When you work while others play

Work wisely during unconventional times

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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 use time when you're working but
others aren't for deeper work. Make the most of time

(00:23):
when you'll have few meetings or requests to make progress
on projects requiring more concentration, and you will be amazed
by what you can get done. Many of us have
had the experience of working on a day when a
lot of other people are not working. Maybe it's that
you've decided not to take time off between Christmas and

(00:44):
New Year's or another common vacation day like the day
after Thanksgiving. Sometimes people choose to work a half day
on a weekend or offset hours. Back when I used
to travel for work, I've noticed that every time I
flew to the West Coast, I'd wake up around four
thirty in the morning, Since it felt like seven thirty

(01:04):
to me, I could work for three to four hours
before my first meeting and feel like I was getting
all kinds of stuff done. In any case, working at
times when others aren't creates prime conditions for focus. Most
people aren't going to schedule a meeting for Saturday morning
or four five am. Most people aren't even going to

(01:28):
be sending new messages at this time. And while I
can tell you to just ignore your inboxer phone, many
people have trouble doing that. If you work in an office,
using these off hours means you won't have folks stopping
by or distracting you with background noise. Now I am
not saying you should always work on weekends or early

(01:49):
mornings just to get some quiet, but on the days
when you do get some of this time, well use it.
Figure out which projects most deserve of these uninterrupted stretches
of time. Which projects will get more traction when you
can devote longer to them than the fifteen minutes of

(02:09):
quiet time you usually get. Maybe you want to focus
on something strategic, developing ideas or plans for a new project,
or figuring out how to refine an existing service or
reconfigure your team. Extended chunks of time are great for
long format writing as well a presentation, a book proposal,

(02:32):
performance reviews for your direct reports that feel well thought through.
All of these are great ideas. I know it's tempting
to think, Hey, I have fewer messages coming in so
I can finally clean out my inbox. But the truth
is you can process email and edit a deck of
slides or organize your desk anytime, so you are probably

(02:56):
better off handling those activities when your workplace sis a
buzz and your schedule is tightly packed. Reserve times that
you're working and others aren't for those things that usually
don't happen but should now. Of course, it's not always
possible to anticipate when you'll get this time. Maybe, for instance,

(03:17):
you've got child care on a snow day when many
other people don't, so you'll get this time, but you
might not know that more than a day ahead. But
if you and your spouse, for instance, decide to each
give each other three hours to work every other weekend, well,
you know you will be getting this time, so plan
for it. Figure out what qualifies as high priority deep

(03:40):
work for you, and then don't put anything in there
that would interrupt this time. Even a quick phone check
in with someone might distract your brain if you're watching
the clock for the appointed time, stopping deep work before
and then cycling in after. Best to keep the schedule
clear an open span of time when you know you'll

(04:02):
be able to concentrate is awesome. So if you are
working while others play, commit to making the most of it,
you might start looking for other opportunities to make this
quiet time happen to in the meantime. This is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

(04:24):
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 me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then breakfast

(04:46):
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart 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 a production of I Heart Radio. For more

(05:07):
podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.