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 to realize that even if plans have
Speaker 1: to change, planning is valuable. It's worth making time for
Speaker 1: whatever life brings. I know a lot of people feel
Speaker 1: burned out by so many plans had to change. Those
Speaker 1: disappointments make people reticent to plan much for the new year.
Speaker 1: Why not just take things as they go? That is
Speaker 1: certainly an option, but I think there is still a
Speaker 1: place for planning in life. For starters, life always changes.
Speaker 1: People lose jobs or find new ones. People have medical emergencies,
Speaker 1: people end old relationship or start new ones. Sometimes you
Speaker 1: can plan exactly when you'll have children, but many of
Speaker 1: us have not had this carefully planned experience. Is the
Speaker 1: first year that your plans had to change, well, wow,
Speaker 1: you have led a fairly unusual life. Instead, planning is
Speaker 1: about asking what you would like your time to look like.
Speaker 1: Time offers no guarantees, but having an idea allows you
Speaker 1: to clarify what you find important and to do your
Speaker 1: best to make those things happen. For instance, if you
Speaker 1: are still thinking about what kind of trips you'd like
Speaker 1: to take and what might be possible with various travel restrictions.
Speaker 1: Then you know that travel and the ensuing new experiences
Speaker 1: are really important to you. Thinking about what big projects
Speaker 1: would make you excited to go to work can also
Speaker 1: clarify how you should be spending your work hours. I
Speaker 1: can't guarantee that a given idea for a book might
Speaker 1: work out, but knowing that I want to write books
Speaker 1: has me thinking of ideas with a bigger scope. Even
Speaker 1: thinking of what kinds of things you'd like to do
Speaker 1: with your family clarifies how you envision your communal time.
Speaker 1: Are you drawn to active adventures, cultural activities, cozy cooking
Speaker 1: and puzzles and indoor fun. As you imagine how you'd
Speaker 1: like to spend family time in the new year, or
Speaker 1: even just day to day, you strengthen your sense of
Speaker 1: family identity. Now, I will admit that my plans for
Speaker 1: one are a bit looser than some of the ones
Speaker 1: I made. I'm open to more things that might come
Speaker 1: my way, but there are some big plans too. The
Speaker 1: book I'm writing, moving into my new house, hopefully taking
Speaker 1: some of the vacations that didn't happen but sounded pretty cool.
Speaker 1: When I planned them the first time, which brings me
Speaker 1: to my last point. Life is long. The US Virgin
Speaker 1: Islands aren't going anywhere, and so the plan I had
Speaker 1: to go there can actually be recycled into a future year.
Speaker 1: The time spent planning it wasn't wasted. It was just
Speaker 1: a bit well premature. So if you are reticent to
Speaker 1: plan big things, you might think of it that way.
Speaker 1: You're creating a rough plan that you'll be able to
Speaker 1: use at some point. Plans have to change, but we
Speaker 1: can still plan anyway and reap the benefits. So if
Speaker 1: you haven't already, sit down at some point in the
Speaker 1: next few days and think about how you'd like to
Speaker 1: spend time in the new year. It won't all work
Speaker 1: as planned, but you know what, life never does. At
Speaker 1: least in the world where we plan, we can spend
Speaker 1: some time looking forward to our fund to come. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the
Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. I don't know yet,
Speaker 1: Get Get