1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,639 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to figure out each day what you 4 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:26,240 Speaker 1: might be able to compress or skip if necessary. That way, 5 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: you can get mindfully back on schedule when your day 6 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: isn't going according to plan. I maintain that a great 7 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: many of the things that come up and that people 8 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: use as excuses are entirely foreseeable. Traffic during rush hour, 9 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 1: a snow day, a client asking for revisions. Who would 10 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: have thought? This is why true time management masters build 11 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: in buffers and make backup plans. They think about what 12 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: might come up, and they think about how they'll cope. However, 13 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: even if we are very careful, things can still disrupt 14 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: the schedule. Sometimes these are good things. If a new 15 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: client wants to spend the morning discussing potential projects, well 16 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: you probably do want to do that. If your back 17 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: up slot is later in the week, you might spend 18 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: a lot of time figuring out how to rework the schedule. 19 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: But there's another option you can try as well. Every day, 20 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: identify one or two things that you do plan to do, 21 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: but that you could eliminate or simplify if the need arose. 22 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: That way, you have an immediate plan of action that 23 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: you don't have to think too much about and can 24 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: possibly still be on track for the day, including for 25 00:01:55,760 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: things in our personal lives when work runs long. So, 26 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: for instance, when you plan your day, you look at 27 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: your afternoon meeting schedule and identify the one meeting that 28 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: is the least important. When something goes wrong or goes 29 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: fabulously right in the morning, you know exactly which one 30 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: you're skipping, and you already have a plan for how 31 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: you will deal with that. Or you know that in 32 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: the afternoon you plan to give that report another read over, 33 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: but you can also send it over to a direct 34 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: report who can give it one last set of eyes 35 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: instead of yours. The day stays on track and what 36 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: needs to get done gets done. Or maybe you planned 37 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: to cook a new to you dinner for your family 38 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: before going to your yoga class at night. When you 39 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 1: get caught in far worse than usual traffic coming home 40 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: from work, you know what you'll do. You switch the 41 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: planned menu to grilled cheese sandwiches and an emergency bagged 42 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: salad that you always keep in the fridge. Voila this 43 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: is a less than ten minute production. You can still 44 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: get to your class. When you think ahead of time 45 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: about what you can skip or minimize, then you don't 46 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: have to choose the most obvious thing to skip. The 47 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: default during a busy day would be to go to 48 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: whatever meetings are on the calendar and then stay late 49 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: at work to finish what didn't get done. Or you 50 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: might choose to chuck any personal evening priorities. But that 51 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: isn't the only option. When you think about what can 52 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: go ahead of time, you can think about the choices 53 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: more holistically. Of course, when you think ahead of time 54 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: about what could go in a pinch, you might decide 55 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: to eliminate those things even if the pinch doesn't happen. 56 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: I am fully supportive of that option. Don't accept meeting requests. 57 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: Automatically triage your schedule when you plan your week to 58 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: make sure that you're not just rescheduling things four times 59 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: in a row. If something keeps getting bumped, it's because 60 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: no one truly considers it a priority, so why not 61 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,359 Speaker 1: just get rid of it for good. I'm also a 62 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: fan of being realistic in our personal lives. If you 63 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: frequently choose the same sphere for employing a shortcut like, Hey, 64 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: when things get crazy, I get my groceries delivered. Well, 65 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: why not just keep getting your groceries delivered? Maybe life 66 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:50,039 Speaker 1: will stop being crazy, but I'm not so sure. In 67 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: any case, it is wise to be proactive and strategic 68 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: about our schedules. When we choose ahead of time what 69 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: can go, then we don't need to dither in the moment. 70 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: We also don't need to make choices under pressure that 71 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: seem obvious but aren't the only option. We can live 72 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:16,599 Speaker 1: well even when time doesn't go as planned. That is 73 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: exactly what time management masters do in the meantime. This 74 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 75 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear 76 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,359 Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 77 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 78 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's B the number four, 79 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me 80 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot 81 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out of all the letters. 82 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 83 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio for 84 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart 85 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 86 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: favorite shows.