WEBVTT - Make yourself a haven 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I 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 make yourself a haven, some spot

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<v Speaker 1>of your home where you feel calm and you're not

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<v Speaker 1>constantly feeling like you should be doing something else. Back

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<v Speaker 1>before two thousand twenty ended Conferences for the Foreseeable Future,

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<v Speaker 1>I gave a lot of time management speeches, and one

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<v Speaker 1>of my biggest laugh lines came when I talked about

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<v Speaker 1>saving time by lowering your housekeeping standards. I riff that

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<v Speaker 1>people would tell me that they couldn't relax if their

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<v Speaker 1>home was a mess. Okay, I said, clean one room,

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<v Speaker 1>shut the door, and sit in there. I said it

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<v Speaker 1>as a joke, but I think there is real merit

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<v Speaker 1>to this idea. Lots of people find it hard to

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<v Speaker 1>relax when they see undone work. Whether that's your laptop

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<v Speaker 1>up sitting there, or a pile of dishes or something

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<v Speaker 1>that is clearly in the wrong place. The instinct is

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<v Speaker 1>to go deal with the problem so that then you

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<v Speaker 1>can fully relax. But you can see how this plays out.

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<v Speaker 1>It takes a long time to clean a whole house

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<v Speaker 1>or put everything away, and then it might come out again,

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<v Speaker 1>raising the very real possibility that you will never relax,

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<v Speaker 1>and that doesn't sound good. So if you know this

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<v Speaker 1>is a problem for you, you you might choose one room

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<v Speaker 1>that is relatively easy to put in order, and then

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<v Speaker 1>consciously treat this as your closed door haven. Keep it

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<v Speaker 1>pretty minimalists there's less stuff that way to put away.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have kids, maybe a master bedroom could be

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<v Speaker 1>good for this. Don't make it a magnet for kid toys.

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<v Speaker 1>Shove them out as soon as they wind up in there.

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<v Speaker 1>Fold laundry elsewhere. Usually it's possible to keep the clutter

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<v Speaker 1>under control. When you need a respite, shut the door

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<v Speaker 1>and sit in there. If that doesn't work, If you

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<v Speaker 1>happen to have a house that's big enough to have

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<v Speaker 1>a formal living room, sometimes these get less use and

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<v Speaker 1>hence attract fewer active projects that then look undone, so

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<v Speaker 1>that room can become your haven. An enclosed porch could

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<v Speaker 1>serve this function, as long as you store the outdoor

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<v Speaker 1>gear and projects somewhere else. In a pinch, even a

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<v Speaker 1>small apartment could offer some spot. Or you can't see

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<v Speaker 1>the clutter or the work, turn a chair to a

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<v Speaker 1>window and make the space in front of it minimal

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<v Speaker 1>and relatively clear. Maybe put some fresh flowers there, as

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<v Speaker 1>long as that's not going to make you feel like

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<v Speaker 1>you need to change the water or trim the stems.

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<v Speaker 1>So maybe a house plant that doesn't need much care,

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<v Speaker 1>or a fake plant. We can waste all kinds of

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<v Speaker 1>time puttering around the house picking up things here and

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<v Speaker 1>there without any purpose except a vague pursuit of order.

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<v Speaker 1>I suggest people stop doing that, but I know that's

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<v Speaker 1>harder for some folks than others. And if that sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like you, creating a little haven can be a real

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<v Speaker 1>strategy for putting some actual rest into your life, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is well worth doing. 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. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four, then

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<v Speaker 1>breakfast p O D. You can also shoot me an

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

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<v Speaker 1>com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in Touch

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

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