1
00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

2
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:16,080
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

3
00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,160
Speaker 1: tip is to figure out what part of your job

4
00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:24,000
Speaker 1: you like the most. Then you can seek out opportunities

5
00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,800
Speaker 1: for more of that work and savor that work when

6
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,480
Speaker 1: you have the occasion to do it. In my forthcoming book,

7
00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,240
Speaker 1: which is currently called Big Time, I offer some practical

8
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,560
Speaker 1: strategies for making workdays better. We spend a big chunk

9
00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,040
Speaker 1: of our time at work, so it pays to do

10
00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,280
Speaker 1: what we can to maximize our enjoyment. One strategy for

11
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,800
Speaker 1: creating better work days is to spend more time on

12
00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:55,080
Speaker 1: your favorite work. You'll enjoy the time itself, and since

13
00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,600
Speaker 1: we tend to enjoy what we are especially good at,

14
00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,640
Speaker 1: spending more time on your favorite work may lead to

15
00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,960
Speaker 1: your having a bigger impact at your workplace, too, So

16
00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,399
Speaker 1: think about what your favorite work might be. If you're

17
00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,800
Speaker 1: a teacher, you might realize that your favorite part of

18
00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:16,000
Speaker 1: your job is lesson planning. A communications director might love

19
00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,880
Speaker 1: pitching locally tailored stories to local media outlets. A mid

20
00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,760
Speaker 1: level manager might value one on one time with direct reports.

21
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,520
Speaker 1: A good reason to identify what you love is that

22
00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,120
Speaker 1: when you know what this is, you can consciously aim

23
00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,840
Speaker 1: to replace work you don't like with work you do.

24
00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,640
Speaker 1: For instance, that mid level manager who loves one on

25
00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,919
Speaker 1: ones might realize he can spend less time on email

26
00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,880
Speaker 1: by having reasonably frequent live check ins. The teacher who

27
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,480
Speaker 1: enjoys lesson planning might be able to do most of

28
00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,880
Speaker 1: the lesson planning for the third grade team, while another

29
00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,640
Speaker 1: third grade teacher who prefers assessing student writing does more

30
00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,960
Speaker 1: of that. When you know what your favorite work is,

31
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,520
Speaker 1: you will also start noticing when you get to do it.

32
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,640
Speaker 1: If you love editing and your boss asks you to

33
00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:13,120
Speaker 1: edit a major client document, you'll be excited. You won't

34
00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:14,919
Speaker 1: think of it as just one more thing to do.

35
00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,280
Speaker 1: You'll realize you get to do something you like and

36
00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,240
Speaker 1: are good at for a high profile project. That is awesome.

37
00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,440
Speaker 1: Of course, you may not know what your favorite work is.

38
00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,560
Speaker 1: If that's you, you are not alone. A lot of

39
00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,720
Speaker 1: participants in my Better Workday challenge were in the same boat.

40
00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,760
Speaker 1: But if you really pay attention to how you spend

41
00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,200
Speaker 1: your time and how you feel over the next few weeks,

42
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,320
Speaker 1: my guess is you'll be able to figure it out.

43
00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,440
Speaker 1: Notice what you're looking forward to. Notice what makes you

44
00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,040
Speaker 1: happy when you see it on your schedule. Notice those

45
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,480
Speaker 1: moments when you don't watch the clock. Think about what

46
00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,959
Speaker 1: drew you to your job in the first place. Reflect

47
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,600
Speaker 1: on what you are a specially good at and the

48
00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:06,000
Speaker 1: accomplishments you are most proud of. Consider what kinds of

49
00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,480
Speaker 1: work tend to lead to a state of flow. Make

50
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,400
Speaker 1: a list of all of these, and then think about

51
00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,000
Speaker 1: which of these things you would do first if you

52
00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,920
Speaker 1: had an open work day and free reign to do

53
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,760
Speaker 1: what you'd like. That is a good clue to where

54
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,680
Speaker 1: your zone of genius might be. Once you have figured

55
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,560
Speaker 1: out what your favorite work is, you simply aim to

56
00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,640
Speaker 1: do more of it when you can. One smart idea

57
00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,720
Speaker 1: is to mention how much you like this work to

58
00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,400
Speaker 1: your manager. A manager who has any sort of people

59
00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:40,040
Speaker 1: skills will consider assigning you more of that work when

60
00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:44,200
Speaker 1: she can tell your colleagues. You want people to say, Oh,

61
00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,320
Speaker 1: you should definitely put Joe on the team to plan

62
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,920
Speaker 1: our department events. He loves that. When you have the

63
00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,040
Speaker 1: opportunity to do your favorite work, make a point of

64
00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,640
Speaker 1: savoring it. Know that this is likely what you do

65
00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:02,360
Speaker 1: well and enjoy knocking it out the park. If you

66
00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,520
Speaker 1: are a manager, you can, of course figure out your

67
00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,400
Speaker 1: own favorite work, but be sure to ask your direct

68
00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,240
Speaker 1: reports what their favorite work is too. If they're not sure,

69
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,800
Speaker 1: work with them to figure it out. Once you know

70
00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,000
Speaker 1: what work they enjoy the most, you can keep them

71
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,560
Speaker 1: in mind for those assignments. If job functions on your

72
00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,400
Speaker 1: team are constantly shifting, knowing who likes to do what

73
00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,919
Speaker 1: can help you make adjustments that play to people's strengths.

74
00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:32,080
Speaker 1: Prompting staff to reflect on their favorite work may also

75
00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,440
Speaker 1: help them focus on the positives in their jobs. That

76
00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,520
Speaker 1: is not a bad thing. People's jobs are vast and varied.

77
00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,080
Speaker 1: When you know what work you like the most, and

78
00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,719
Speaker 1: if you're a manager, what work your team members like most,

79
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,680
Speaker 1: you're in a position to seek out and savor opportunities

80
00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,839
Speaker 1: for that work. When you're doing work you love and

81
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:58,920
Speaker 1: noticing that your workdays may start to sparkle, or at

82
00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:05,360
Speaker 1: least feel a little more tolerable. In the meantime, this

83
00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:09,560
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

84
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:19,640
Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast.

85
00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,920
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

86
00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:33,680
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

87
00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:38,000
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

88
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,080
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

89
00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:43,360
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.