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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to keep a quick fix list so

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Speaker 1: you can use unexpected chunks of time to make your

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Speaker 1: home more pleasant and streamlined. When we find ourselves with

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Speaker 1: extra time at home, it's easy to fritter it away

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Speaker 1: tidying up or watching TV. Then we wonder what we've

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Speaker 1: been doing with ourselves, and paradoxically, when we're spending more

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Speaker 1: time in our homes, we are probably noticing more annoying

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Speaker 1: issues that we really do intend to fix. The pantry

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Speaker 1: door that sticks, or the shelf that holds towels and

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Speaker 1: several months supply of soap, sugar, and garbonzo beans arranged

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Speaker 1: in no particular order. The weird light fixture you meant

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Speaker 1: to have replaced when you moved in several years ago.

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Speaker 1: We all have nagging mental to do lists like this,

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Speaker 1: and it's not really a big deal to tackle these items.

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Speaker 1: Most take an hour or less. But it's also not

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Speaker 1: a big deal to live with them undone, so we

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Speaker 1: do live with them, often for an embarrassingly long time.

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Speaker 1: Ask me how long it took to get rid of

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Speaker 1: two light fixtures I disliked when we moved into this

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Speaker 1: house nine years ago. Now is a great time to

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Speaker 1: make a quick fix list with all of these two dus.

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Speaker 1: Write the tasks down on paper so they are not

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Speaker 1: hanging over your head, and so that when you do

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Speaker 1: have time to spare, you're able to remember them. Spraying

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Speaker 1: w D forty on a squeaky hinge, organizing the wrapper

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Speaker 1: paper bin you get the idea. If you leave the

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Speaker 1: quick fix list in a prominent place, others in your

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Speaker 1: family may add to the list as well. Or better yet,

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Speaker 1: they may pitch in by doing quick fixes and crossing

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Speaker 1: things off the list. With a quick fixed list, when

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Speaker 1: you find yourself twiddling your thumbs while your family is

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Speaker 1: playing a board game that you're not into, or when

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Speaker 1: a sudden thundershower nixes your plans for a run, you

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Speaker 1: can readily identify something you'd like to have done and

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Speaker 1: accomplish it. You can do this in time that you

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Speaker 1: otherwise wouldn't have used for anything. In particular, Completing tasks

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Speaker 1: is satisfying, especially tasks in your home that are visible.

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Speaker 1: A quick fix list won't get your attic cleaned out,

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Speaker 1: and it won't get your kitchen painted. Those are a

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Speaker 1: little bit more than quick fixes, but it can prompt

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Speaker 1: you to do smaller things. And that's no small deal.

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Speaker 1: Because little annoyances sap our energy. It's much better to

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Speaker 1: invest a little energy in fixing them once and for all.

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Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for this thing,

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Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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Speaker 1: I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Two