Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to set an intention anytime you are
Speaker 1: working late. That way, you know what you need to accomplish,
Speaker 1: and you know when you are done. You are not
Speaker 1: working late just to do so. If you've got a
Speaker 1: demanding job, then it can be easy to get into
Speaker 1: the habit of working into the evenings or on the weekends.
Speaker 1: If you work remotely, you might not even notice this.
Speaker 1: You say hello to the kids, serve dinner, and then
Speaker 1: find yourself on your computer for hours into the evening.
Speaker 1: And sometimes it's necessary. Maybe you've got a big project
Speaker 1: that's due in the next few days, maybe you need
Speaker 1: to stick while you're away. And at some workplaces, the
Speaker 1: whole concept of late is somewhat meaningless, as people are
Speaker 1: having meetings with folks in different time zones, or they
Speaker 1: need to entertain clients at night, or what have you.
Speaker 1: But if you would like to have some more personal
Speaker 1: space in your life and you find yourself routinely working late,
Speaker 1: it might help to adopt a rule for yourself. When
Speaker 1: you work late, you need a specific reason for it,
Speaker 1: not a vague reason like it's a busy season or
Speaker 1: I'm swamped. Instead, have a specific reason. I am working
Speaker 1: late tonight to rehearse tomorrow's presentation, or I'm working late
Speaker 1: tonight to polish a proposal for a potential client that
Speaker 1: I want to send in by tomorrow afternoon. Or I'm
Speaker 1: working late to work the bugs out of a new
Speaker 1: app that my man Jer wants to see this week.
Speaker 1: Then during the off hours that you are working, remember
Speaker 1: your intention and work only on that task. Yes, I
Speaker 1: know your inbox as a disaster, but email will expand
Speaker 1: fill all available space. You could work twenty four hours
Speaker 1: a day and still find yourself behind on email. Eventually,
Speaker 1: you have to decide how much space to give things.
Speaker 1: Having a specific intention for any extra hours work means
Speaker 1: that you maintain control over your focus and attention even
Speaker 1: when working long hours. Now, to be sure, it's a
Speaker 1: good idea to give all time and intention, I mean
Speaker 1: this is a very useful mindset in general. I'm not
Speaker 1: just working because it's nine am on Tuesday. This is
Speaker 1: what I plan to do on Tuesday morning. This is
Speaker 1: what I plan to accomplish Tuesday afternoon. This is what
Speaker 1: I see as the best outcome of this work week.
Speaker 1: Identifying specific tasks and intentions for all blocks of time
Speaker 1: can help you avoid spinning your wheels and being busy
Speaker 1: without accomplishing much. But having a specific task in mind
Speaker 1: after hours is even more important. Knowing why you're working
Speaker 1: late helps you accomplish what you need to and to
Speaker 1: stop working in time to attend to other aspects of
Speaker 1: your life that deserve your attention to whether that's family, friends, exercise, hobbies,
Speaker 1: or life maintenance. Work is an important part of life,
Speaker 1: but it's not your whole life, and knowing why you
Speaker 1: are working late when you do ensure as you get
Speaker 1: your most important work done while also leaving time for
Speaker 1: other things in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four then breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: should I look forward to staying in touch? Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts
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Speaker 1: Yeah Yeah,