WEBVTT - Designate fix-it times

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to designate fix it times to improve

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<v Speaker 1>operations and reduce wasted time and frustration at work and

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<v Speaker 1>at home. This tip comes from Kim Scott's book Radical Candor.

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<v Speaker 1>This book teaches readers how to be a great boss who,

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<v Speaker 1>as she puts it, cares personally about her team and

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<v Speaker 1>also challenges them directly. There are lots of helpful management tips,

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<v Speaker 1>but even if you're not leading a group, you can

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<v Speaker 1>use some of her ideas to make things better both

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<v Speaker 1>at work and at home. Designating a fix it time

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<v Speaker 1>is one of these ideas. Scott explains that engineering organizations

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<v Speaker 1>often have fixed it weeks, which she calls the equivalent

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<v Speaker 1>of spring cleaning. As she explained, means everyone will stop

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<v Speaker 1>working on new features for a week and fix bugs

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<v Speaker 1>in the current product. She contrasts fixed it weeks with

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<v Speaker 1>hack weeks, when the focus is on developing new ideas.

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<v Speaker 1>Fix it weeks provide a chance to fix old and

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<v Speaker 1>annoying problems that have been bothering people for months. If

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<v Speaker 1>you're like me, you can probably think of all kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of bugs at work and at home that you'd love

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<v Speaker 1>to eliminate. Maybe you want to set up your printer

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<v Speaker 1>to scan directly to email so that you don't need

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<v Speaker 1>to plug a flash drive into your printer every time

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<v Speaker 1>you want to turn a paper document into a PDF.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you want to create a launch pad by your

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<v Speaker 1>back door at home so you can stop feeling frazzled

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<v Speaker 1>every morning as you're looking for your keys or umbrella.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe that towel rack in your bathroom is threatening to

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<v Speaker 1>come loose from the wall and don't get me started

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<v Speaker 1>on random burned out lights, or that you find yourself

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<v Speaker 1>typing the same answers over and over again to people

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<v Speaker 1>who request a certain document. Keep a list of these

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<v Speaker 1>bugs things that consume time, drain your energy, or cause frustration.

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<v Speaker 1>This could be a document on your computer, a page

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<v Speaker 1>and a bullet journal, or just a list stuck to

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<v Speaker 1>your fridge anywhere that's convenient to see. If you lead

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<v Speaker 1>a team, ask your colleagues to keep a running list

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<v Speaker 1>of bugs. Ask your home team, that is, the people

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<v Speaker 1>who live with you or come to your house regularly,

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<v Speaker 1>to keep a list of bugs as well. Then designate

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<v Speaker 1>periodic fix it times ideally times when you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>too many other constraints. Maybe you're off for a holiday

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<v Speaker 1>but your kids aren't. That could be a great time

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<v Speaker 1>to eliminate some bugs at home. Or you can choose

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<v Speaker 1>a friday at work that you've intentionally kept clear to

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<v Speaker 1>deal with these problems. Yes, you could keep putting these

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<v Speaker 1>things off. There's no real harm caused by having to

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<v Speaker 1>use the memory stick on your printer, but it will

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<v Speaker 1>also feel really good to cross them off and not

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<v Speaker 1>be bothered by them ever again. Although Scott talks about

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<v Speaker 1>annual fix it weeks, you can experiment with the duration

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<v Speaker 1>and frequency of fix it times that work for you,

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<v Speaker 1>your team, and your family. One day per quarter might

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<v Speaker 1>be a good starting point. In any case, it's easy

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<v Speaker 1>to underestimate how much time we lose to the bugs

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<v Speaker 1>in our life and how much frustration we needlessly experience.

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<v Speaker 1>Fix It times can help us reclaim wasted time and energy,

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<v Speaker 1>which we can then use to progress toward our goals.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there bugs at work or at home that are

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<v Speaker 1>annoying you? If you try to fix it time, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear how it goes. You can reach me

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<v Speaker 1>before Breakfast podcast at I Heeart media dot com. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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