WEBVTT - How to take time off guilt-free

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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 about how to take time off guilt free.

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<v Speaker 1>I often hear from people that they think they are

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<v Speaker 1>just too busy to take time off work. There is

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<v Speaker 1>so much to do, so how could they get away?

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<v Speaker 1>Drill a little deeper, and you find that they feel

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<v Speaker 1>guilty about taking a vacation when they could be working.

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<v Speaker 1>I do get it, but this is to some degree

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<v Speaker 1>a solvable problem. When you know what you are supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be doing during any given unit of time, you

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<v Speaker 1>can work ahead and then you can take that particular

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<v Speaker 1>chunk of time off guilt free. Long time listeners know

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<v Speaker 1>that I think hours worked as a poor measure of productivity. No,

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<v Speaker 1>you cannot make magic happen with a four hour work week. However,

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<v Speaker 1>when we are talking about productivity, it's more important to

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<v Speaker 1>think about what you are accomplishing than how many hours

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<v Speaker 1>you are sitting in your chair. Measure by task, not

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<v Speaker 1>by time, Plan by task, which means knowing what you

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<v Speaker 1>plan to accomplish during any given unit of time. What

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<v Speaker 1>are your top objectives this week? What do you need

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<v Speaker 1>to do during each morning or afternoon to get there,

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<v Speaker 1>really get granular. Here, map it out on a planner.

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<v Speaker 1>Here is my assignment for Monday morning. Here is my

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<v Speaker 1>assignment for the two hours before my afternoon meeting, and

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<v Speaker 1>the one hour after. I promise there is a reason

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<v Speaker 1>for this level of detail. If you accomplish what you

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<v Speaker 1>planned for any given chunk of a day, then you

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<v Speaker 1>are on track. If you didn't, you're a little behind

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<v Speaker 1>and need to catch up. If you are ahead of

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<v Speaker 1>the game, then you can take time off absolutely guilt free.

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<v Speaker 1>So for instance, let's say that I plan to write

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<v Speaker 1>and edit my podcast episodes on Tuesday morning and record

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<v Speaker 1>them from eight am to ten am on Thursday. If

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<v Speaker 1>I get the content created on Tuesday morning more swiftly

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<v Speaker 1>than usual and manage to record then two, then I

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<v Speaker 1>can absolutely take early Thursday morning off. I have done

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<v Speaker 1>what I was supposed to do on Thursday morning. The

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<v Speaker 1>time is now available with the trains still running on schedule.

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<v Speaker 1>I am not saying there is nothing else in the

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<v Speaker 1>world that I would find to do then, but even

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<v Speaker 1>so I could definitely go for a run at eight

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<v Speaker 1>am and not worry about it. I know I am

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<v Speaker 1>on track. This thought process is particularly handy if you

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<v Speaker 1>know there is a specific time that you would like

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<v Speaker 1>to take off. You want to leave early, say to

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<v Speaker 1>attend a child's camp show. If you have planned out

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<v Speaker 1>your week so you know exactly what you are supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to do during that block of time, then you can

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<v Speaker 1>do this before that block of time. That way, you

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<v Speaker 1>can take that block of time off and know that

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<v Speaker 1>you are not behind. Now. I know that this is

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<v Speaker 1>most obviously applicable for people like me who work for

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<v Speaker 1>themselves and set their own agendas. I'd also note that

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<v Speaker 1>there are some kinds of work that really don't lend

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<v Speaker 1>themselves to working ahead. You cannot clean a patient's teeth

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<v Speaker 1>the day before they are scheduled to come visit, But

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<v Speaker 1>for a lot of knowledge work, you can take a

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<v Speaker 1>similar approach to working ahead. Even if you are working

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<v Speaker 1>for someone else. If you can communicate to your boss

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<v Speaker 1>what you were planning to do on say, the Friday

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<v Speaker 1>before Columbus Day, and that work is already done, it

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<v Speaker 1>is much easier to request the day off. And honestly,

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<v Speaker 1>I found that in many cases managers aren't looking to

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<v Speaker 1>stomp on people's requests for vacation days. It's just as

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<v Speaker 1>likely that employees feel like the workload is too overwhelming

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<v Speaker 1>to even try. But if you know what you're accomplishing when,

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<v Speaker 1>then you're not overwhelmed. You are on top of your game.

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<v Speaker 1>By working ahead, you can feel confident about taking time

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<v Speaker 1>off because you have already done the work you would

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<v Speaker 1>have done during the timing question. So today, work on

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<v Speaker 1>planning out your week in discreete chunks. What exactly do

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<v Speaker 1>you need to accomplish this week? What steps will you

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<v Speaker 1>need to take to get there? When exactly can you

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<v Speaker 1>block time in for these steps? Then see if there

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<v Speaker 1>is a time when you might like a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>more flexibility, do the work for that slot ahead of time,

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<v Speaker 1>and you'll probably be able to get the time. It

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<v Speaker 1>really is as simple as that. 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. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot Com that before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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