Master unexpected free moments

Turn downtime into an opportunity

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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 about how to master unexpected free moments.
Downtime can appear in our lives in many ways, but

(00:24):
when we learn to view it as an opportunity rather
than an annoyance, we can build a more resilient schedule
and have a lot more fun in our lives. I've
been talking in a few recent episodes about resiliency, and
I'll continue to do so over the next few months.
When it comes to time, we need to deal with

(00:45):
life as it is and not as we wish it
would be. Now. Of course, we know that we can
make plans for time we know we'll have, but it's
harder to make good choices with time we don't know
we'll have. That makes sense, but the problem is that
life can feature a lot of unexpected free moments. Sometimes

(01:07):
this suddenly free time can feel like a relief, like
when a meeting you know is going to be unpleasant
is canceled few But other times you get a call
from the school nurse that a sick child needs to
be picked up. Now you are home from work, but
none of your responsibilities changed, and so you need to
deal with that, which can be stressful either way. Though,

(01:31):
it might help to view suddenly open time strategically. Make
a list of things that would either be wise to
do or enjoyable to do, and when you get some
open time, see what items you can tackle. Best case scenario,
you can work ahead, tackle parts of long term projects,

(01:52):
or have a little more fun than you otherwise would
for that wise to do list. Well, we all have
projects that we can see taking shape in the future.
Each week I need to write and produce five episodes
of Before Breakfast, I can see that there are future
weeks when it might be more challenging to write those

(02:14):
five episodes. So when I've got some extra time, as
it turns out, I do right now, when I've finished
something else early, I can write ahead banked episodes become
part of my time. Emergency fund work done in the
past opens up time in the future when I might
really need it. Maybe you know that you will need

(02:37):
to write up evaluations of all your direct reports next
month when a two hour meeting is canceled, Well, you
could start deleting random stuff from your inbox, or you
could realize that the evaluations will need to get done eventually,
and you can get a head start future you will
be a happy you. Of course, we aren't always be

(03:00):
uber productive with unexpected free time. If you are suddenly
home with a sick kid, for instance, well that is
your primary focus, but there might be enjoyable things you
could do with this unexpected time, like watching a favorite
movie or starting a series that's on your want to
see list while you are stuggled up with the kid
on the sofa. These things can be hard to think

(03:24):
up in the moment when you get a message that
your friend is running. When you get a message that
your friend is running thirty minutes late to meet you,
the inclination is just to check email or scroll through
social media. These things are easily accessible, They are easy
to do. You won't automatically think, hey, I'm going to

(03:49):
send notes to two former clients that I've been meaning
to reach out to unless you have already made a
wise to do list and know that that's on there.
But if you do know, well, suddenly that late friend
has created found time for investing in your business. Is growth?
What an opportunity? When one of those clients replies that, hey,

(04:13):
I've been meaning to reach out to you because we
have this project. We're starting well. You might even wind
up thanking your friend for being late. So today, make
a list of things you might do with unexpected time.
Think of small tasks that could help you work ahead

(04:33):
and create a time emergency fund or little actions that
could have a big impact. You can also make a
list of fun activities that you do when time opened up.
If you had an extra hour in a day, what
would you do with it? A canceled meeting means you've
got that hour time to make the most of it.

(04:57):
In the meantime. This is Laura Uh. Thanks for listening,
and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

(05:18):
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 i heeart media 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

(05:46):
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. I