Give yourself a window

Sometimes a range is better than an exact time

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to give yourself a time window for
when things will get done. Choosing a range rather than
an exact time can cut down on all kinds of

(00:25):
time anxiety. We've all been on the receiving end of
time windows. The groceries will be delivered between ten am
and noon. The cable guy will come sometime between the
window of nine am and five pm, we hope. Wider
ranges are often frustrating as you cool your heels waiting
for the plumber to show up, but tighter ranges can

(00:47):
be smart. If you, like me, get quite worked up
about being on time to things, arrange turns down the
temperature a bit for deadlines that don't need to be
that strict. So to be clear, the tip is mostly
for the punctual folks listening to this, though if you
listen to productivity podcasts, my guess is that you're more
likely to fall into this category than the average person.

(01:10):
As I'm writing this, many of us haven't gone anywhere
for a while. But as life goes back to normal,
people will make plans and plans often involve times. If
someone tells me to be somewhere at ten am, I
tend to figure out how long it will take me
to get there, and figure out how long it will
take me to get ready, and then I build in
a buffer so I will be arriving by nine am,

(01:33):
even if there is traffic or a complicated parking situation.
And that's fine for a really important meeting. It's less
necessary if ten families are all meeting up at a playground,
or if I just need to touch base with someone
briefly by phone. My personality is such that if someone
tells me to get them something by two pm on Thursday,
I will then move heaven and earth to do so

(01:54):
without asking if there's a reason for that timing. This
can be frustrating for everyone if it turns out there
isn't really a reason. So recently, as I was in
a seemingly endless email chain about setting a time for
a call, trying to figure out an exact time that
would work around baby feedings and such, I realized that
I was better off saying, Hey, could I just call

(02:16):
you some time between ten and eleven? The person agreed,
especially since I made it very clear that she didn't
need to sit around waiting for my call. If it
didn't work to pick up what I called, well, we'd
try back in a little bit. I was so much
more relaxed about this then if I tried to set
an exact time, and I'm sure that came through when
we did connect. If you find yourself doing similar acrobatics

(02:38):
to meet an exact time that doesn't have to be exact,
maybe you could try giving yourself a window too. We'll
be at the playground around two or two thirty and
would love to see you there. Or I can give
this report back to you sometime next week, unless there's
a more specific time you need it by now. If
you are not the punctual sort, this tip is not

(02:58):
for you, because, as I've found that chronically late people
have already taken the liberty of giving themselves a range
to them Saying you'll be somewhere at ten really means
you'll be there by ten thirty or possibly even eleven.
The problem is that no one else is aware of
this assumed range, and this can lead to bad feelings.
For a range to work, it needs to be transparent

(03:20):
and mutually agreed upon but if it is, then this
builds in flexibility for things that don't need to be exact,
and sometimes schedules work better when there's a little bit
of give to them. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

(03:47):
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before

(04:07):
Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.