WEBVTT - Map out a busy season

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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 to map out a busy season. When you've

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<v Speaker 1>got a lot going on for a month or more,

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<v Speaker 1>it can be helpful to broaden your time horizon a bit.

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<v Speaker 1>That way, you will feel more in control even if

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<v Speaker 1>life feels complex. So this episode is airing as we

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<v Speaker 1>are going into the holiday season. For many folks, December

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<v Speaker 1>features a lot of extras, extra parties, extra travel, extra activities,

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<v Speaker 1>and responsibilities. When life is busy, we need to simultaneously

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<v Speaker 1>do two things. One is focusing on the immediate day.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know what's happening today? Do you have a

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<v Speaker 1>plan for today? Can you make it through today? You'll

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<v Speaker 1>get to rest up again before tomorrow, so you don't

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<v Speaker 1>need to worry too much about that. But I also

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<v Speaker 1>find it as helpful to have a rough idea of

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<v Speaker 1>the upcoming landscape. The unknown is scarier than the known,

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<v Speaker 1>even if the known is complex. If you were hurtling

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<v Speaker 1>on a raft down a river through a cave, would

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<v Speaker 1>you rather have a flashlight or not? Personally, I would

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<v Speaker 1>prefer to have the flashlight better to see those rocks

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<v Speaker 1>and stalactites than not. So here is a strategy. Use

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<v Speaker 1>a paper calendar to keep track of anything extra you

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<v Speaker 1>need to think about, anything time specific for the upcoming month,

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<v Speaker 1>or so you don't need anything fancy, print out a

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<v Speaker 1>calendar page showing the month of December, or maybe some

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<v Speaker 1>nonprofit has sent you a calendar for the year as

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<v Speaker 1>a freebie. Rip out the December page and put it

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere you can see. Take a few minutes and really

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<v Speaker 1>think this through, because in my experience sometimes the extras

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<v Speaker 1>haven't made it on too. Let's say your daily work calendar.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have any kid performances, any work holiday events,

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<v Speaker 1>any community celebrations. Are there holiday festivities you'd like to attend?

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<v Speaker 1>When are you traveling or when are you hosting people?

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<v Speaker 1>Would you like to go to any religious observances during

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<v Speaker 1>this time? Now, obviously you can do all this electronically,

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<v Speaker 1>but I think more of us are visual than like

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<v Speaker 1>to admit, and by seeing all of it in front

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<v Speaker 1>of you, it is possible to get a good sense

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<v Speaker 1>of the rhythm of the upcoming month. I did this

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<v Speaker 1>and found that while some weekends were pretty full, others

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<v Speaker 1>actually weren't. There are four weekends in December, and there

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<v Speaker 1>were several weekend days with no extra holiday events. Yet

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<v Speaker 1>things didn't look nearly as intimidating when I looked several

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<v Speaker 1>weeks ahead. I sometimes do this for the end of

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<v Speaker 1>May and the beginning of June, and sometimes for the

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<v Speaker 1>start of the school year, as those tend to be

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<v Speaker 1>busy times for me. Maybe you have some other time

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<v Speaker 1>in your life that is generally more full than other times.

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<v Speaker 1>If so, simultaneously taking things day by day and getting

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<v Speaker 1>a good sense of the upcoming landscape can help you

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<v Speaker 1>pace yourself. You might see that a weekend day is

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<v Speaker 1>open and you can decide to purposefully not put something

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<v Speaker 1>there to give yourself a breather. Or you might see

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<v Speaker 1>that you have a break between work trips and it's

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<v Speaker 1>going to be possible to get together with a friend.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you don't have your flashlight, you probably won't

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<v Speaker 1>see this. Looking forward helps us approach time with more

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<v Speaker 1>of a sense of calm. 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. Thanks for listening to before breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.