Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
Speaker 1: new world of work where location and hours are more
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is for those
Speaker 1: mornings when you are dragging and when bounding out of
Speaker 1: bed to tackle your to do list feels about as
Speaker 1: doable as running a marathon in a heat wave. You
Speaker 1: could get up and go full force to work anyway,
Speaker 1: That's what we did when we worked in traditional offices. However,
Speaker 1: we felt we showered and made our way to work
Speaker 1: by a specified time, and that's not necessarily a bad idea.
Speaker 1: But today's tip is about a different approach, one that's
Speaker 1: an option for many remote workers. On mornings when you're
Speaker 1: struggling to get going, try a gentle start followed by
Speaker 1: a strong start. Here's what I mean for a gentle start.
Speaker 1: Lower the demands of what it means to get out
Speaker 1: of bed and get going. Instead of treating getting up
Speaker 1: as synonymous with going full steam. Just ease out from
Speaker 1: under the covers, have a cup of coffee, process a
Speaker 1: few easy emails, and maybe read some easy newsletters. Take
Speaker 1: a glance at the day's meetings and just generally think
Speaker 1: about what those will look like. You're not asking much
Speaker 1: of yourself. You're just doing a half hour or so
Speaker 1: of gentle work. Then take a shower, get dressed, and
Speaker 1: return to your desk to tackle your top priority with gusto.
Speaker 1: There are a lot of reasons to try this, but
Speaker 1: one is that a lot of people are doing this anyway.
Speaker 1: Many folks are finding it harder to get out of
Speaker 1: bed and get going, especially as the days tend to
Speaker 1: blend into each other. I understand that many people are
Speaker 1: having more low energy and low motivation days now than usual.
Speaker 1: Giving yourself permission to enjoy a gentle start on those
Speaker 1: days can keep you from feeling bad about yourself or
Speaker 1: pushing yourself harder than is sustainable. Trying a gentle start
Speaker 1: followed by a strong start also enables you to avoid
Speaker 1: hitting snooze trying to put off work that seems unpleasantly difficult.
Speaker 1: It also keeps you from forcing yourself to sit at
Speaker 1: the desk and then not getting much done. You simply
Speaker 1: acknowledge that you are easing into work and that your
Speaker 1: tentative efforts will be followed by a strong start a
Speaker 1: little later. Maybe as the caffeine kicks in, or as
Speaker 1: you see sunshine, or as your house quiets down, or
Speaker 1: whatever it takes. I like to think of the gentle
Speaker 1: start as dipping your toe into the water of the workday.
Speaker 1: Then a little later you're ready to dive in and
Speaker 1: start swimming. Of course, the gentle start followed by a
Speaker 1: strong start isn't only an option for low energy mornings.
Speaker 1: When you work from home, you have more discretion over
Speaker 1: how you manage your time. In general, you can take
Speaker 1: advantage of that flexibility. Having a gentle start to the
Speaker 1: morning works for you, then by all means do that.
Speaker 1: That's kind of how I'm working these days. My nights
Speaker 1: are often interrupted by my nine month old baby, so
Speaker 1: I tend to start slow. I read newsletters over my coffee,
Speaker 1: I look at email, I look at blogs. I think
Speaker 1: about my to do list. I get the kids breakfast
Speaker 1: and make sure that they are logged in for their
Speaker 1: virtual lessons. Then finally I'm more awake and able to
Speaker 1: execute on my top priority for the day. I do
Speaker 1: trust that I will get to it. But easing out
Speaker 1: of bed is more possible during this phase of life
Speaker 1: than jumping Someday I might do more jumping, but not now.
Speaker 1: So the next time you wake up feeling a little
Speaker 1: bit sluggish, consider whether a gentle start to the day
Speaker 1: might be the way to go. You can always make
Speaker 1: a strong start a little later. It will be okay,
Speaker 1: and it might be more sustainable. In the meantime. This
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks, thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding
Speaker 1: in the New Corner Office. The New Corner Office is
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Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.