WEBVTT - What's your favorite work?

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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 figure out what part of your job

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<v Speaker 1>you like the most. Then you can seek out opportunities

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<v Speaker 1>for more of that work and savor that work when

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<v Speaker 1>you have the occasion to do it. In my forthcoming book,

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<v Speaker 1>which is currently called Big Time, I offer some practical

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<v Speaker 1>strategies for making workdays better. We spend a big chunk

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<v Speaker 1>of our time at work, so it pays to do

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<v Speaker 1>what we can to maximize our enjoyment. One strategy for

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<v Speaker 1>creating better work days is to spend more time on

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite work. You'll enjoy the time itself, and since

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<v Speaker 1>we tend to enjoy what we are especially good at,

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<v Speaker 1>spending more time on your favorite work may lead to

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<v Speaker 1>your having a bigger impact at your workplace, too, So

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<v Speaker 1>think about what your favorite work might be. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>a teacher, you might realize that your favorite part of

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<v Speaker 1>your job is lesson planning. A communications director might love

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<v Speaker 1>pitching locally tailored stories to local media outlets. A mid

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<v Speaker 1>level manager might value one on one time with direct reports.

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<v Speaker 1>A good reason to identify what you love is that

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<v Speaker 1>when you know what this is, you can consciously aim

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<v Speaker 1>to replace work you don't like with work you do.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, that mid level manager who loves one on

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<v Speaker 1>ones might realize he can spend less time on email

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<v Speaker 1>by having reasonably frequent live check ins. The teacher who

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<v Speaker 1>enjoys lesson planning might be able to do most of

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<v Speaker 1>the lesson planning for the third grade team, while another

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<v Speaker 1>third grade teacher who prefers assessing student writing does more

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<v Speaker 1>of that. When you know what your favorite work is,

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<v Speaker 1>you will also start noticing when you get to do it.

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<v Speaker 1>If you love editing and your boss asks you to

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<v Speaker 1>edit a major client document, you'll be excited. You won't

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<v Speaker 1>think of it as just one more thing to do.

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<v Speaker 1>You'll realize you get to do something you like and

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<v Speaker 1>are good at for a high profile project. That is awesome.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, you may not know what your favorite work is.

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<v Speaker 1>If that's you, you are not alone. A lot of

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<v Speaker 1>participants in my Better Workday challenge were in the same boat.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you really pay attention to how you spend

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<v Speaker 1>your time and how you feel over the next few weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>my guess is you'll be able to figure it out.

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<v Speaker 1>Notice what you're looking forward to. Notice what makes you

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<v Speaker 1>happy when you see it on your schedule. Notice those

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<v Speaker 1>moments when you don't watch the clock. Think about what

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<v Speaker 1>drew you to your job in the first place. Reflect

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<v Speaker 1>on what you are a specially good at and the

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<v Speaker 1>accomplishments you are most proud of. Consider what kinds of

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<v Speaker 1>work tend to lead to a state of flow. Make

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<v Speaker 1>a list of all of these, and then think about

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<v Speaker 1>which of these things you would do first if you

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<v Speaker 1>had an open work day and free reign to do

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<v Speaker 1>what you'd like. That is a good clue to where

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<v Speaker 1>your zone of genius might be. Once you have figured

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<v Speaker 1>out what your favorite work is, you simply aim to

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<v Speaker 1>do more of it when you can. One smart idea

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<v Speaker 1>is to mention how much you like this work to

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<v Speaker 1>your manager. A manager who has any sort of people

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<v Speaker 1>skills will consider assigning you more of that work when

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<v Speaker 1>she can tell your colleagues. You want people to say, Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>you should definitely put Joe on the team to plan

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<v Speaker 1>our department events. He loves that. When you have the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to do your favorite work, make a point of

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<v Speaker 1>savoring it. Know that this is likely what you do

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<v Speaker 1>well and enjoy knocking it out the park. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are a manager, you can, of course figure out your

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<v Speaker 1>own favorite work, but be sure to ask your direct

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<v Speaker 1>reports what their favorite work is too. If they're not sure,

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<v Speaker 1>work with them to figure it out. Once you know

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<v Speaker 1>what work they enjoy the most, you can keep them

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<v Speaker 1>in mind for those assignments. If job functions on your

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<v Speaker 1>team are constantly shifting, knowing who likes to do what

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<v Speaker 1>can help you make adjustments that play to people's strengths.

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<v Speaker 1>Prompting staff to reflect on their favorite work may also

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<v Speaker 1>help them focus on the positives in their jobs. That

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<v Speaker 1>is not a bad thing. People's jobs are vast and varied.

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<v Speaker 1>When you know what work you like the most, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you're a manager, what work your team members like most,

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<v Speaker 1>you're in a position to seek out and savor opportunities

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<v Speaker 1>for that work. When you're doing work you love and

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<v Speaker 1>noticing that your workdays may start to sparkle, or at

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<v Speaker 1>least feel a little more tolerable. In the meantime, this

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

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.