This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2356.
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Do you like to complete tasks in a piecemeal manner?
Or do you like to get everything done all at once?
Today, learn a useful, natural phrase to talk about getting things done when it makes sense.
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Thank you. Hey there, Michelle.
How's it going today?
Good, Lindsay. Lindsay, do you try to get multiple things done at once?
Oh, I absolutely do, especially when I'm working online.
If I have to wait, if the thing is, you know, the little wheel is moving, I have to go to another window and start something else.
It's crazy. That's funny.
Yeah. Well, I'm glad to talk to you today.
I mean, should we record a podcast episode while we're at it i think we might as well since we're on the phone hey while we're chatting while we're at it let's do it let's do episode two might as well all right yes might as well all right so today we are going to talk about a very useful expression used
to talk about productivity in english yes we just said it what is it we said it the phrase is while we're at it and i love that this came up in your real life real english with native speaking friends.
What were you doing when this came up?
I think she, I think my friend was talking to my daughter and she said, Oh, should we take our shoes off while we're at it?
Something like that.
And I just realized that this was a very, I said, that's a good one.
A lot of, a lot of these, a lot of my recent episodes have come from this one friend speaking pattern.
Oh, that's so funny.
Does she know she's such a great source of ideas.
I told her, I said, I said, you're really, I said, you've given me a few ideas today.
But it, but it's true.
They're all good. So I don't know.
It's, you know, I don't walk into it.
It's not like I walk into my conversations with my friends saying, okay, I'm listening for ideas.
But when they come up, that would be creepy, Michelle.
That would be creepy if you did.
All right. I have my notepad.
Let's talk about it.
No, it's just that sometimes all of a sudden I'll hear something.
I think that's good.
That's good. That's good.
Yeah. So the most important thing for our listeners to know here guys is that this is real english coming directly from our conversations with our native speaking friends so go ahead and hit that follow button and while you're at it leave us a review right well oh my gosh i just i did not even think
about wait you didn't i didn't even think about that's hilarious while you're at it all right go ahead and leave us a review let us know what you think about this podcast all right i want to call out for rubia who left us a review on January 10th and she or he said, love it, five stars.
And then they said, without a shadow of a doubt, these girls are the best.
Oh my gosh, Michelle, that is fantastic.
Very good English. Thank you so much.
That's such a nice review.
Yep. So go ahead and leave your review, everyone, to get your name announced on the show.
So Michelle, other than your friend, who's giving us so many great ideas, we have to send her a thank you card.
Do you find yourself using this expression a lot?
absolutely and it sounds like you do too because you just used to i swear i did not even plan that i did not that's so funny i thought you were just being zippy and nope let's go for it um not zippy not going for it yes just natural um yeah i i definitely use this it's extremely useful um so what what does
it mean while we're at it while you're at it what is it let's break it down So it means while we're doing something, we might as well do something else, get something else done.
And so what I said was go ahead and hit the follow button and while you're at it, meaning while you're in your Apple podcast app or your Spotify app, you might as well go ahead and leave us a review.
So while you're at it, leave us a review.
Perfect. Right. It's, it's, it's convenient.
So it would be a good idea.
Okay. You have it open already.
So it's, it's usually out of convenience And it does.
We've talked about that expression.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Yep. It's kind of like that.
But yeah, this one is to me is very in the moment or while making plans.
So like our beginning, our example in the beginning, imagine that we were just having a video chat anyway and figured we might as well record.
I also just think, well, I like it more than two birds with one stone.
Two birds with one stone feels violent.
It feels like what I said naturally without even thinking about it at the top of the show.
I never would have said, and if you want to kill two birds with one stone, go ahead and also leave us a review.
It just isn't as common.
It doesn't feel as natural.
So this is a much better go -to option for our listeners, I think.
Right, right. And I believe that we spoke about the other one.
And yeah, it's interesting.
There are some things that we teach that are just going to be everyday roll off the tongue kind of expressions.
And this is one of them, Whereas two birds with one stone is very useful and you'll hear it.
It's a little bit more you have to put a little bit more effort into it.
It has more imagery.
Yeah. Yeah. And I think it also appears at a different place in the statement.
I think that would tend to appear at the end.
Right. Hey, you know, while we're in town, let's pick up some milk and also get gas.
Kill two birds with one stone at the end.
Right. You're commenting on what you're doing.
But while you're at it, I'm saying that kind of at the beginning, or it could also be at the end.
Do you know what I mean?
Right, right, right, right.
And guys, while we're at it, I just want to let you know that we are going to do a, we're going to do a Spotify poll later on in this episode.
So guys, sometimes we interact with you by, well, we put a poll on every day, but these ones, these special ones are ones that we share the results.
So it's a great way to interact.
So if you're listening on Spotify, you can answer this poll.
So, wait until further in the episode and we'll give you the question.
All right. So, should we do some examples to make this crystal clear for our listeners?
Yes, exactly. So, here we go.
Here's one. Lindsay, could you pick up your shoes and move them off the carpet?
And while you're at it, can you put your umbrella in the stand?
Perfect. Exactly. So, while I'm at what, Michelle?
While I'm at the business of cleaning up things, moving my shoes, organizing, right?
Right. You've kind of, I'm imagining you came in the door and you just kind of threw everything and I'm, I'm, you know, can you just pick those up?
And yeah. And the concept of this, I, some, I find that people are one of two ways, right?
And I hate it when people do this, they create buckets, but I'm doing it right now.
Um, people either like to piecemeal work, for example, cleaning.
I think we've had this conversation, uh, piecemeal cleaning like a little every day or they like to get it all done at once maybe once a week um it sounds like i think you mentioned before you're more of a piecemealer is that right michelle or yeah and you are all at once yeah so while you know i'm taking
out the trash and while i'm at it i want to clean the kitchen clean the bathroom i don't want to go back to this work every day i just want it to be done for the week and then i revisit it the next sunday so that's that's how this while you're at it kind of fits in.
Do you piecemeal things or do you do things all at once?
What does piecemeal mean?
Piecemeal is a great bonus for today.
Oh my gosh. Piecemeal means you do things in pieces.
You do things in pieces, you know, in phases or you come back to it, but that's not who I am.
Okay, excellent. All right.
What's the next example, Lindsay?
All right. So I could say, let's see I could say okay first let's wash your hands oh and wash the tomatoes while we're at it yeah yeah you got the sink on yeah exactly what's another example Michelle I'll blow it all boil the water and while I'm at it I'll pre -heat the oven perfect yeah so it just fits
so naturally and the other thing I love about this phrase it's a good transition so if you're taking IELTS and you're putting together a speaking answer.
It's a really nice way to transition to ideas.
It just brings your phrases together.
Instead of saying, and next I'm going to, and then I'm going to, and while I'm doing that, I'm going to.
It's just natural. Very natural.
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All right. We have a few more examples to make sure our listeners 100 % get this, right?
All right. Here we go.
Yes, go ahead. I did my cardio at the gym and I figured while I was at it, I should also lift weights.
Oh, I love this because now we're seeing that we can do this in different different tenses right yes yes share so like yes exactly so you're telling stories you can use it i mean this is just so versatile it can be used for anything i feel exactly i i could see using it for the past tense i wouldn't
use it for the present perfect tense i i'd never hear while i've been at it that doesn't make any sense it doesn't make any sense either right that's not yeah no that's true no no no um all right one more example lindsay all right if you're gonna watch tv at least fold some laundry while you're at it
yeah and you know if you have teenagers or something you're probably likely to say this to them right right yes exactly exactly so yeah to me this expression sounds pretty light pretty friendly but i mean in the wrong tone or in a nasty way it could be on the road like you know more strict side like
that last example at least fold some laundry while you're at it that could be Oh yeah.
A little bit, a little bit snarky, but I think with basic things, I think it's just very useful.
What do you think, Lindsay?
Yeah, I think it's really useful.
I do hear it sometimes to snap at people.
If someone's in a fight, maybe it'll say, Oh, go, you know, get out of the house and while you're at it, go pick up something.
Maybe not a serious fight or something, but yeah, sure.
It doesn't always have to be used in a positive tone.
It could be in a more snarky or, you know, you're fighting with someone and it could, it could work there too.
yes yes yeah so let's talk about some other expressions now we've been throwing this one around pretty naturally i think you used it right at the beginning and i thought oh i hope i put this one in the plans and i did what is it yeah might as well so these these mean very similar things or you might hear
them associated in the same statement right might as well might as well do something if you're going into the office anyway you might as well do payroll while you're at it so yeah it's not used instead of this it's used in addition to this right right exactly these ones go along with it yeah so this one also is a good
one that goes along with it it's why not x so it's your birthday the cake is amazing why not take an extra slice while you're at it yes why not do this it's just basically the idea here for today is this thing makes sense to do along with this other thing?
Right? Yes. Exactly.
Yes. Yeah. So yeah, this is about productivity.
Um, and Lindsay, do we have a poll for today?
So what's our Spotify poll?
We do have a poll. So I think what we should do for a poll today is ask what we, what came up in the conversation.
Cause this is really about what kind of person are you, right?
So do you piecemeal tasks or do you prefer to get everything done at once everything done at once let's say for imagine in terms of cleaning the are you more like me you want to clean once a week and do everything maybe it takes three hours but you're done no more cleaning or you like michelle you want to
do maybe i don't know 10 minutes every night for example right so are you a piecemealer or are you a get it done at once person.
That is our poll for today, Michelle.
Yes, that is a good one.
So guys, definitely answer that and then we will be giving you the results in a future episode.
Yeah. And I also wonder if any of that is cultural too, right?
Is it personality? Is it cultural?
Is it just your productivity style?
I mean, both ways are good.
Both ways you get the work done.
But how do you prefer to do it?
Or another example, I don't like to get work done during the day and then go work out and then come back and work after that, I don't like to split it up like that.
I would like to just get all the work done and then be totally done, go work out and just go hang out or something.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, it's, it's definitely nice to feel that sense of accomplishment.
Okay. You've completed your tasks instead of, oh, I have to go back and finish.
But, but at the same time, sometimes, sometimes I want to do that.
And then I just, my brain is, I realize I'm wandering.
I realize that I, that if I, I'll be more efficient if I actually do take a little break, but of course it's more, I would rather get it done.
No, it's so true. You can't, can't, that's a good point, Michelle.
You can't force your way through it.
If the ideas just aren't coming, sometimes you do actually need that air, get out, go to the gym, maybe go out for dinner or something and then come back and you have like a new brain.
It's amazing. Yeah, it is.
It is amazing. Yeah.
So, all right. So guys, definitely answer that poll.
So let's do a role play and put this together.
All right. So here we are friends.
We're building a DIY bookcase.
Now, what is DIY? DIY is do it yourself.
So this could be from Ikea or somewhere where we have to build our own bookcase.
Oh, no, this never goes well for me.
Never goes well. All right.
Let's see how in the other room and grab the instructions sure oh and you might as well grab the hammer while you're at it it's in that drawer okay no problem oh and why not get us a lemonade while you're at it anything else oh no that's it so I was starting to get was I starting to get a little bit
like geez Michelle yeah what's my next order yeah and do this and do that yes exactly so I asked you to go in the other room and grab the instructions and you said sure and so i said oh and you might as well grab the hammer while you're at it so you're going in the other room anyway so you might as
well do this while you're at it so again those two expressions are used really a lot of times they're used together yes i love that might as well i agree so again they're not replacing each other necessarily but they they're associated with each other and and we can start talking about that more on their
show too instead of replacement phrases associated phrases you know in the same context in the same situation that's a great way to learn new vocabulary right yeah it's it's funny yeah because sometimes it's not always okay what are what are multiple ways to use this but what are some things that you'll
hear around it exactly i love that idea yeah and then i said oh you said oh and why why not get us a lemonade while you're at it and now you're pushing the the boundary now So I used, I used while you're at it twice.
I might not do that, but, but exactly.
Just to give you another example.
I mean, another thing you might say, uh, instead of while you're at is why not get us a lemonade while you're out or while you're in the kitchen or while you're somewhere.
Yeah. Physical location.
Right, right, right, right, right.
Exactly. Um, so I, so we, know we haven't even started building the bookcase I'm not sure if this bookcase is going to get built I'm not sure if I'm confident in this well especially I'm already and we haven't even started and I'm ready for my lemonade and yeah I can tell who's in charge I don't seem
very committed yeah I love it so this is great Michelle is there another episode our listeners should check out right away when they finished this episode today yes so we do have this was episode 23 26 was what do birds on efficiency have in common so going back to that idea of the birds and the stones
i love it and again talking about efficiency today what is your style there are a lot of ways to get things done and it just depends on how you want to design your life so it's kind of cool especially in the beginning of the year to sit down and think about what is your efficiency style are there any adjustments we
want to make for 2025 if you're a piecemealer does that work well for you or do you want to become an all you know all or nothing all at once task right you know, someone who just gets these things done all at one time.
So give some time to reflect on how you get things done.
Interesting. Yeah, definitely.
All right, guys, remember to check out that poll and thank you so much for listening today.
All right, Michelle, you have a good one.
I'll talk to you soon.
All right, you too.
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