify the most

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<v Speaker 1>pressing work requiring concentration, and prepare yourself to dive right

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<v Speaker 1>in first thing tomorrow morning. Gather any documents or resources

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<v Speaker 1>you need to develop a vision of what you need

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<v Speaker 1>to do. Get clarity on any questions you have by

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<v Speaker 1>connecting with your boss or colleagues, and go to bed

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<v Speaker 1>early enough that you'll be able to function at the

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<v Speaker 1>appointed time. So, if you're planning to work from five

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<v Speaker 1>thirty to eight am tomorrow morning, you probably need to

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<v Speaker 1>have your head on the pillow by ten tonight. Get

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<v Speaker 1>up when your alarm goes off, Resist the temptation to

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<v Speaker 1>hit snooze, grab a cup of coffee, and go directly

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<v Speaker 1>to work. Do not go online, Do not check email.

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<v Speaker 1>This is your time, so make the most of it.

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<v Speaker 1>After your morning shift ends, attend Danny family responsibilities, Shower

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<v Speaker 1>and get dressed, have breakfast, and start work with a

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<v Speaker 1>sense of accomplishment and momentum from what you've already done.

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<v Speaker 1>What a great way to begin the day. What do

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<v Speaker 1>you do in the early morning hours to pave the

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<v Speaker 1>way for success? You can let me know at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding in the New

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<v Speaker 1>Corner Office. The New Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you get your favorite shows.