Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to change how you talk about your experiences
Speaker 1: in order to shape how you feel about them. Today's
Speaker 1: tip was inspired by a participant in my recent time
Speaker 1: tracking challenge, where several thousand people track their time together
Speaker 1: for a week. This person told me that she changed
Speaker 1: the category on her time log for time spent with
Speaker 1: her partner to be date. With that change in language,
Speaker 1: she said, I was able to shift how I felt
Speaker 1: about our time together. Who knows what they were doing
Speaker 1: in all that time, But if calling their time to
Speaker 1: gather a date made it feel like a date, then
Speaker 1: that is a huge when that is true whether they
Speaker 1: spent the date time dining at a fancy restaurant or
Speaker 1: just shoveling snow. I will note that my husband and
Speaker 1: I sometimes go to the YMCA together to exercise. With
Speaker 1: five kids and all our job responsibilities, that honestly can
Speaker 1: feel like a date. My twenty something self probably wouldn't
Speaker 1: have thought of a trip to the y as a
Speaker 1: date if a gentleman has suggested it, But my forty
Speaker 1: something self appreciates that time together is time to gather.
Speaker 1: Language matters, and if you can change how you refer
Speaker 1: to an activity, you may be able to shift your
Speaker 1: attitude and feelings about it. This is true for how
Speaker 1: you refer to an activity on a time log, as
Speaker 1: the participant in my time tracking challenge discovered, but it's
Speaker 1: also true for the language you use on your planner, calendar,
Speaker 1: to do list, in conversation with your friends and family,
Speaker 1: and even in your internal monologue. The words you choose
Speaker 1: shape your perception of how you are spending your time,
Speaker 1: So why not choose those words wisely. For instance, instead
Speaker 1: of thinking about your time in the car on the
Speaker 1: way to work in the morning is commuting, think of
Speaker 1: it as podcast an audiobook time. Time driving your kids
Speaker 1: home from school or sports could become the daily debrief.
Speaker 1: Time sitting in your car during their practices could become
Speaker 1: quiet time. Or take knitting, cross stitching, or a good book,
Speaker 1: and it becomes time for your favorite hobbies. Yardwork can
Speaker 1: become gardening, which for some strange reason, sounds more enjoyable.
Speaker 1: Cleaning out your closet can be a wardrobe refresh. Think
Speaker 1: of a hair appointment or a physical not as life maintenance,
Speaker 1: but as self care a pleasure. Why not refer to
Speaker 1: tidying and cleaning your house, putting away groceries in the
Speaker 1: like as nesting instead of chores. Or if you clean
Speaker 1: at an aerobic pace, think of it as exercise. Suddenly
Speaker 1: you are a person who gets thirty minutes of exercise
Speaker 1: every day. A rose by any other name may smell
Speaker 1: as sweet as Shakespeare tells us, but for less obviously
Speaker 1: appealing activities, Renaming them may create a somewhat rosier experience
Speaker 1: of them. If you try renaming and reframing activities in
Speaker 1: your life, I'd love to hear how you do it.
Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.