WEBVTT - Keep a highlight journal

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to keep a highlight journal so you

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<v Speaker 1>can end your days on a high note and go

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<v Speaker 1>to sleep happy. I'm very lucky that I tend to

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<v Speaker 1>sleep pretty well, but if you have trouble falling asleep

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<v Speaker 1>or suffer from general restlessness at night, you know, it

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<v Speaker 1>can be incredibly frustrating. You go to bed at a

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<v Speaker 1>responsible time and yet you're still tired in the morning,

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<v Speaker 1>and that can keep you from doing great things. Before Breakfast,

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<v Speaker 1>Chronic insomnia is a medical condition that requires treatment. In

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<v Speaker 1>today's tip is not about that. Instead, I'm sharing a

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<v Speaker 1>tip from Before Breakfast listener Hilary Sutton, host of the

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<v Speaker 1>podcast Hustle and Grace, about how she helps calm her

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<v Speaker 1>mind at night. Sutton recently had a baby, and new

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<v Speaker 1>parents are finn up at very strange hours. She writes

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<v Speaker 1>that I had a hard time going back to sleep

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<v Speaker 1>after feeding my daughter in the middle of the night.

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<v Speaker 1>It was like my mind thought it needed to stay

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<v Speaker 1>awake to process life changes and solve problems when I

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<v Speaker 1>really just needed to sleep. So here's what she started doing.

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<v Speaker 1>I take about three minutes before turning the lights out

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<v Speaker 1>to jot down the highlights of my day in a

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<v Speaker 1>little notebook that I've oh so originally dubbed my highlights journal.

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<v Speaker 1>She says, this does a few things. First, it forces

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<v Speaker 1>me to identify a win from the day. Some days

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<v Speaker 1>are just hard or tiring or both. Rather than letting

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<v Speaker 1>my final thoughts before bed be about how I failed

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<v Speaker 1>or what frustrated me, I consciously choose to find and

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<v Speaker 1>focus on a positive moment from the day. Second, it

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<v Speaker 1>improves my mood. Thinking about my two to three favorite

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<v Speaker 1>moments of the day, whether it's my baby's new trick,

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<v Speaker 1>a delicious meal, or a great conversation with a client

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<v Speaker 1>is an automatic mood booster. Third, it keeps me present

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<v Speaker 1>as a futuristic thinker. I'm prone to think six steps ahead,

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<v Speaker 1>but taking a moment to reflect on the day and

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<v Speaker 1>write down the highlights reminds me how good this moment

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<v Speaker 1>is and to savor it. I like Sutton's idea because

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<v Speaker 1>it really ends the day on a high note. And

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<v Speaker 1>also it's really easy. I know lots of people say

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<v Speaker 1>they want to keep a journal, but all those blank

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<v Speaker 1>pages can be daunting and it's hard to start the habit. Or,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're like me, you tend to write in your

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<v Speaker 1>journal when you have something to complain about. This can

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<v Speaker 1>be cathartic, but it's not exactly the best way to

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<v Speaker 1>remember and commemorate life. A highlight journal is a very

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<v Speaker 1>simple way to commit to memory something good that happened today,

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<v Speaker 1>and taking three minutes to write it right before you

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<v Speaker 1>go to bed isn't a huge ask. You probably spend

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<v Speaker 1>a minute or two brushing your teeth at that point,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's not that different from that. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>tend to ruminate on unpleasant things at night, why not

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<v Speaker 1>give a highlight journal a try. As Sutton said, it

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<v Speaker 1>helps her drift off and get into a kind of

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<v Speaker 1>happy state in my sleep. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast Podcast at I Heeart media dot Com

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<v Speaker 1>that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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