Predicting Ideas

Predicting Ideas

In the next exercise, you’re going to watch the whole video. Before you watch, read and consider the following summary. Bear in mind that a summary is not a word-for-word transcript. A summary often paraphrases the ideas using other words or other sentence structures.

Scan the summary to familiarize yourself with the ideas that will be discussed. Think about what words might you use to fill in the gaps.

Firstly, in a typical, office-based workday, we all have our own __________ and routine. Commuting, coffee breaks, talking to co-workers: these are all chances for us to get our energy, become our professional selves, and find the right __________ to focus on our work. So we have to recreate these breaks. You can do this with music, lighting, exercise before you sit down: anything which marks the __________ between work and home.

Secondly, we need to handle our pace, place, and space. Your pacing means managing the __________ that take your energy against those that give you energy. You could schedule fewer videoconferences, as these are __________ which drain energy. Consider having time between them or having them at the time of day when you have more energy. With place, think about where you work and use it to enforce __________. Wherever you work, make sure it feels like a workplace. For space, ensure you have __________ time, including time away from family. 

If you’re a manager, help your employees protect their pace, place, and space. Don’t let extroverts dominate calls. Avoid brainstorming as it can __________ social anxiety. Ask people to write down ideas before a brainstorming session instead. Use audio calls instead of video as they are better for communication. Try sending voice memos instead of having difficult conversations with someone so that they can respond in their own time.

Remote work isn’t going away. Don’t just copy old work habits to remote work. Build something __________. Start by asking introverts how they would like to work and
move from there.