Schedule Burst Time

Prefer to listen? Click here for the: podcast.

I once had a boyfriend who was juggling two kids, two jobs and a few pets. Getting together was unpredictable, to say the least. His way of making up the ground was a short call. Most mornings, I’d get a, “Hey—I’m on my way out the door, but I wanted to say, ‘Good morning.’”

He didn’t know it at the time, but he was using little moments—anywhere
from 5, 10, 15 or 20 minute increments—to connect. Those snippets of undivided
attention are what organizer Julie Morganstern calls “burst time.”

In the September series, Cancel the Guilt Trip, we’re talking about easy ways you can keep your fall routine on track. Burst time is one of those ways.

What is Burst Time?

In a parenting article, Morganstern described five different transition periods in a child’s day that can be used as burst opportunities:

1. Wake up;
2. Separate for work or school;
3. Reuniting;
4. Dinner; and
5. Bedtime.

However, burst time isn’t limited to kids. You can get a fresh look at
your day through the same lens. Here are a few examples:

• When you wake up, do you jump into texts or emails that have come in overnight, or do you give yourself 5 minutes to ease into your day?
• Do you give your manager 10 minutes to settle in and get their first cup of coffee before you tell them about the latest emergency?
• Do you rush through dinner or give yourself 20 minutes to enjoy your meal?
• Before bed, do you take 10 minutes to reflect on your day? Do you leave the stress of work at the office or do you carry it around like a backpack?

The Power of Micro Meet-Ups

If you think burst time sounds too good to be true, then meet Lindsey Benoit O’Connell. Lindsey had a friend complain that she wasn’t the friend she used to be—and Lindsey reluctantly admitted she was right. However, with a new infant at home, she didn’t have much time to spare.

Instead of feeling guilty, ruminating about days gone by, Lindsey flipped the script and started using micro meet-ups. Long extended lunches have given way to catching up with co-workers during a short walk at lunch or comparing notes with other parents waiting for daycare pick-up.

The Burst Time Challenge

We’ve all heard “I’ve got 2 minutes—can you get to the point?” But the alternative is using the soft skill of adaptability to change those two minutes to small, meaningful pockets of burst time. Rather than feeling bad about letting relationships slip away, find your own version of, “I only have a couple of minutes, but I wanted to check in.” And give yourself extra credit if you can reclaim a connection by using the five different transition periods of your day.

Take the burst time challenge:

• Make it fast by taking 30 seconds to affirm, “I easily connect with the people around me.”
• Make it deep by taking 30 minutes to think about your daily schedule. Where are the opportunities for you to be mindful and plan some burst time?
• Make it real by having a burst session every day this week.

Get rid of the feeling that there’s nothing you can do about time just
slipping away from you. Skip the guilt trip and start scheduling burst time!