WEBVTT - A good week starts on Friday

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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 a good week starts on Friday. By

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<v Speaker 1>taking a little time on Friday to think through the

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<v Speaker 1>upcoming week, you can feel more tranquil and get a

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<v Speaker 1>lot more done. About a year ago, I published a

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<v Speaker 1>book called Tranquility by Tuesday, which was about nine time

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<v Speaker 1>management rules that can help anyone calm the chaos and

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<v Speaker 1>make time for what matters. Rule number two has long

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<v Speaker 1>been one of my favorites. Plan on Fridays. Indeed, if

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<v Speaker 1>anyone ever asks me, how do you do it? Quite

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<v Speaker 1>the question, I tell them about my Friday planning sessions.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's how that works. At some point on Friday, I

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<v Speaker 1>pull out my calendar as a reference tool, and I

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<v Speaker 1>create a page in my planner for the upcoming week.

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<v Speaker 1>I list my professional priorities for the week on the

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<v Speaker 1>left hand side of the page, and my personal priorities

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<v Speaker 1>for the week on the right side. Those are things

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<v Speaker 1>that I'd like to see happen with my family, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>or for myself. Sometimes these priorities are already on the calendar.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, the week I recorded this one personal priority

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<v Speaker 1>was my dentist appointment. Not exciting, to be sure, but

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<v Speaker 1>I had finally made myself make the appointment, so I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to notice it and celebrate that I was making

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<v Speaker 1>this healthy choice. I would also be running with a friend,

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<v Speaker 1>and so I thought about how long we should go

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<v Speaker 1>and what our goals might be for that run. I

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<v Speaker 1>would be going to a back to school night for

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<v Speaker 1>one of my kids. I wanted to be sure to

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<v Speaker 1>ask that particular child what I should pay attention to

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<v Speaker 1>at her school. This was all pretty straightforward. I'd see

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<v Speaker 1>the calendar entry and note the priority. But sometimes these

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<v Speaker 1>priorities are not on the calendar. For instance, on the

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<v Speaker 1>work front, i am working on the proposal for another book.

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<v Speaker 1>There's no particular deadline for this, so I'm simply noting

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<v Speaker 1>that I want to devote time to it. By listing

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<v Speaker 1>it as a priority, I know that I will make

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<v Speaker 1>time for it. I also figure out what I need

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<v Speaker 1>to do and any logistical challenges that need to be solved.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, it became clear that between having the kids

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<v Speaker 1>out of school for a day and a babysitter on

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<v Speaker 1>vacation for a few days, and then my husband being

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<v Speaker 1>gone for a while too. My work hours were going

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<v Speaker 1>to be compressed, so I knew I needed to carve

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<v Speaker 1>out some time on Sunday when my youngest was watching

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<v Speaker 1>a movie to get started on things that would not

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<v Speaker 1>fit in the rest of the week. This helped me

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<v Speaker 1>feel a little less frantic and guaranteed that if I

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<v Speaker 1>was going to work on Sunday that work had a

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<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't just be randomly checking email and doing anything

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<v Speaker 1>that seemed to be flashing brightest. That unhappy state of

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<v Speaker 1>affairs leads to not relaxing, but not getting anything important

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<v Speaker 1>done either. I teach these tranquility by Tuesday rules and

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<v Speaker 1>particularly this one to plan on Fridays, to others as well,

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<v Speaker 1>because it truly does make life feel more in control.

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<v Speaker 1>With planning, the image I like to use is that

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<v Speaker 1>of a three ring circus. Yes, we all have a

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<v Speaker 1>lot going on in our lives, but the ring master

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<v Speaker 1>knows where everyone is supposed to be, and when the

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<v Speaker 1>ring master knows how to deal with things going slightly wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>like the tigers taking longer to get into place than anticipated,

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<v Speaker 1>no problem. Send out the clown to do his second

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<v Speaker 1>funny act that you don't do if you don't need it,

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<v Speaker 1>but you do. If you do. To have this sense

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<v Speaker 1>of control, you need to step outside your life for

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<v Speaker 1>just a little bit to look at what is imp

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<v Speaker 1>important and then what is happening. The more you do this,

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<v Speaker 1>the more likely that things that are important are already

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<v Speaker 1>starting to appear on your calendar as priorities. During your

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<v Speaker 1>past week's Friday planning, you've thought about what you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to do in the future. You've planned it in That

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<v Speaker 1>makes the weekly planning even easier. These days, this planning

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't take me much time. My personal planning takes twenty

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<v Speaker 1>minutes or so. Planning out the family schedule takes another

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<v Speaker 1>twenty minutes. That's not nothing, but in less than forty

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<v Speaker 1>five minutes, I know I will not be living in chaos.

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<v Speaker 1>Even with five active kids in four different schools, to

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<v Speaker 1>working parents and a host of things I enjoyed doing

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<v Speaker 1>in my personal life, it all fits. And that is

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<v Speaker 1>because a good week starts on Friday. So today, see

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<v Speaker 1>if you might take some time to try this tranquility

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<v Speaker 1>by Tuesday rule. Carve out twenty to thirty minutes, ask

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<v Speaker 1>what is most important for you to accomplish this week

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<v Speaker 1>professionally and personally, ask what you need to do, do

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<v Speaker 1>you know, and everything will happen. Have you solved any

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<v Speaker 1>logistical challenges? Make sure you have something to look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to the first week or two. It might be challenging

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<v Speaker 1>to look at the whole week at a time, but

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<v Speaker 1>doing so allows you to plan life more holistically and

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<v Speaker 1>not get caught up in daily crises. And it will

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<v Speaker 1>get easier over the next few weeks as life becomes

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<v Speaker 1>more like a well run three ring circus. A good

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<v Speaker 1>week starts on Friday, so why not give this Friday

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<v Speaker 1>planning a shot In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks 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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