1
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,400
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,480
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,279
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to keep a highlight journal so you

4
00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,319
Speaker 1: can end your days on a high note and go

5
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,239
Speaker 1: to sleep happy. I'm very lucky that I tend to

6
00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,480
Speaker 1: sleep pretty well, but if you have trouble falling asleep

7
00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,840
Speaker 1: or suffer from general restlessness at night, you know, it

8
00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,040
Speaker 1: can be incredibly frustrating. You go to bed at a

9
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,960
Speaker 1: responsible time and yet you're still tired in the morning,

10
00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,880
Speaker 1: and that can keep you from doing great things. Before Breakfast,

11
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,199
Speaker 1: Chronic insomnia is a medical condition that requires treatment. In

12
00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,760
Speaker 1: today's tip is not about that. Instead, I'm sharing a

13
00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,280
Speaker 1: tip from Before Breakfast listener Hilary Sutton, host of the

14
00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,040
Speaker 1: podcast Hustle and Grace, about how she helps calm her

15
00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,240
Speaker 1: mind at night. Sutton recently had a baby, and new

16
00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,920
Speaker 1: parents are finn up at very strange hours. She writes

17
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,360
Speaker 1: that I had a hard time going back to sleep

18
00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,400
Speaker 1: after feeding my daughter in the middle of the night.

19
00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:09,920
Speaker 1: It was like my mind thought it needed to stay

20
00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,640
Speaker 1: awake to process life changes and solve problems when I

21
00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,360
Speaker 1: really just needed to sleep. So here's what she started doing.

22
00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,000
Speaker 1: I take about three minutes before turning the lights out

23
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:23,640
Speaker 1: to jot down the highlights of my day in a

24
00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,600
Speaker 1: little notebook that I've oh so originally dubbed my highlights journal.

25
00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:33,240
Speaker 1: She says, this does a few things. First, it forces

26
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,919
Speaker 1: me to identify a win from the day. Some days

27
00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,840
Speaker 1: are just hard or tiring or both. Rather than letting

28
00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,480
Speaker 1: my final thoughts before bed be about how I failed

29
00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,200
Speaker 1: or what frustrated me, I consciously choose to find and

30
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,760
Speaker 1: focus on a positive moment from the day. Second, it

31
00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,520
Speaker 1: improves my mood. Thinking about my two to three favorite

32
00:01:57,520 --> 00:01:59,840
Speaker 1: moments of the day, whether it's my baby's new trick,

33
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,559
Speaker 1: a delicious meal, or a great conversation with a client

34
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,800
Speaker 1: is an automatic mood booster. Third, it keeps me present

35
00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,440
Speaker 1: as a futuristic thinker. I'm prone to think six steps ahead,

36
00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:14,920
Speaker 1: but taking a moment to reflect on the day and

37
00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,160
Speaker 1: write down the highlights reminds me how good this moment

38
00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,840
Speaker 1: is and to savor it. I like Sutton's idea because

39
00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:25,200
Speaker 1: it really ends the day on a high note. And

40
00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,800
Speaker 1: also it's really easy. I know lots of people say

41
00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,400
Speaker 1: they want to keep a journal, but all those blank

42
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,760
Speaker 1: pages can be daunting and it's hard to start the habit. Or,

43
00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,080
Speaker 1: if you're like me, you tend to write in your

44
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,080
Speaker 1: journal when you have something to complain about. This can

45
00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,560
Speaker 1: be cathartic, but it's not exactly the best way to

46
00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: remember and commemorate life. A highlight journal is a very

47
00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,480
Speaker 1: simple way to commit to memory something good that happened today,

48
00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,480
Speaker 1: and taking three minutes to write it right before you

49
00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,280
Speaker 1: go to bed isn't a huge ask. You probably spend

50
00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,639
Speaker 1: a minute or two brushing your teeth at that point,

51
00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,720
Speaker 1: and it's not that different from that. So if you

52
00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,040
Speaker 1: tend to ruminate on unpleasant things at night, why not

53
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,160
Speaker 1: give a highlight journal a try. As Sutton said, it

54
00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,360
Speaker 1: helps her drift off and get into a kind of

55
00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,320
Speaker 1: happy state in my sleep. In the meantime, this is Laura.

56
00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,200
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

57
00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:33,919
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

58
00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:36,800
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

59
00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,120
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

60
00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:46,680
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast

61
00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,840
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email

62
00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,720
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast Podcast at I Heeart media dot Com

63
00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,240
Speaker 1: that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

64
00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:58,960
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

65
00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,880
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

66
00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,040
Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart

67
00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,480
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

68
00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,600
Speaker 1: favorite shows. H