Month: March 2021

In the days before the pandemic, the number one thing I heard from colleagues was that they wish they had more time, both more time for work, and more time for life outside of work. 

For everyone who transitioned from a physical office work environment to working from home, it seemed like work went from this distinct activity during our day to this never ending list of to-dos that rarely had an end in sight. And since we are working where we live, it was hard to figure out when the living part should happen. As I reflected on this question of how to do both better, I realized that while 2020 was ridiculously challenging, it also brought with it an unexpected time bonus as we transitioned to working from home.  Now, some of us had to spend this new found time on facilitating remote school for our kids, but starting this summer, I was able to see three major areas where I was saving REAL time:     

1) The commute. 

I personally went from a 30-45 min commute each way down to a minute, and it’s only that long since I have to walk slowly downstairs to my office with my full to the brim cup of coffee. 

2)  The fashion show. 

Like many of the ladies out there, I used to spend upwards of 15 minutes each day putting together our look – from the clothes, to the shoes, to the jewelry.  We worried about things like if we wore that outfit last week, and how do I look in this when I sit/stand, will these shoes work all day or should I bring a back-up pair, and what’s the weather doing – which coat do I need?  Now, once my hair and make-up is done, getting dressed for the day takes less than 2 minutes. Pants, top, and sweater if it’s cold or I need to look extra nice.  That’s IT! 

3) Food packing. 

As someone who used to bring my food to work, the process of measuring out my meals and snack into travel containers is over.  No more planning and packing breakfast, snacks, lunch, back-up snacks, water, and coffee.  In total, a daily 15+ min process was eliminated.  Now that I’m at home, I just grab my leftovers from the fridge, coffee from the carafe, and snacks from the cabinet. 

Reflecting back on just these three things, I’m saving an HOUR before work.  That’s right.  A whole hour, every single day I work from home.  This is time I’m intentionally spending exercising, and reading BEFORE I dive into my inbox in the morning.   

Before I realized that this time was there, it was so easy to let it drift away as I hit snooze, scrolled e-mails, dabbled with online shopping, scanned news, or flipped through social media.  The “a ha!” moment wasn’t realizing I had this magical extra hour, it was realizing I finally had bonus time in my morning for those activities that I had been wishing were a consistent part of my life.

The benefit to purposely spending this bonus time on my personal priorities is that I’m not having to sacrifice time with the kids, my spouse or anyone else to accomplish them.  It’s guilt free! 

And the best part?  I’m having better days because I’m feeling healthier, more fulfilled, and accomplished before the workday even begins.

Do you have an extra hour hiding in your day? 

I bet you do. Grab a piece of paper and I’ll show you how to find morning time and make the most of it:

1. At the bottom, write down what time you sit down at your computer and start work.
2. At the top, write down what time you used to get up pre-pandemic.
3. Under wake up time, write down what you could you do immediately when your alarm goes off that you’ve been wanting to do if you had time. Examples include: read, meditate, pray, stretch, workout, journal, walk, take online class, etc.
4. Determine how long do you need for that activity. If you have at least 1 hour between the time you wake up and the time you want to start work, skip the detailed time audits and measurement, and just DO the thing you wanted to do TOMORROW for 25 min.
5. Still have time? Then go another 5 min next week. For me, I started working out for just 25 min a morning and then slowly increased until I got to where I wanted to be.

Here’s my current morning routine:

Now, what to do for those days I do go in the office? I can either be super prepared and prep food and layout my clothes the night before, wake up earlier, or just reduce the workout time for that one day. So, couldn’t I have done this pre-pandemic? Sure! But I didn’t. It felt like too much sacrifice to make it happen.

Knowing that I had this time bonus was exactly what I needed to dial up my morning productivity to match my workday productivity, and I’m benefiting in both spaces because of it. I hope you do to!

If the thought of leaving work for a few days of PTO leaves you feeling burdened instead of excited, it’s definitely time for a vacation!  In our heads we tell ourselves we have too much on our plates, that we’re dropping the ball, and shifting the burden to our co-workers, or worse, our future selves.  This isn’t the kind of guilt and worry anyone needs as they prepare to take a few days off.  It’s called Paid Time Off for a reason.  It’s not working from a beach, mountain, or hotel while pretending to unplug while you scroll through e-mail everyday, and responding to anything you can resolve quickly or may blow up later.   

I can already hear the protests.  My work is TOO important not to check in!  There’s no one who can cover for me?  I have a big project going on!  If you want to mix working remotely with some rest and relaxation, that’s fine, but make sure you have some clear boundaries on when you’re working, and for how long.  An e-mail session can quickly expand from 15 minutes to all morning.  Chances are some true distance from work will provide some much needed perspective if only for a few days.     

Here are some concrete steps I’ve learned that help me prepare for some well-deserved PTO.   

1) Create a coverage plan 

Now’s when you nail down: 

• what’s in progress that needs oversight in your absence 
• who can provide that oversight 
• which tasks need new owners while you are away.   

It’s easy to cover off on these tasks during 1:1’s with your team members the week before you take off.  If you’re looking for support outside of your team, now’s the time to schedule those conversations. 

2) Clear the calendar – decline, delegate, delay 

Even though you may have had the day or days blocked, it’s likely you still have some meetings scheduled during your PTO.  Now’s the time to go meeting by meeting and alert the organizer that you won’t be there.  If it’s something critical you don’t want to miss, arrange to have a delegate attend in your place.  If sending notes isn’t a normal part of your meeting culture, ask your delegate to send you a bulleted list of actions and decisions right after the meeting.  If I’m doing this for someone, I literally keep a list going in a blank e-mail and send as soon as the meeting concludes.  This way, I don’t have to remind myself to do it later! The final tactic for clearing the calendar is to delay the meeting until you return from vacation.  

3) Block your return morning. 

While you’re calendar clearing, ensure you’ve got at least 1-2 hours blocked to ensure you don’t burn up on re-entry to work.  This ensures you can catch up prior to any major meetings.  And your team will appreciate “seeing” you that morning, either virtually or in-person before your meeting rush begins.

4) Communicate with your boss what you’ve got going on, and how you’re covering things 

• It seems common sense to give your boss a heads up on your PTO coverage plan, but it’s something that rarely happens and really can set you apart as a top performer.  It can be as simple as “Joe’s covering the monthly report out for me” to an e-mail that gives a bulletpoint list overview, to a few minutes chatting about it during your 1:1.     
• Anticipate anything that may come up while you’re gone that may need their support, and be sure to ask if there’s anything specific you need to do before you go.  This keeps the phone calls to a minimum.   

5) Don’t give away the day

If you’re going to be gone during something that really does “need” you, then build that into the vacation plan.  Do that one thing, and be done!  Don’t give the whole day away unless, you choose to spend it working.   

To all my type-A working vacation types, now’s the time to commit to at least one FULL day off of the tech.  Make sure on this special day, you are fully present with your spouse/kids/friends/family.  You may find yourself itching to fill your hands with your phone or laptop.  But instead of connecting to the internet, connect with those you see, and know more days like this are the ones that make the best memories. 

One last thought for those wrestling with the thought of truly disconnecting because it feels selfish.  I can assure you, it’s not.  One added benefit of taking a real vacation instead of a working vacation is the break it gives you team.  I remember when a former boss used to go off grid for nearly a whole week.  Everyone knew she had no wi-fi, no cell reception, and wouldn’t expect responses until she returned to the land of wi-fi.  So while she got to enjoy some uninterrupted time with her family, those of us working also had the opportunity to focus on the current priorities, and resolve issues on our own, while still getting responses ready for her return. 

So do yourself, and your team a favor, and take a REAL vacation!