WEBVTT - Make your own corner office

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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 make your own corner office. Whether

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<v Speaker 1>you started working from home this year because of COVID

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen or not, we all need a space to think

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<v Speaker 1>about our careers and to remind ourselves that what we

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<v Speaker 1>will accomplish in life is not limited to our current jobs.

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<v Speaker 1>You are the architect of your own career, and creating

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<v Speaker 1>your own corner office at home can be a key

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<v Speaker 1>part of that. This tip comes from my new book

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<v Speaker 1>The New Corner Office, How the most successful People Work

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<v Speaker 1>from Home. I note that in the normal corporate world,

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<v Speaker 1>having a corner office is a sign that you have arrived,

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<v Speaker 1>you are in charge. But even so, in an office

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<v Speaker 1>you're often subject to group norms about what time you

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<v Speaker 1>work and what you look like while you're doing it.

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<v Speaker 1>You may not even be able to control that much

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<v Speaker 1>about the office itself. Can you paint a wall purple

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<v Speaker 1>or situate your choice of plants right outside? If not, well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's life. The mistake is in applying this mindset to

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<v Speaker 1>your career in general, that your income is what the

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<v Speaker 1>company says it is that your career path is what

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out by the organization. That if you are

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<v Speaker 1>hired to be the numbers guy, well that is what

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<v Speaker 1>you are. Before March two, working from home was on

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<v Speaker 1>the rise, but was still seen as a slightly strange

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<v Speaker 1>thing for any ambitious person to do. Then COVID nineteen happened,

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<v Speaker 1>and in a span of days, whole organizations went virtual.

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<v Speaker 1>One Gallop poll found that the proportion of workers who

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<v Speaker 1>had worked from home doubled between early March and April.

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<v Speaker 1>All this happened in a crisis, and so many organizations

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<v Speaker 1>just tried to replicate their model virtually. And that makes sense,

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<v Speaker 1>But long term working from home allows for new ways

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<v Speaker 1>of thinking about work. If you're not in an office,

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<v Speaker 1>then you can separate yourself slightly from group norms. You

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<v Speaker 1>have to be self directed about your work, and that

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<v Speaker 1>allows you to be more self directed about your career

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<v Speaker 1>in general. If you had to start working at home

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<v Speaker 1>overnight in March, you probably just grabbed whatever spot was available.

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<v Speaker 1>A desk, great, a door sounds perfect. But much as

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<v Speaker 1>we wish life could go back to normal, it's wisest

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<v Speaker 1>to assume that this new reality could be with us

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<v Speaker 1>for a while. So to day, spend a few minutes

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<v Speaker 1>creating a new corner office at home, one that helps

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<v Speaker 1>you dream big about your career. An actual corner of

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<v Speaker 1>the house is good, particularly if that puts you in

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<v Speaker 1>a room with windows on two sides, even if you

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<v Speaker 1>have to portion off a section of another room with

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<v Speaker 1>screams or room dividers. Make your own space. Get a

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<v Speaker 1>good chair, get a big enough desk but you feel comfortable.

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<v Speaker 1>Put some plants within eyesight, and some reminders of your goals.

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<v Speaker 1>Who do you see yourself becoming? What visual reminder can

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<v Speaker 1>you create of that goal? Make sure the view out

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<v Speaker 1>your window is inspiring. You can control this in a

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<v Speaker 1>way that you just can't in a corporate office. Park

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<v Speaker 1>Control the temperature, control the sound, You can even control

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<v Speaker 1>the smell. You will not get away with burning a

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<v Speaker 1>cinnamon spice candle at headquarters, but if that scent is

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<v Speaker 1>your secret weapon, well burn away at home. Even if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't see yourself working at home long term, it

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<v Speaker 1>helps to have some space at home where you can

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<v Speaker 1>think about your professional goals apart from the restrictions of

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<v Speaker 1>an office. You are not just who your manager sees.

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<v Speaker 1>Many years ago I interviewed a young woman who was

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<v Speaker 1>working in something that was not yet her dream job,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the morning she spent a few hours working

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<v Speaker 1>from home on her own projects. Every day she at

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<v Speaker 1>a job, she told me, but in the morning she

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<v Speaker 1>had a career physically apart from the office. She was

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<v Speaker 1>the architect of her professional life. And you should be too.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't have to wait for your employer to give

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<v Speaker 1>you a corner office. You can create your own today.

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<v Speaker 1>Think about how you might do that, literally and metaphorically.

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<v Speaker 1>And hey, if you enjoyed this podcast, consider checking out

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<v Speaker 1>the New Corner Office, the podcast and the book. There

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<v Speaker 1>are lots of tips there for working productively and ambitiously,

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, I want to see you succeed 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>face Book, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>at i heeart media dot com that Before breakfast is

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.