WEBVTT - Second Cup: One task per weekend

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.400
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:17.120
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:21.920
<v Speaker 1>tip is to assign yourself one task beyond life maintenance

0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:27.920
<v Speaker 1>each weekend. When you assign yourself one task, it's more

0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:32.839
<v Speaker 1>likely to happen, and then you can move on to

0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:38.200
<v Speaker 1>something else. I am sure you, like many of us,

0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:43.199
<v Speaker 1>have all kinds of ongoing personal projects. You want to

0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.240
<v Speaker 1>get curtains for the guest room. You want to clean

0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.360
<v Speaker 1>out a space in the garage for a work bitch.

0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:51.840
<v Speaker 1>You want to empty out those boxes that have been

0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:55.080
<v Speaker 1>sitting in the living room for a year after your move,

0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:58.440
<v Speaker 1>and find the floor of the laundry room under the

0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.120
<v Speaker 1>pile of sheets you are not sure if you want

0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:05.800
<v Speaker 1>to save or not. Okay, that last one is me.

0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:11.080
<v Speaker 1>Often these lists of personal tasks wind up quite long.

0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.679
<v Speaker 1>You tell yourself you will get to them on the weekend,

0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.559
<v Speaker 1>but then the weekend has its usual amount of kid

0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:25.759
<v Speaker 1>stuff and basic life maintenance like groceries and laundry. Plus

0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:30.400
<v Speaker 1>you want to relax. All the tasks you could do

0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:35.559
<v Speaker 1>seem overwhelming, and you either feel like you spend all

0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:39.160
<v Speaker 1>your time doing them but aren't sure what you've accomplished,

0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:45.360
<v Speaker 1>or you do nothing. Why bother? It just feels like

0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:53.560
<v Speaker 1>too much. But there is another approach. Assign yourself one

0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:58.880
<v Speaker 1>task beyond life maintenance per weekend. So yes, you do

0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:01.920
<v Speaker 1>the laundry and get your groceries and anything else you

0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:08.120
<v Speaker 1>do to make regular functioning possible. Then pull one task

0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:14.119
<v Speaker 1>from your long list and focus on that, just one.

0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:17.959
<v Speaker 1>Figure out roughly how long it will take and when

0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:22.560
<v Speaker 1>you can do it. If all that is uncertain, decide

0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:27.280
<v Speaker 1>on a certain quantity of time, as in I will

0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:31.520
<v Speaker 1>spend two hours dealing with the boxes in the living room,

0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:37.480
<v Speaker 1>Then do it. You might be surprised at what you

0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:41.040
<v Speaker 1>can get through when you put all your energy into

0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:46.920
<v Speaker 1>one thing instead of spreading it around six different projects. Plus,

0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:51.560
<v Speaker 1>you will feel less guilty. You know that this weekend

0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:55.480
<v Speaker 1>you do the living room boxes, you do not need

0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:59.920
<v Speaker 1>to worry about anything else. Next week you can do

0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.880
<v Speaker 1>the laundry room, or clean out space in the garage

0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:07.920
<v Speaker 1>or something along those lines. There is a time to

0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:14.120
<v Speaker 1>do those things. Now is not that time? And guess

0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:18.399
<v Speaker 1>what you will start to make it through your list.

0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.520
<v Speaker 1>I am happy to report that a few weekends ago

0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:25.280
<v Speaker 1>I emptied out four boxes in the living room. Then

0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:30.000
<v Speaker 1>the next weekend I tackled the laundry room. Next weekend

0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:32.880
<v Speaker 1>I will do the one big box in the foyer

0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:39.280
<v Speaker 1>with all the stuff that seems to resist classification. Bit

0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:43.520
<v Speaker 1>by bit, it all gets done and I don't feel

0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:48.920
<v Speaker 1>so overwhelmed. So maybe think about this for your weekend

0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:52.920
<v Speaker 1>task list too. If you divvy up projects with someone

0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:57.280
<v Speaker 1>else in your household, maybe each of you can take

0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:02.480
<v Speaker 1>one assignment for the weekend. This could be mutually agreed upon,

0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:06.240
<v Speaker 1>so there are no bad feelings. Why isn't So and

0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:10.880
<v Speaker 1>so hanging those pictures well, because this is the weekend

0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:15.280
<v Speaker 1>for taking those bins of old toys to the donation center.

0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:21.799
<v Speaker 1>Next weekend is picture hanging weekend. It is all good.

0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:29.080
<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:39.040
<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our times. Hey, everybody,

0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:41.359
<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:45.039
<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:49.479
<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at before Breakfast Pod

0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:55.560
<v Speaker 1>that's b the number four then breakfast Pod. You can

0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:59.840
<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia.

0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.120
<v Speaker 1>That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:05.839
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.

0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:15.720
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:20.640
<v Speaker 1>from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:24.560
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.