This is an I-Heart podcast.

Good morning. This is Laura.

Welcome to the new corner office, the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the new world of work,

where location and hours are more flexible

than in the past. Today's tip is to occasionally run an errand during the workday. You don't

want to make a habit of it, but sometimes getting out and about in the middle of the day

can make a work-from-home day feel

more doable. I know that millions of people have started working from home for the first time

over the past few months, which makes all sorts of schedule changes possible. If your normal

experience of going to grocery stores or places like Target is right after work or on weekend

afternoons,

your first trip on Tuesday at 10 a.m. is going to blow your mind. There are often more employees

than customers in the aisles. Everything is well stocked. No one pushes you on the way to the milk

case, which actually happened to me once when I hit the grocery store at 4 p.m. on a Saturday.

No one likes being shoved at the milk case. So if you start working from home more regularly, it can be tempting to do all your errands on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

And yet, most of us who've worked from home for a while go through

that phase. But the problem is, if you're working from home, you are working. Taking hours out of

the day regularly for errands is not the best way to maximize productivity. You're best off getting things delivered and maybe

splitting errands with other family members, so no one takes the whole productivity hit. But sometimes,

when you're in a bit of a rut or trying to mull over a problem, it can be good to hit

the grocery store for a midday errand, just because.

You'll get out of the house. You'll get some physical activity. You'll get something done that

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