Use work windows

Create a schedule for collaboration and flexibility

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Episode Transcript

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this is black Welcome to the New Corner Office the
podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the new
world of work, were location and hours are more flexible
than in the past. Today's tip is to try using
windowed work. That is, set a window in which everyone
is available for collaboration, then let people set their own

(01:56):
hours around that core. Whether you are a veteran remote
worker or newly transitioned into a less traditional work setup,
you've probably struggled to fit rigid nine to five work
hours into your life at one time or another. This
could be because you have children, or pets or other
daily demands, or maybe it's just that you don't do

(02:17):
your best work during traditional work hours. Theoretically, working from
home can allow for more flexibility. No one needs to
open up the office at odd hours without a commute,
you can work split shifts. Unless you live next door
to your office, you probably won't work from eight am
to noon and then four to eight pm with a

(02:38):
trip home in between. But from a home office this
can work just fine. Of course, many of us work
closely with teams, which means that one person working six
am to two pm and someone else working two pm
to ten pm just isn't going to fly. This brings
us to the idea of windowed work, one tool that
may remove some stress and make your life easier while

(03:00):
simultaneously allowing you and your team to perform at your best.
Here's how this works. As a team, you agree on
a shared block of time during which you can all meet, collaborate,
and consult with each other. Most people like to schedule
this window during the middle of the day, just to
be most accommodating to people's different work styles. The length

(03:21):
of the window depends on what you do. It probably
can't be shorter than two hours without creating artificial scarcity.
More than six hours kind of defeats the purpose. That's
not flexibility, that's just a set work day. For most
kinds of work, three to four hours is probably fine,
so you might all be available from eleven am to

(03:43):
three pm or from ten am to one pm. Any
meetings involving more than two people can happen during these windows,
and since you know all your colleagues are working, you
know it's fine to just pick up the phone and
call them. Then you can arrange your schedule around on
other responsibilities such as parenting. You can work during the

(04:04):
ten to one window and then from six pm to
ten pm while your spouse puts the kids to bed
and watches TV. An early bird might get up at
five am, work through to the window, and then quit
for the day at one. The possibilities are pretty endless,
and the beauty of it is that your schedule doesn't
even need to look the same every day. Since your

(04:24):
colleagues know that they can count on the core hours
during everyone's window, they don't need to know for sure
whether you're pulling the early or late shift. Of course,
I know that some managers worry that if they set
a window, people will assume that this is all they
need to work. Instead of working eight hours, including that
ten am to one pm window, people will just work

(04:46):
those three hours. And I suppose this could happen, but
if so, This is not an issue with the window
concept itself. It's that you have an unengaged employee. Make
sure everyone knows what they're supposed to be a comp wishing,
and check in frequently to offer guidance. If someone seems stuck,
step into help. Sometimes you can shift work responsibilities to

(05:09):
be more in line with someone's interests, or maybe if
it doesn't work, you need to part ways. But the
window concept itself is sound enough that it's worth taking
a bit of a risk. If you're supervising a work
from home team, propose trying it for a few weeks
to see how it works if you're not in charge.
Floated as an idea and mentioned the upsides of being

(05:31):
absolutely sure when you'll be able to reach people. People
can't necessarily commit to nine to five in this environment
each day, but they probably would be able to commit
from ten to one with five other hours elsewhere, and
you may be shocked at just how much you can
get done in the meantime. This is Laura, thanks for listening,

(05:53):
and here's the succeeding in the New Corner Office. Then
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three thousand miles away in Nebraska and immediately booked the
cruise Get Understruck starting at two nine Carnival choose Fun

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