Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to build a friendship or make a
Speaker 1: family relationship stronger by starting a project that you can
Speaker 1: share with the other person. I've been thinking of this
Speaker 1: topic lately because over the holidays, my ten year old
Speaker 1: and I built a Lego gingerbread house together. And this
Speaker 1: was quite an undertaking. We had a little help from others,
Speaker 1: but mostly it was the two of us working through
Speaker 1: two hundred some steps and one thousands some pieces. I
Speaker 1: can't say it was something I would have done on
Speaker 1: my own, but he likes his legos and this gave
Speaker 1: us an opportunity to spend quite a bit of time
Speaker 1: working toward a common goal. Other members of my family
Speaker 1: have been doing similar things. My twelve year old and
Speaker 1: eight year old, for instance, have been reading through the
Speaker 1: Harry Potter series together. My twelve year old read all
Speaker 1: the books on his own years ago and really enjoyed
Speaker 1: him This project gave him a chance to share his
Speaker 1: excitement with someone else well, having an excuse to reread
Speaker 1: these stories. Or there's one of my favorite projects. My
Speaker 1: other podcast, My Friends Sarah hart Unger and I had
Speaker 1: been reading each other's blogs for years. Then we decided
Speaker 1: to start a podcast together called Best of Both Worlds,
Speaker 1: where we share our experiences and advice on working and
Speaker 1: raising families. I've gotten together with Sarah and chatted on
Speaker 1: the phone with her a few times before we started
Speaker 1: the podcast, but we definitely spend a lot more time
Speaker 1: together now, with our listeners expecting us to record a
Speaker 1: conversation for publication every Tuesday. This is the genius of
Speaker 1: a project. We all have people we say that we'd
Speaker 1: like to spend more quality time with, and sometimes these
Speaker 1: are people we already see a lot, like our immediate
Speaker 1: family members, but the time is more focused on logistics
Speaker 1: and homework nagging than anything else. Or sometimes the people
Speaker 1: are friends or extended family members that we don't have
Speaker 1: regular occasions to interact with. In either case, a project
Speaker 1: provides structure as something with an end goal of its own,
Speaker 1: It nudges relationship time higher up the priority list, and
Speaker 1: that makes relationship time more likely to happen. Of course,
Speaker 1: you don't actually have to start a podcast together to
Speaker 1: do a project. It's just a matter of thinking about
Speaker 1: something you and your friend or family member like to do,
Speaker 1: and then seeing if there's a way you can take
Speaker 1: it up a notch. How could you create a goal
Speaker 1: or structure that would naturally increase the time you spend together.
Speaker 1: Maybe you and your partner decide to train for a
Speaker 1: half marathon together. You and a colleague you really like
Speaker 1: decide to start a mentoring program in your company. Now
Speaker 1: you have an excuse to have me meetings with a
Speaker 1: colleague you really want to see. You and your teenage
Speaker 1: child decide to do a one thousand piece puzzle. Aim
Speaker 1: for something that will require regular interaction and take place
Speaker 1: over a longer period of time. But when you do this,
Speaker 1: you'll find that your relationship will grow stronger just through repeated,
Speaker 1: purposeful interaction. So think today about who you might like
Speaker 1: to spend more time with and how you could start
Speaker 1: a project that would get you both excited. Make some
Speaker 1: time to talk with the person about it, and soon
Speaker 1: you'll see just how much fun it can be. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast. At i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
Speaker 1: heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
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Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.