#562 The 24 Hour Rule: Why Waiting Makes You Better at Work

Squiggly Careers

AmazingIf

Careers, Business, Management

4.9 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ever sent a reply you immediately regretted, or said something in the heat of the moment you wish you hadn't? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah makes the case for the 24 hour rule, and shares the research that backs up why waiting is almost always worth it. 🎯 What You'll Learn – Why giving yourself 24 hours moves you beyond fight, flight or freeze (and why sleep is doing more work than you think) – 3 things to do in that 24 hours while you're processing: name it to tame it, separate facts from feelings, and ask whether you'll still care about this in 12 months – Why it's okay to say "I'll come back to you tomorrow" (and why people actually find it reassuring when leaders do this) – What to do when you don't have 24 hours and an hour is the best you can get 📚 Resources Mentioned Episode 364: How to improve your judgement: https://www.amazingif.com/listen/how-to-improve-your-judgement/ For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	My name's Mark and this is my NHS story. The sensation in my neck was painful all the time.
0:07.0	Once I spoke to my GP, they referred me to my CDC. They got me in very, very quickly.
0:12.0	The amount of pain I went through for something so easy, why hadn't I done this four months before?
0:17.0	The government is opening new community diagnostic centres, with many already available 12 hours a day, seven days a week, so the NHS can be there for all of us when we need it.
0:25.2	Find your closest one at gov.uk slash NHS fit for the future, available Englandwide.
0:31.2	My name is Chevy, and this is my NHS story. Over a couple of days, I was getting quite intense pain on the left side of my stomach.
0:38.2	So I called my doctors and then was referred to the Elton CDC. It was literally a seamless,
0:44.4	stress-free day. There was no anxiety or worry. The government is opening new community
0:48.7	diagnostic centres with many already available 12 hours a day, seven days a week, so the NHS can be
0:53.6	there for all of us when we need it.
0:55.2	Find your closest one at gov.uk slash NHS Fit for the Future.
0:58.9	Available England wide.
1:01.1	Get the ice cream, love.
1:03.4	Big freezer.
1:05.0	Stop.
1:08.5	It's five of peas.
1:11.3	Some things are really best not to put off.
1:13.8	Mike, defrosting the freezer.
1:15.3	Or if you're a landlord, sending a copy of the new government information sheet to your existing tenants.
1:20.6	You must do this by the 31st of May or risk a fine.
1:24.0	Make sure you're up to date with the new laws.
1:26.3	Find the information sheet at gov.ukuk
	...

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