Plan for work overflow

Meet tight deadlines without work taking over your life

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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 to plan for work overflow. By identifying and
planning for certain overflow work spots, you can keep on

(00:26):
top of things during busy seasons and also keep work
from taking over your life. We have probably all faced
certain times when work can't stay confined between nine and five.
Maybe it's because of a huge project with a tight deadline.
Maybe it's a predictably busy season like audit and tax season.

(00:50):
Four accountants and sometimes elements of our personal lives wind
up taking big chunks of normal business hours, and so
we need to work outside those hours to fulfill our
work responsibilities. Sometimes people get very out of sorts about
working at night or on weekends, and I get it.

(01:12):
It is not necessarily fun. But if it is going
to happen, it is best to identify the spots where
you would like it to happen so that it is
not always an option which can keep you from relaxing
or enjoying anything else. For instance, when I've got something

(01:32):
big I have got to finish, I identify a few
spots that could work We generally have our sitters stay
later one night a week, so if I need to,
I can go to the library then and work an
extra few hours. If the three year old goes down
to bed at a normal time, I can generally work
from nine thirty to ten thirty or so at night

(01:54):
and still get to bed by my bedtime. I will
sometimes have a conversation with my husband and about splitting
weekend coverage. He often has some work overflow too, so
each of us gets some solo time with the little kids,
and each of us gets some time to work as well.
The upside of knowing these slots ahead of time is

(02:16):
that it helps me relax. I am not frantic as
I am needing to drive a kid somewhere at five
point thirty pm, thinking I need to be working because
I know that I have four hours blocked on the weekend.
I can take half an hour to run during the day,
even if it is a very busy day, because I

(02:37):
know that I can make up the time at night.
That keeps me from making the shortsighted choice of not exercising,
thinking I will somehow get more done while I am
sluggish and tired. Now I know that not all work
overflow is predictable. Sometimes people wind up staying late with

(02:57):
little notice, and they don't have the option to say, Nope,
Thursday night isn't working for me. I'll get to this
Saturday morning. But even if not, all overflow is predictable,
and even if not, everyone has autonomy over their work hours.
Some overflow is predictable, and many people have some control

(03:19):
over their worktime. Maybe you are managing toward a big
deadline and you know you need to make a plan
to hit that deadline, but your manager is only going
to be in there dictating things. When things go wrong,
it is up to you to make it all come
out all right. So identify work overflow spots. Maybe you

(03:43):
extend your childcare one to two nights a week. You
don't have to use it, but it's there if you
need it, and if you don't need it for work,
Maybe you and your spouse can do something fun, or
you can do something one on one with each particular
kid if you've got a big brood, or maybe you
have an agreement with your spouse that if things get harried,

(04:07):
you will get up at five am to start work
and he or she will cover the morning routine. Then
you take over later in the day or you switch
off with bedtime routines, so each of you has the
option to work longer bits after dinner. On those nights
when you identify spots and you know how to seize

(04:29):
them if necessary, you can feel more relaxed during busy seasons.
You know you will be able to do the work
that doesn't fit between nine and five, and you don't
have to skip everything in your personal life thinking you
should be working. The time is there and you know
where the time is, so things feel more under control

(04:55):
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. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

(05:16):
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
That's b the number four then Breakfast pod. You can
also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at
iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward

(05:36):
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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