Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to realize that there's no such thing
Speaker 1: as a typical week, So stop waiting for one. To
Speaker 1: implement your planning routines, pursue your goals, or work on
Speaker 1: your habits. Live the way you aspire to live this
Speaker 1: week or any week, whether it's typical or not. I
Speaker 1: have long been fascinated by when people feel the normal
Speaker 1: rules don't apply. We all assume different things. For instance,
Speaker 1: I remember showing up for a rehearsal for something during
Speaker 1: finals week in college. Someone else was noticeably absent and
Speaker 1: hadn't mentioned she would be gone, meaning the rehearsal was
Speaker 1: a bit less productive than it might have been. When
Speaker 1: asked about it later, she said, oh, but it was
Speaker 1: finals week, not that she had a test scheduled for
Speaker 1: the same time as the rehearsal, just that the week
Speaker 1: was a typical. So I guess she assumed everything was optional.
Speaker 1: As I began studying time, I quickly learned that people
Speaker 1: often grant themselves mental exceptions to things when they perceive
Speaker 1: time as a typical. In my work, I usually have
Speaker 1: people track their time for a week, and inevitably people
Speaker 1: will send me a note asking if they should start
Speaker 1: over with the time tracking because they were outsick on Tuesday,
Speaker 1: or they'll say I shouldn't track this week because of
Speaker 1: the fourth of July or some other such day. But
Speaker 1: unless you will never get sick again or never experience
Speaker 1: a holiday again, these so called a typical days add up.
Speaker 1: I've learned that whether something is considered a typical week
Speaker 1: or not is more a matter of how people like
Speaker 1: to see their lives. If you are telling yourself a
Speaker 1: story that you never see your kids, then a week
Speaker 1: when you do see your kids will be deemed a typical.
Speaker 1: If you are telling yourself that you never get a
Speaker 1: chance to do fun things, then a week where fun
Speaker 1: things happen will be deemed a typical too. I have
Speaker 1: had people turn in time logs with a session at
Speaker 1: the spa, complete with a note saying this never happens,
Speaker 1: even though obviously it did anyway. All this is to
Speaker 1: say that there are no typical weeks. A typical is typical.
Speaker 1: This is important to know because lots of people set
Speaker 1: aside their planning habits and routines in weird weeks like
Speaker 1: this one where there's a holiday, or if there's a snowstorm,
Speaker 1: or if their spouses out of town, or a key
Speaker 1: colleague is on vacation, or a family member is sick
Speaker 1: or fill in the blank. Sometimes people don't even bother
Speaker 1: to look at their calendars during these a typical weeks,
Speaker 1: which I somewhat suspect is what happened to my missing
Speaker 1: cast member during finals. Likewise, many people suspend goal pursuit
Speaker 1: or habits as specially new habits, during whatever is deemed
Speaker 1: a weird week. They exercise every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday,
Speaker 1: except when they're traveling for work. They go to bed
Speaker 1: between ten and ten thirty every night, except when they
Speaker 1: have a big work deadline. They do informational interviews and
Speaker 1: work towards their goal of finding a great new job,
Speaker 1: except while their kids are remote learning. And I get it.
Speaker 1: It is a lot easier to maintain your good habits
Speaker 1: when life is going exactly as you think it is
Speaker 1: supposed to go. But here's the thing. Most weeks are
Speaker 1: weird in one way or another. Seems likely to contain
Speaker 1: fifty two a typical weeks. If you set aside the
Speaker 1: structures that help you live the life you want. During
Speaker 1: the weird weeks, you are missing out on a chance
Speaker 1: to make real progress. So rather than waiting for a
Speaker 1: typical week, recognize that there are no typical weeks, and
Speaker 1: so even a typical ones need to be dealt with,
Speaker 1: and as many of the rules you set for yourself
Speaker 1: as possible need to still apply. This means that you
Speaker 1: still need to plan the weird weeks taking into account
Speaker 1: their weirdness. You can still pursue your goals and habits
Speaker 1: even if things need to look a little different. For example,
Speaker 1: on Christmas Day, you can still eat those five servings
Speaker 1: of fruits and vegetables, even if you eat a lot
Speaker 1: of sugar and butter alongside the fruit and veg You
Speaker 1: may not have an informational interview every week if the
Speaker 1: kids are out of school, but you can brainstorm who
Speaker 1: you'd like to meet and do some more virtual outreach,
Speaker 1: which is another way of working towards the same goal.
Speaker 1: By maintaining our habits even during weird weeks, we strengthen
Speaker 1: our routines and make progress toward being our best selves,
Speaker 1: and that is a good thing, whether our week are
Speaker 1: typical or not. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening and 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: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. M