Make it worth the commute

Match the right work to the right place

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that if you are going to go into
the office, make it worth the commute. Use your in

(00:24):
office time for relationship building and collaboration. You don't want
to spend time and energy getting somewhere just to email
and call people in other places, because you can do
that from home. So a few years post pandemic, lots
more information workers are working from home at least occasionally.

(00:48):
I think this is great. It is often way more efficient.
Of course, some sorts of work are more efficient to
do in person, So as organizations are figuring out the
mix of in office and remote work, I hear from
a lot of people who have hybrid schedules. They want
guidance on how to make the most of their in

(01:09):
office days. On a recent episode of my other podcast,
Best of Both Worlds, my co host Sarah Hartunger and
I discussed getting a hybrid schedule. Rite Sarah's advice for
if you are in the office, make it worth the commute.
I love this framing because it's about matching the right

(01:33):
work to the right place, collaborating to come up with
ideas is definitely best on in person. I know Sarah
and I generate more and better podcast ideas when we
meet up. We've probably all been on awkward zoom calls
where no one is offering any ideas and the team

(01:53):
just can't seem to generate momentum. Then there are the
times when people inadvertently interrupt each other because it's hard
to tell when someone is starting to speak on calls
when there is some engagement, there's sometimes the parallel conversation issue,
when one conversation is taking place out loud and another

(02:15):
in the chat. Zoom calls are not the best forum
for developing plans and getting everybody invested in them, so
when possible, schedule collaboration for in office days. It is
much easier to connect with each other and develop excitement

(02:35):
about working together when you are in fact together. You
can also make in office days worth your commute by
prioritizing important one on one conversations. If you need to
have a difficult conversation with a colleague, do it in
person if possible. It is much easier to make sure

(02:56):
you are understanding each other when you are in the
same room. When you're just getting to know a new colleague,
or or working with someone on a technical or complicated topic.
In person conversations can be valuable too. Office days also
create opportunities for relationship building. Spending intentional time with your

(03:18):
coworkers is a great way to make the most of
your commute. Schedule lunch or coffee with a colleague on
in office days whenever you can. You could even create
a recurring calendar event for lunch with colleague on every
in office day. That way, you're less likely to have

(03:38):
meetings scheduled midday. Don't think of these coffees and longer
lunches as a waste of time. Honestly, your in office
days should be mostly social because you can do basic
status meetings by zoom. You can also do a lot
of the basic work of emailing and calling people and

(03:59):
in individual planning and much individual deliverable work. At home
offices can be very distracting places. When I need to
get something done, it is almost impossible if someone is
talking loudly next to me. That is unlikely to happen
in your home office. I think it's too bad that

(04:20):
some organizations are calling for five days a week in
the office. There is definitely some work that is best
done in person, but five days a week is overkill
for a lot of information jobs. I am sad that
people are wasting time and wasting gas commuting when they

(04:41):
are just on zooms with teams and other places. When
people are commuting, the work should be worth the commute.
If you have some say over how you do your
work and where you do your work, make sure that
is how you're setting it up. In the meantime, this

(05:02):
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

(05:31):
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.