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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.
This week we've been talking about work and the broader
issues of how we feel about our jobs. Today's tip
is about one way to feel better about work walking
out the door at a reasonable hour, feeling satisfied and happy.

(00:28):
People who are paid by the hour need to be
at their workplaces at certain times, but even in offices
where almost everyone is salaried, there can be strong cultural
norms about what time it is acceptable to leave. If
someone leaves before that time, there can be a lot
of grumbling. You know how this goes? Oh, I wish
I could leave this early. I guess some of us

(00:50):
have to do all the work around here. The net
result is that people stick around doing nothing particularly productive,
but not leaving because they don't want to rock the boat.
I hope any managers listening to this podcast can make
clear that in their offices, people are accountable to you
for meeting their work objectives, and just as long as
people are meeting those objectives, you don't value sticking around

(01:12):
longer just because. But in any case, even if there
is some grumbling, you can still learn to walk out
on time feeling like you've put in a solid day. First,
plan your days well before you leave each evening. Write
down your intentions for the following day. What are your
three most important tasks. Look at what David Allen calls

(01:35):
the hardscape of your day, the time specific commitments you've
already agreed to. Where will you schedule your important tasks
around these commitments. Aim to do most of your important
tasks first thing in the day. Why well, stuff will
come up, but if you attack your priorities early, hopefully

(01:56):
you'll be done with them before the emergencies arise. Planning
ahead also allows us to schedule our most important work
for our most productive time and to plan for longer
blocks of focus. If you're generally best in the mornings,
as most people are, and you see you have a
nine thirty meeting and a task you'd really like to
devote a full hour too, you might be better off

(02:18):
coming in at eight or eight fifteen versus your normal
eight thirty. You can see there won't be an open
hour later in the day. That means if you don't
do the task first thing in the morning, you'd wind
up doing the task from five to six pm after
the meeting. Stop coming in fifteen to thirty minutes. Early
means you can leave an hour earlier than you would have,
and that's definitely a good trade off. Second, say hello

(02:42):
and check in with people early in the day. I
hear from so many people that their daily exits get
delayed because they walk around saying goodbye to people as
they're wrapping up, Which makes total sense, right, want to
nurture those relationships with your colleagues, But that's when people say, oh, hey,
I'm meant to ask you about it can be a
really important issue, But there goes fifteen to twenty minutes.

(03:05):
This is frustrating if it means you're on a later train,
So make sure people see you earlier. Circle around to
everyone after lunch or on your way to grab tea
in the afternoon, maybe seeing if people want to join you.
People really aren't trying to ruin your evenings, or at
least I hope not. It's just that seeing your face
reminds them of a question or something that's on their minds.

(03:26):
So make sure people see your face before five pm. Finally,
do what I call a four pm triage. About sixty
to ninety minutes before you plan to leave, revisit your
to do list. What absolutely has to happen before the
end of the day, What can be pushed to tomorrow
if you still really need to do something. This gives

(03:47):
you a moment to pause and figure out a plan
and tackle it prior to quitting time. This is also
when you can set your intentions for the following day
and set up tomorrow for your victories. Then in when
the work you've assigned yourself as done go, you're usually
back tomorrow. There will be time then to deal with

(04:08):
future work, but you'll be more prepared to deal with
it if you've relaxed, done something adventurous with your family
and friends, and gone to bed on time. 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

(04:31):
hear from you. 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 iHeart media

(04:51):
dot com. That Before 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

(05:13):
your favorite shows. H