Power through

Use the last hour or two of Friday well

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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 do your best to use that
last hour or two of Friday afternoon. Well. It's easy
to putter around, but if you can push through, you'll

(00:26):
probably enjoy your weekend and the next week a whole
lot more. I am writing the script at four pm
on Friday. It's been a long week, and I'm not
feeling particularly chipper. I tend to be in more of
a writing mood in the mornings, but I know I've
got a short work week coming up, with a lot
of different commitments. I'll be best off getting these scripts

(00:48):
done in the hour before my babysitter leaves. If I
don't get them done, I'll have to find a block
of work time over the weekend. And that's not the
end of the world. But since I have this block
of time now, it's also not strictly necessary. I just
have to power through, and so that is what I

(01:08):
am doing. Maybe it's what you can do too. Instead
of hitting refresh on your inbox or puttering around for
the last hour or so on Friday, tackle a list
of things that you'd love to get off your plate
for now. Maybe it's an email you know you need
to answer. Maybe it's a scheduling email that could go
out on Monday but doesn't require much brain power. You'll

(01:31):
be fresh on Monday morning, and so you want to
use your brain power for important things. Send the email
on Friday afternoon, when the opportunity cost is lower. Maybe
you can do things to set yourself up for a
great Monday. One reason I'm writing these scripts now is
that I can see I've got open time in a
quiet house on Monday morning, perfect for recording, but I

(01:56):
can't record scripts that aren't written, so here we are.
Or maybe there's something you never get to that you
keep saying you'd like to do. In general, we're better
off scheduling these things for first thing Monday morning. But
if you have time on Friday, seize Friday work on

(02:17):
that book proposal for an hour. It's not much, but
it's an hour better than nothing. Call someone you are
mentoring to check in. She will appreciate the call, even
if it is Friday afternoon. To be sure, it's hard
to work when energy levels are low, but you can
do a few things to make yourself feel better. Research

(02:41):
on energy has found that even a short microburst, like
a few minutes bounding up and down the stairs, can
raise energy levels for an hour. You can make yourself
a cup of tea or decalf coffee. We often have
enough of a conditioned response to coffee that the lack
of caffeine may not matter so much. And finally, eyes

(03:03):
on the prize. If doing something now means you don't
have to think about it until next week or for
some tasks ever, again, that's a huge win. Anticipating the
joy of that accomplishment can be enough to propel you forward.
You'll relax later. Did we mention that there's a weekend

(03:25):
coming up? Power through and you'll really feel like you've
earned your time fully off. 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.

(03:49):
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 E 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.

(04:12):
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 your
favorite shows.