WEBVTT - See where the time really goes

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my 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 see where the time really goes.

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<v Speaker 1>I will be tracking my time next week, as I

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<v Speaker 1>always do, and I invite you to track a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>When we know where the time goes, we can celebrate

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<v Speaker 1>what is working, and we have data that can help

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<v Speaker 1>us make mindful choices if that is desired. Long Time

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast listeners know that I am a big fan

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<v Speaker 1>of time tracking. I've been tracking my time on weekly

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<v Speaker 1>spreadsheets for over seven years now. I will be celebrating

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<v Speaker 1>eight years this April. Perhaps that sounds a little intense,

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<v Speaker 1>but I promise it really isn't. I open a new

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<v Speaker 1>spreadsheet every Monday morning. The spreadsheet has the days of

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<v Speaker 1>the week across the top Monday to Sunday, and half

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<v Speaker 1>hour blocks down the left hand side, five a m.

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<v Speaker 1>To four thirty a m. These three hundred thirty six

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<v Speaker 1>cells represent the one hundred sixty eight hours of a week.

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<v Speaker 1>I usually check in three times a day or so

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<v Speaker 1>and write down what I have done since my last

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<v Speaker 1>check in. Each check in takes about a minute, so

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<v Speaker 1>that is three minutes a day. This is the same

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<v Speaker 1>amount of time I spend brushing my teeth, an activity

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<v Speaker 1>that doesn't seem to intense to most people and doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>inspire a whole lot of resistance from me. And just

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<v Speaker 1>like brushing my teeth, I do think this time tracking

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<v Speaker 1>habit has been a good addition to my life over time.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to spend your time better, you need

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<v Speaker 1>to know where it is going. Because if you don't

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<v Speaker 1>know where the time is going, now, how do you

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<v Speaker 1>know if you're changing the right thing. Maybe something you

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<v Speaker 1>thought was a problem really isn't. Maybe something you haven't

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<v Speaker 1>considered as taking more time than you might have imagined.

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<v Speaker 1>As with any business decision, you want to work from

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<v Speaker 1>good data, and the only real way to get that

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<v Speaker 1>data is to track your time. If you have been

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<v Speaker 1>curious about time tracking, next week would be a great

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<v Speaker 1>time to try it. I will be leading my annual

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<v Speaker 1>time tracking challenge, as I almost always do, during the

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<v Speaker 1>second week of January. Thousands of people we'll track their

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<v Speaker 1>time together. If you would like to get daily emails

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<v Speaker 1>and reminders from me, then visit my website Laura Vanderkam

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<v Speaker 1>dot com to sign up. You can also follow along

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<v Speaker 1>with my time logs, which I will be posting. But

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<v Speaker 1>the truth is you don't need to do any of that.

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<v Speaker 1>You can just track however you want on a spreadsheet,

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<v Speaker 1>an app, a notebook, you can use anything that can

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<v Speaker 1>help you see where the time is going aim to

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<v Speaker 1>go for a week. You want to know how you

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<v Speaker 1>spend Tuesdays and how you spend Saturdays, because they are

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<v Speaker 1>all part of life. I can't promise the experience of

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<v Speaker 1>tracking your time will be life changing. All I know

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<v Speaker 1>is that it has been very helpful for me. I

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<v Speaker 1>have figured out how much sleep I need seven point

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<v Speaker 1>four hours per day, in case you're curious. I have

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<v Speaker 1>figured out where the little nooks and crannies of my

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<v Speaker 1>time are and how I can use those spots for hobbies.

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<v Speaker 1>Time tracking helps me see that I have space for

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<v Speaker 1>adventures even with everything else that is going on with

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<v Speaker 1>my family, and I have the ability to conjure up memories.

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<v Speaker 1>As I look at past time logs, I don't just

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<v Speaker 1>vaguely remember going to a conference in Massachusetts in December.

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<v Speaker 1>I can see that I ate lunch at Rosa Mexicana

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<v Speaker 1>and worked in Starbucks for an hour before my hotel

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<v Speaker 1>room was ready, and more about that whole memory reappears.

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<v Speaker 1>It is not completely gone. It is there somewhere waiting

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<v Speaker 1>for me to pull it out of the filing cabinet.

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<v Speaker 1>If you also want to figure out what your life

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<v Speaker 1>really looks like, and what you enjoy about your time

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<v Speaker 1>and what you want to change, then I invite you

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<v Speaker 1>to track along. Even if you only make it through

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<v Speaker 1>a few days, you will have a slightly better sense

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<v Speaker 1>of life's rhythms. Time keeps passing one way or another.

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<v Speaker 1>Cracking gives it a bit more shape and form. It

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<v Speaker 1>gives us something to work with, and that makes it

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<v Speaker 1>less likely to slip through our fingers. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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

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<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much. I look forward to staying

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

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows. Yeah.