WEBVTT - Holidays and birthdays aren't surprises

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that holidays and birthdays aren't surprises. Plan ahead

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<v Speaker 1>and you can avoid needless scrambling. So in life, some

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<v Speaker 1>emergency shopping is inevitable. A sick kid needs medicine, you're

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<v Speaker 1>out of a key ingredient for a dinner. You have

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<v Speaker 1>already started making it happens. But I have always been

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<v Speaker 1>fascinated by those scenes of last minute Christmas shoppers, or

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<v Speaker 1>people who have to pay premium prices and face limited

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<v Speaker 1>selection when they are shopping on Valentine's Day for a

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<v Speaker 1>sweetheart who expects something on Valentine's Day? Did you not

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<v Speaker 1>see this coming? Is Christmas or your anniversary not on

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<v Speaker 1>the same day every year. Perhaps people don't actually want

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<v Speaker 1>to do anything special for holidays, and the last minute

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<v Speaker 1>shopping is a protest. But if you are going to

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<v Speaker 1>do it, best to realize that holidays and birthdays are

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<v Speaker 1>never surprises, so build them into the rhythm of your life.

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<v Speaker 1>Most electronic calendars will let you program in recurring dates,

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<v Speaker 1>so if you haven't put in the birthdays of your

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<v Speaker 1>close friends, family, members and colleagues. Go do that right now.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll wait. If ten years from now you are no

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<v Speaker 1>longer speaking with Joan from work, you can take her

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<v Speaker 1>birthday off your calendar the next time you see it.

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<v Speaker 1>But for most people who will be in your life

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<v Speaker 1>long term, there is no downside to making such a note.

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<v Speaker 1>You might also put a reminder for any holiday celebrations

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<v Speaker 1>where you will be expected to do something. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are usually the one buying Halloween costumes, you can put

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<v Speaker 1>a note in mid October to ask your kids what

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<v Speaker 1>they'd like to be, or give them a deadline for choosing.

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<v Speaker 1>I have noticed that our Easter baskets are a bit lacking,

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<v Speaker 1>so I put a note for a few weeks before

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<v Speaker 1>Easter next year to remind myself to rectify that situation.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also generally get in the habit of scanning

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<v Speaker 1>the next week or two when you do your weekly planning,

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<v Speaker 1>so you can build anything in. If you see that

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<v Speaker 1>your grandmother's birthday is in a week, you've got time

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<v Speaker 1>to get the card in the mail. You also have

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<v Speaker 1>to procure necessary supplies without extra trips. If your neighborhood

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<v Speaker 1>always has a Fourth of July party that you help organize,

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<v Speaker 1>and you are in target on June thirty, why not

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<v Speaker 1>just go ahead and grab those red, white, and blue

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<v Speaker 1>plates so you're not fighting everyone for them on July three,

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<v Speaker 1>or worse, the morning of July four. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>a great many important dates happen every year at the

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<v Speaker 1>same time. They are never surprises, so think about what's

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<v Speaker 1>coming up and think about what you need to do

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<v Speaker 1>ahead of time. Avoiding just one emergency target or post

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<v Speaker 1>office run can probably save you an hour of time

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<v Speaker 1>and frustration. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our times. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.