Learn Russian: Пусть они поболтают, а потом поработают. - Let them chat for a bit, and then do some work.

The prefix по- here acts as a "delimitative" prefix, meaning it limits the time of the action. It changes the base verbs болтать (to chat) and работать (to work) to mean doing those activities "for a little while" or "for a bit." They aren't trying to complete a specific task; they are just doing the activities for a limited duration.

Why are поболтают and поработают in the future tense if "Let them..." sounds like a command happening right now?

The word пусть is used to create a third-person command or suggestion (meaning "let him" or "let them"). It is followed by a normally conjugated verb. Because the prefix по- makes these verbs perfective, they do not have a present tense. Conjugating a perfective verb automatically gives it a future meaning. So, пусть они поболтают literally functions like "let it be that they will chat for a bit."

What is the difference between поболтают and поговорят?

Поговорят comes from говорить (to speak, to talk) and usually implies a standard, sometimes more focused conversation. Поболтают comes from болтать (to chat, to babble, or to gossip), which makes the action feel much more casual, unstructured, and relaxed.

Why does the sentence use а for "and" instead of и in а потом?