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 for all those tasks you do regularly,
Speaker 1: make a template, that is something that serves as a model.
Speaker 1: Templates help us get things done efficiently and successfully. You
Speaker 1: don't have to approach familiar situations as though you've never
Speaker 1: seen them before. Instead, use a template to make getting
Speaker 1: started easier. For instance, in a past episode, I suggested
Speaker 1: creating go to gifts. This is really a gift giving template.
Speaker 1: For instance, you decide that you'll narrow the universe of
Speaker 1: baby gifts down to a monogrammed rattle, a canvas tote
Speaker 1: bag with the baby's name, or a favorite children's book
Speaker 1: from your own childhood. You decide which of these gifts
Speaker 1: you give to any given family, and the personalization makes
Speaker 1: it less cookie cutter, but the choices are simple, which
Speaker 1: makes the process straightforward. You can make packing templates too.
Speaker 1: Maybe you realize that every time you spend a week
Speaker 1: at the beach, you need two bathing suits to cover ups,
Speaker 1: four sets of exercise clothes, two dinner out outfits, five
Speaker 1: casual tops, five casual bottoms. Flip flops, running shoes, and
Speaker 1: dressing sandals. It can be helpful to make a packing
Speaker 1: list before you pack, and then after you get back
Speaker 1: from the trip, edit the packing list with notes about
Speaker 1: anything you'll do differently next time. Grocery shopping and meal
Speaker 1: planning are more efficient with templates too. Make a recurring
Speaker 1: grocery list. Start with the items you buy every week,
Speaker 1: like milk and salad greens, so those are already typed in.
Speaker 1: Then have sections for various categories like fruit and vegetables,
Speaker 1: and write the items you need that week in the
Speaker 1: appropriate category. The sections guide you to think about what
Speaker 1: you'd like in each category, so you end up with
Speaker 1: enough of everything, but not more than you can end ay.
Speaker 1: As for meal planning, a template for the week means
Speaker 1: this chore is much less overwhelming and my family these
Speaker 1: days we're cooking up something simple on Monday. This week
Speaker 1: it was salmon with broccoli. We make meal kits from
Speaker 1: sun Basket on Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning those nights are
Speaker 1: pretty mindless too. We order in from an area restaurant
Speaker 1: on Thursday. Friday is pizza night. There are very few decisions,
Speaker 1: and that's a good thing. During the week, all we're
Speaker 1: really deciding is Monday night and which restaurant we order
Speaker 1: from on Thursday. Now, you may be thinking that using
Speaker 1: templates sounds boring and repetitive, but think again. We don't
Speaker 1: eat the same thing every Wednesday in my house. The
Speaker 1: meal kits provide some variety. Even with removing the decisions.
Speaker 1: The weekly menu is pretty varied, but a template provides
Speaker 1: basic structure. This saves us from facing the metaphorical blank page,
Speaker 1: the overwhelming feeling of owing that you can choose anything
Speaker 1: and having no idea what you want. Templates give you
Speaker 1: a starting point within which you can make creative choices.
Speaker 1: And if you decide to disregard your templates sometimes, well
Speaker 1: that's totally fine. Templates are designed to help you, not
Speaker 1: to limit. You feel free to give some new baby
Speaker 1: a really cute outfit, or go out for dinner on
Speaker 1: Tuesday just because. But every mundane choice doesn't have to
Speaker 1: consume as much attention, and that saves all kinds of time.
Speaker 1: What do you use templates for in your life? I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear about it. You can reach me at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at ihart media dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
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