A hectic schedule – Working overtime to meet deadlines

I guess we all have a hectic schedule sometimes, don´t we? Here´s a BUSINESS ENGLISH LESSON PLAN (meant for B2 level students) about this topic. VOCABULARY:  HECTIC – OVERTIME – MEET THE DEADLINE – HEAD HONCHO – BURNOUT – RECRUITS – WORKLOAD – TOUGH IT OUT – PULLING MY LEG – GRAB A BITE

I – LISTENING INPUT #1 – A HECTIC SCHEDULE – WORKING OVERTIME TO MEET DEADLINES (followed by Dialogue Comprehension)

SCROLL DOWN FOR DIALOGUE SCRIPT

Dialogue comprehension – True, False or I don´t know?

1. Frank is not busy at all today. True ___ False ___ I don´t know ___
2. Sheila doesn´t like working under pressure. True ___ False ___ I don´t know _
3. Sheila has lunch at the company cafeteria every day. True ___ False ___ I don´t know ___
4. Frank and Sheila´s boss is suffering from burnout. True ___ False ___ I don´t know ___

II – FOCUS ON WORDS & EXPRESSIONS – Find words or expressions in the dialogue that mean the same as:

1. The amount of work that a person has to do: ___________________________
2. Extra hours that someone works in addition to their usual job hours: __________
3. The most important person in an organization; the top boss: ________________
4. Marked by intense activity; very busy: _______________________________
5. Finish something in time: _______________________________________
6. Physical or emotional exhaustion as a result of prolonged stress or overwork: ____
7. Telling me something that is not true as a joke: ________________________
8. Eat something: ______________________________________________
9. A new member in a company, especially someone who has recently been hired: __
10. Go on with something in spite of difficulties; stand a situation: _____________

III – BUSINESS VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS + GAP FILLING EXERCISE

Match the words and expressions below to the definitions.

RUN A BUSINESS     TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN      ABSENTEEISM      CALL IT A DAY                                    CORE BUSINESS     BEHIND SCHEDULE      BOSSY       SWAMPED (WITH WORK)

a. A company´s main activity. _______
b. Declare an end to the day´s activities; end a day´s work. _______
c. Overburdened with work. _______
d. The state of being absent from work. _______
e. Manage a business; be in charge of a company. _______
f. Running late. _______
g. Tending to give orders to others; authoritarian. _______
h. Twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week; all the time. _______  

GAP FILLING EXERCISE – Use the business vocabulary and expressions to fill in the gaps in the sentences below 

CALL IT A DAY        SWAMPED (WITH WORK)         BOSSY        BEHIND SCHEDULE

TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN      ABSENTEEISM       RUN A BUSINESS     CORE BUSINESS             

1. Some convenience stores in big urban centers are open _______________ .
2. “As you know we are _______________ with our current project. I think we´ll have to put in some extra work over the next few days.” said the general manager to his team.
3. “Our strategy has always been to focus on our _________________ and outsource our non-core activities.”, said George at the meeting.
4. I don´t like working with the new regional manager because he´s way too ________ .
5. “Sorry, I can´t talk to you right now. I´m ____________ with work.”, Dave told a friend over the phone.
6. “We´ve done enough work for today. Let´s ______________.”, Bill told a coworker.
7. Mr. Drake Jr. has been _______________ the family ____________ since his father passed away.
8. What can employers do to reduce _______________ rates in the workplace? 

IV – LISTENING INPUT #2 – LISTEN & WRITE & ANSWER 

1. _________________________________________________?

a. I do. I often go by car.
b. About three times a week.
c. About twenty minutes.
d. I enjoy my subway commute because it gives me time to read the news online. 

2. _________________________________________________?

a. I know, I hate deadlines too.
b. September, 15^th, but don´t worry, we´re ahead of schedule.
c. Uh, I wouldn´t talk to him right now if I were you. He´s in a bad mood.
d. We haven´t hit any snags so far, so things are running smoothly.

3. _________________________________________________?

a. The manager needs those reports on his desk ASAP.
b. They´re getting along fine.
c. No, I haven´t been introduced to the new manager yet.
d. Oh yeah, they´re all very friendly. 

4. _________________________________________________?

a. It´s in Houston.
b. We have branch offices all over the country.
c. It´s a great place to set up shop.
d. There are about fifteen sales reps working here.

V – DIALOGUE SCRIPT – A hectic schedule  –  Working overtime to meet deadlines

Frank: What´s your schedule like today?
Sheila: Hectic!
Frank: That makes two of us. I’ll barely have time to grab a bite at the cafeteria.
Sheila: I know. I hate to work under pressure too. Seems like we´ve all been working overtime lately.
Frank: Gosh, I’ve been putting in so many extra hours so we can meet the deadline for our current project that I´m now beginning to feel stressed out.
Sheila: You´re not the only one, but don´t worry, help is on the way.
Frank: Help is on the way? What do you mean by that?
Sheila: I heard the company will be hiring some new people soon.
Frank: Seriously? You´re not pulling my leg, are you?
Sheila: No, I´m serious. The head honcho is worried that some of us might suffer from burnout, you know.
Frank: Gee Sheila, this is the best news I´ve heard in a long time.
Sheila: Sure! I feel the same. Anyway, it might take a while before the new recruits are ready to help us with the workload. Do you think you can tough it out a little longer?
Frank: I think so. I´m actually feeling much better after what you told me.
Sheila: Great Frank. I have to go back to my workstation now. Talk to you later!
Frank: Sure Sheila. It was nice talking to you!  Bye!

TALKING BUSINESS – Author: José Roberto A. Igreja/Disal Editora

José Roberto A. Igreja is the author and co-author of several ELT books, including:

LET´S TALK ABOUT IT! – The Ultimate ELT Conversation Book, now available on the Amazon stores of the following countries:

AUSTRALIA     BRAZIL     CANADA     FRANCE    GERMANY   INDIA    ITALY     JAPAN    MEXICO       NETHERLANDS     SPAIN     UK     US

If you live in Brazil the paperback is available at a discount price on UICLAP!
240 pages – 31 QR-CODES for the audio tracks (dialogues) “even the paperback comes with built-in technology”

600 Phrasal Verbs (with Jonathan T. Hogan)

Talking Business

How do you say … in English?

Fluent Business English (with Robert C. Young)

What to say when …?

False Friends

English for Job Interviews (with Robert C. Young)

American Idioms! (with Joe Bailey Noble III)