Make your own corner office

Take charge of your career, and your life

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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.
Today's tip is to make your own corner office. Whether
you started working from home this year because of COVID
nineteen or not, we all need a space to think

(00:24):
about our careers and to remind ourselves that what we
will accomplish in life is not limited to our current jobs.
You are the architect of your own career, and creating
your own corner office at home can be a key
part of that. This tip comes from my new book
The New Corner Office, How the most successful People Work

(00:45):
from Home. I note that in the normal corporate world,
having a corner office is a sign that you have arrived,
you are in charge. But even so, in an office
you're often subject to group norms about what time you
work and what you look like while you're doing it.
You may not even be able to control that much
about the office itself. Can you paint a wall purple

(01:09):
or situate your choice of plants right outside? If not, well,
that's life. The mistake is in applying this mindset to
your career in general, that your income is what the
company says it is that your career path is what
is spelled out by the organization. That if you are
hired to be the numbers guy, well that is what

(01:29):
you are. Before March two, working from home was on
the rise, but was still seen as a slightly strange
thing for any ambitious person to do. Then COVID nineteen happened,
and in a span of days, whole organizations went virtual.
One Gallop poll found that the proportion of workers who
had worked from home doubled between early March and April.

(01:53):
All this happened in a crisis, and so many organizations
just tried to replicate their model virtually. And that makes sense,
But long term working from home allows for new ways
of thinking about work. If you're not in an office,
then you can separate yourself slightly from group norms. You
have to be self directed about your work, and that

(02:14):
allows you to be more self directed about your career
in general. If you had to start working at home
overnight in March, you probably just grabbed whatever spot was available.
A desk, great, a door sounds perfect. But much as
we wish life could go back to normal, it's wisest
to assume that this new reality could be with us

(02:36):
for a while. So to day, spend a few minutes
creating a new corner office at home, one that helps
you dream big about your career. An actual corner of
the house is good, particularly if that puts you in
a room with windows on two sides, even if you
have to portion off a section of another room with
screams or room dividers. Make your own space. Get a

(02:59):
good chair, get a big enough desk but you feel comfortable.
Put some plants within eyesight, and some reminders of your goals.
Who do you see yourself becoming? What visual reminder can
you create of that goal? Make sure the view out
your window is inspiring. You can control this in a
way that you just can't in a corporate office. Park

(03:20):
Control the temperature, control the sound, You can even control
the smell. You will not get away with burning a
cinnamon spice candle at headquarters, but if that scent is
your secret weapon, well burn away at home. Even if
you don't see yourself working at home long term, it
helps to have some space at home where you can
think about your professional goals apart from the restrictions of

(03:43):
an office. You are not just who your manager sees.
Many years ago I interviewed a young woman who was
working in something that was not yet her dream job,
but in the morning she spent a few hours working
from home on her own projects. Every day she at
a job, she told me, but in the morning she

(04:03):
had a career physically apart from the office. She was
the architect of her professional life. And you should be too.
You don't have to wait for your employer to give
you a corner office. You can create your own today.
Think about how you might do that, literally and metaphorically.

(04:24):
And hey, if you enjoyed this podcast, consider checking out
the New Corner Office, the podcast and the book. There
are lots of tips there for working productively and ambitiously,
because you know, I want to see you succeed in
the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

(04:53):
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
face Book, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b
E the number four then Breakfast p o D. You
can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast
at i heeart media dot com that Before breakfast is

(05:15):
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 my
heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.