Yes you can do that during the workday

You might have more flexibility than you think

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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 that you might have more flexibility during
the work day than you think, particularly if you're working

(00:23):
from home more now than in the past. You might
be able to have some little adventures and enjoy some
real leisure during breaks, as long as the work gets done.
How it gets done is largely up to you. Now.
Some people get paid by the hour, in which case

(00:44):
you need to work your contracted hours. Some people also
have to do certain kinds of work in specific places.
It's going to be hard to clean someone's teeth remotely
awesome as that might be for people who don't like
going to the dentist. However, a lot of work is
far more fluid, particularly these days, and this is especially

(01:06):
true now that many people are working from home more regularly,
and as organizations are considering hybrid models of in office
and remote work. One of the best things remote workers
and managers can do is to get clear on the
objectives for any given week. What would you like to
say by Friday afternoon that you've done What would make

(01:29):
for a challenging but doable week. People can propose these
objectives to their managers, or managers can set them for
people who need some guidance, but in either case, we
should all know what success looks like once we know
that though, there can be incredible freedom in the details.

(01:51):
And that means that if you are on target for
achieving your objectives, the exact hours don't matter so much. Yeah,
that means that you can do a lot of things
during the work day that you might not have considered before.
Finish the day's objectives early and the weather is beautiful,
take your kids to the pool at four pm when

(02:12):
they get home from day camp. On track for everything,
you could take a ninety minute lunch to go to
a local museum that's only open from nine to two
every day. If you need to make up the time,
you could work until six instead of five, or for
an hour at night after the kids go to bed.

(02:33):
Maybe you could go to a less crowded during the
day workout class, our run to the library or bookstore
and enjoy browsing. You could start work a little early
if you wanted to make up the time, or maybe
you are so efficient that the longer breaks fit fine
as they are when I have suggested using this time

(02:53):
flexibility to people. Some have eagerly started planning one little
adventure each week, just one, it can change everything, but
others are more reticent to even try one per week.
I've explored this reticence and seen a few reasons for it.
One is that some people want an absolute strict separation

(03:17):
between work and life. Work is nine to five, life
is outside that never the twain shall meet. I do
think folks are becoming a little bit less rigid about this,
as we've experienced working from home during the pandemic, But
it's still there. You have to know yourself. But I'd
suggest that you might want to re examine this mindset.

(03:39):
Where is this coming from. Sometimes people absolutely never want
to do work after five pm, and I get that,
but it's really not so terrible if you get a
little bit more free time during the day. But sometimes
I think it's that people have a deep seated fear
that if their boss, say, saw them at the swimming
pool at four pm, they might be fired. Okay, I guess,

(04:03):
but you know what, if your boss is at the
swimming pool at four pm, clearly she thinks there's some
flexibility involved in work too. I think more often some
people just feel so busy at work that they can't
step away from their desks for even a few minutes.
I understand the feeling, but I also think that sometimes

(04:24):
we become wedded to the identity of being the crazy
busy person. Look how much everyone needs us. We are
martyrs to being needed. Going to an art museum for
an hour during the day changes that narrative. And changing
a narrative can be scary, but it can also be liberating.

(04:48):
So try changing your story. Look at how powerful I
am in control of my time. I'd also point out
that getting away from your desk ocasionally can allow you
to get some great ideas, and if you need ideas
in your job that during the day, trip to a
botanical garden might actually wind up being more productive than

(05:10):
spending the equivalent amount of time deleting email. In any case,
if you have never tried a little during the workday
adventure and you have at least some flexibility in your job,
I challenge you to try it at some point over
the next week. Take at least an hour during a

(05:31):
work day to do something you've figured you can't do
because you have a nine to five job. If you
don't have to clock in and out, there is no
need to announce it. There's no need to figure out coverage.
It is only sixty minutes. See how it goes. Did
earth crash into the sun? No, Then you may have

(05:55):
more freedom than you have been realizing, so why not
use it. If you are hitting it out of the
park in your job, then your time really can be
your own. Little adventures can make life feel more fulfilling.
And if they are adventures that are easier to do
during the work day, well no need to write them

(06:16):
off just for that reason. 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.

(06:36):
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 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.

(07:00):
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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