WEBVTT - Second Cup: Batch your weekend chores

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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 batch your weekend chores so you

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<v Speaker 1>can enjoy your days off guilt free. After years of

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<v Speaker 1>writing and talking about time management, I've realized that I

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<v Speaker 1>hear some of the same complaints over and over again.

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<v Speaker 1>At work, people lament that they spend so much time

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with their inboxes that they never have time for

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<v Speaker 1>deep work or strategic thinking. At home, people feel like

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<v Speaker 1>they spend their entire weekends trying to get caught up

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<v Speaker 1>with chores, and so they never have time for fun.

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<v Speaker 1>While these complaints seem different, I eventually realized that they

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<v Speaker 1>were getting at the exact same issue. Some activities expand

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<v Speaker 1>to fill all available space, and just as you will

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<v Speaker 1>never get and stay at inbox zero, you will never

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<v Speaker 1>arrive at a perfectly clean house that won't then fall

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<v Speaker 1>prey to toys, junk mail, and dirty dishes. Email and

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<v Speaker 1>housework will both take any amount of time you give them.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that any hacks designed to less an impact

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<v Speaker 1>are going to be of limited use. And yes, you

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<v Speaker 1>can write shorter emails. He probably should you could even

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<v Speaker 1>write k instead of okay in your emails. And yes,

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<v Speaker 1>you can develop a system for emptying the dishwasher that

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<v Speaker 1>makes it take five minutes instead of seven minutes. Awesome,

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<v Speaker 1>But fundamentally, the only way to make these activities take

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<v Speaker 1>less time is to choose to give them less time.

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<v Speaker 1>The good news, though, is that this approach does work.

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<v Speaker 1>When I've managed to convince people to limit themselves to

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<v Speaker 1>three to four email checks per day done at certain times,

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<v Speaker 1>they do, in fact spend less time on email. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think chores are best approached the same way. Batch

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<v Speaker 1>them and designate certain times when chores aren't always options.

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<v Speaker 1>Then you can enjoy the rest of your time without

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<v Speaker 1>feeling guilty. Here's how this can work. Spend some time

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<v Speaker 1>to day thinking about the chores and errands you normally

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<v Speaker 1>do over the weekend. Be judicious what truly needs to

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<v Speaker 1>happen and what's not critical. Well, you might need clean

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<v Speaker 1>clothes for the week, you probably don't need to wax

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<v Speaker 1>your floors, while you might need to go grocery shopping.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't need to cook all your meals for the

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<v Speaker 1>week ahead of time. Choose to make simpler meals that

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<v Speaker 1>you can whip up in fifteen to twenty minutes on

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<v Speaker 1>weeknights instead, Now estimate how long these tasks will take

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<v Speaker 1>and what can overlap if all household members participate, how

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<v Speaker 1>much time would it take to get through these things.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps one party could switch clothes from the washings of

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<v Speaker 1>the dryer and run the vacuum, while someone else goes

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<v Speaker 1>to the grocery store and drops off the dry cleaning.

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<v Speaker 1>Once you've figured out a rough window, designate a block

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<v Speaker 1>of time in which you will do almost all of

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<v Speaker 1>these things. For instance, maybe you decide that from ten

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<v Speaker 1>to twelve on Saturday morning you will do the bulk

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<v Speaker 1>of these weekend activities. Make sure this is a time

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<v Speaker 1>everyone can participate. Make a game plan, then assess what

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<v Speaker 1>things will need to happen outside the window. Ideally not

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<v Speaker 1>too much. If you've got a reasonably sized family, You'll

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<v Speaker 1>still need to do some dishes and empty the dishwasher

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<v Speaker 1>on Sunday, even if Saturday from ten to twelve is

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<v Speaker 1>the official chores and Errand's time, And perhaps the laundry

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<v Speaker 1>that was washed Saturday during this window is still in

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<v Speaker 1>the dryer outside the window and might need to be

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<v Speaker 1>put away. But make sure to prevent scope creep. If

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<v Speaker 1>one party is assigned to pick up and vacuum the

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<v Speaker 1>basement playroom from ten to twelve on Saturday, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is in fact done, then do not go redo it

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<v Speaker 1>on Sunday just because there are toys out. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>there are toys out. It's a playroom. That's what happens.

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<v Speaker 1>But so what. No one is going to come around

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<v Speaker 1>at eleven p m. Sunday night to give you demerits

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<v Speaker 1>for having toys on the floor, So just let it

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<v Speaker 1>be and relax and have a glass of wine instead.

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<v Speaker 1>There was a time for picking up the playroom, and

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<v Speaker 1>now is not that time. If you start thinking this way,

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<v Speaker 1>I promise your weekends will start feeling much better. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you designate a time for weekend chores? If so, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear about it. You can email me at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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