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Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for succeeding in the

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Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more

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Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to not

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Speaker 1: write off Friday afternoons. Yes, many people are sliding toward

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Speaker 1: the weekend at that point, but whether you're in a

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Speaker 1: traditional office or not, with a few new habits, you

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Speaker 1: can turn Friday afternoons into some of your most productive

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Speaker 1: hours of the week. Back before social distancing measures moved

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Speaker 1: whole organizations into the virtual world, working from home was

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Speaker 1: often a perk dulled out to people who had proven themselves.

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Speaker 1: It would be doled out once a week, and inevitably

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Speaker 1: on Fridays. Why Fridays because Fridays are almost universally perceived

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Speaker 1: as the least product of day of the week. The

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Speaker 1: thinking was that people who worked from home would not

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Speaker 1: really be working, and so if you were going to

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Speaker 1: lose a day, well, best to lose Fridays, since the

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Speaker 1: opportunity cost would be lower. As someone who's worked out

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Speaker 1: of a home office for decades, I think this is ridiculous.

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Speaker 1: I've also coached people in general to ask for Wednesdays

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Speaker 1: as they work from home day, since if you've got

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Speaker 1: a terrible commute, it gives you a nice midweek break.

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Speaker 1: But in any case, Fridays have never gotten a great

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Speaker 1: reputation from a getting work done perspective. But as all

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Speaker 1: sorts of routines and work styles are getting shaken up,

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Speaker 1: I think it's a great idea to revisit Fridays. Here

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Speaker 1: are a few things you should build into your Friday

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Speaker 1: afternoons in order to turbocharge your productivity. First, take some

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Speaker 1: time to plan on the week ahead. Don't wait for Monday,

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Speaker 1: don't even wait for Sunday, that's your weekend. Instead, take

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Speaker 1: some time on Friday to think about what you want

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Speaker 1: to accomplish during the next Monday to Friday work week.

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Speaker 1: What are your top priorities. What steps can you take

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Speaker 1: toward your long term goals. Make a short list of

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Speaker 1: these important but not urgent tasks and schedule them into

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Speaker 1: your week. Then think about what has to happen logistically.

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Speaker 1: How can you make sure that by next Friday you

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Speaker 1: have accomplished whatever goals you've set for yourself. Then take

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Speaker 1: a few minutes to look at what is already on

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Speaker 1: your calendar. Sometimes we get scheduled for things that are

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Speaker 1: no longer a top priority. Friday afternoon is a great

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Speaker 1: time to get clarity on whether these things still need

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Speaker 1: to happen. Don't wait until your two pm conference call

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Speaker 1: starts on Tuesday to recognize that it's a waste of time.

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Speaker 1: Think about your personal life too. Do you need to

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Speaker 1: juggle kids zoom classes with your own video conferences? Can

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Speaker 1: you schedule in a family walk or a virtual happy hour?

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Speaker 1: You and your spouse need to sit down and talk

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Speaker 1: about your finances. All of this deserves a place in

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Speaker 1: the schedule. By having a plan in place for the

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Speaker 1: next week, you can feel much more in control of

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Speaker 1: your time and your life, something that's even more important

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Speaker 1: in these turbulent times. If you work with a team,

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Speaker 1: I'd also recommend having some sort of social ritual to

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Speaker 1: close out the week. For those who are usually in offices,

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Speaker 1: a late Friday lunch could work. If you schedule this

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Speaker 1: at one thirty or two. Most people will drift out afterwards,

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Speaker 1: but so what. They'll work until two or so and

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Speaker 1: then have a nice way of celebrating what everyone has done.

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Speaker 1: If you're virtual, you can do this celebration by video chat,

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Speaker 1: give everyone a chance to talk about their victories and

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Speaker 1: to give shout outs to other people. If you work

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Speaker 1: by yourself, you can still do this. Look over your

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Speaker 1: priority list for the previous week, the one you created

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Speaker 1: the previous Friday, and celebrate all you accomplished. Hopefully it

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Speaker 1: was a short enough list that every thing is crossed off.

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Speaker 1: But by having some ritual to close out Friday with

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Speaker 1: a celebratory drink if you'd like, or with a ten

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Speaker 1: minute journaling session, you'll feel a sense of completion when

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Speaker 1: work can be done at anytime and any place. This

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Speaker 1: sense of closure can go a long way toward maintaining

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Speaker 1: times for rest as well. How do you spend Friday afternoons.

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Speaker 1: You can let me know at Laura at Laura Vanderkam

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Speaker 1: dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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Speaker 1: and here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The

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Speaker 1: New Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts,

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Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

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Speaker 1: your favorite shows.