Second Cup: Set your summer hours

Be mindful about whether your schedule will change

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to set your summer hours. Work might look
a little bit different in the summer, and that's okay.
It's better to be mindful of it and acknowledge it

(00:31):
than to set expectations that won't work with reality. So
after Memorial Day, some companies switch to what are known
as summer hours.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Generally, these are shorter half days on Fridays are common,
and I view them as a nod to reality. The
opportunity cost of working into the evening just feels different.
When it's light and nice out. People want to be
out in parks and restaurants and such. They want to

(01:07):
leave for the beach on Friday afternoon. You can have
resentful employees watching the clock and sneaking out, or you
can seem magnanimous, build it in and get the exact
same amount of work out of your people. Even if
you work for yourself, though, there are just certain summer realities.

(01:32):
Many of us have different childcare situations than we do
during the school year. We might have more days off
or half days because of out of work commitments. Colleagues
might be gone, which slows things down to If that
is the case, it might help to decide on summer

(01:54):
hours so you can set your expectations accordingly. If you
might normally be able to tackle two projects in a week,
but that assumes a forty hour work week and you
wind up working thirty hours in the summer, you are
going to feel behind. But if you know that you

(02:16):
are working those summer hours, you might set the timeline
as eight working days for completing those two projects rather
than five days, and you'll wind up feeling a lot
better about it. Setting summer hours can also give you
permission to relax. You might not be getting much done

(02:39):
on Friday afternoons anyway, but if you do have control
over your time and you decide that work is done
at two pm on Fridays, then you won't feel bad
about reading a book or going for a walk at
three pm. The key realization here is that if the

(03:00):
work isn't getting done anyway, it's best to spend the
time on something worthwhile rather than just puttering around. Now.
I know that not everyone can set their own hours,
and some people are busier over the summers, but if
you've got a different slow season, then by all means,

(03:23):
set winter hours or fall hours or whatever it happens
to be for you, and if nothing else, you might
try setting a true ending time during the summer. Many
people who don't get paid by the hour drift out
of work at various points based on when they think

(03:44):
it is acceptable, or when their boss leaves or whatever.
So go ahead and set your forty hours and stick
to it and see how it goes. You might find
that you are getting just as much done and that
you like having the boundary when you get outside and

(04:05):
explore those summer nights. Do you have summer hours. I'd
love to hear about how they differ from your work
hours in other seasons. You can let me know about
it at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,

(04:26):
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. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then
breakfast Pod.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
You can also shoot me an email at before Breakfast
podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled
out with all the letters thanks so much, should I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the

(05:18):
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.