WEBVTT - Plan to make it happen

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my 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 a plan for how you'll

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<v Speaker 1>follow through on your intentions. When we think through what

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<v Speaker 1>we want to do, how we'll do it, and what

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<v Speaker 1>obstacles we might encounter, we've got a much better chance

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<v Speaker 1>of making intentions become actions. For the last year, I've

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<v Speaker 1>been working on my next book, Tranquility by Tuesday, which

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<v Speaker 1>will come out in the summer of two thousand twenty two.

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<v Speaker 1>I've asked real life people to test out nine rules

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<v Speaker 1>I've developed for making the most of our time and energy.

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<v Speaker 1>During the Tranquility by Tuesday project, I shared each rule,

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<v Speaker 1>specifics about how people could apply the rule, and an

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<v Speaker 1>explanation of why the rule worked. I hope these little

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<v Speaker 1>essays were inspiring, but I didn't want to leave that

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<v Speaker 1>to chance, so I asked people to make a plan

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<v Speaker 1>for how they would apply each rule, what challenges they

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<v Speaker 1>might encounter, and what they do if these challenges came up.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, one rule is to do effortful fun before

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<v Speaker 1>effortless fun. You've probably heard me talk about that here.

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<v Speaker 1>Before you get glued to a screen, spend a little

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<v Speaker 1>time pursuing a hobby like playing the piano or reading,

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<v Speaker 1>or having a real conversation with your partner. We all

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<v Speaker 1>know that once the TV goes on or a social

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<v Speaker 1>media app comes out, it is hard to do anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Effortful fun, like a hobby, is well effortful. It takes effort.

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<v Speaker 1>Once we are absorbed in the easy, passive entertainment of

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<v Speaker 1>our screens, we are unlikely to pull ourselves away to

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<v Speaker 1>do something harder. By doing the full fund first, we

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<v Speaker 1>make sure it happens because the phone and TV can wait.

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<v Speaker 1>Sounds great, right, But if you want to make this

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<v Speaker 1>good intention happen, it helps to make a plan. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's what I asked Tranquility by Tuesday participants to do.

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<v Speaker 1>They identified effortful fund that they'd like to have more

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<v Speaker 1>of in their lives. They reflected on what they actually

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<v Speaker 1>do with their leisure time, including whether they sink a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of time into screens. Then they committed to the

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<v Speaker 1>type of effortful fund that they wanted to try. First,

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<v Speaker 1>they reflected on the challenges they might encounter and how

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<v Speaker 1>they could overcome them. They had a plan for what

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<v Speaker 1>specifically they would do the next time they were about

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<v Speaker 1>to pick up their phones or the remote control. I

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<v Speaker 1>learned from behavioral scientist Katie Milkman's recent book How To

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<v Speaker 1>Change That this thought process is called a planning prompt.

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<v Speaker 1>It also turns out to be a good idea. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have to wait for someone else to give

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<v Speaker 1>you a planning prompt. You can prompt yourself to make

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<v Speaker 1>a plan for acting on your intentions, say for exercising

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<v Speaker 1>three times a week or reading more professional journal articles.

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<v Speaker 1>Think through the context for making your plans happen. When

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<v Speaker 1>are you going to do it? Perhaps you plan to

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<v Speaker 1>exercise on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Maybe you will

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<v Speaker 1>read professional journal articles on Thursday nights while you sit

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<v Speaker 1>in your car in the parking lot during your son's

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<v Speaker 1>baseball practice. In addition to thinking about the context, also

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<v Speaker 1>consider the specifics of how you'll do it. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if you want to exercise three times a week, well,

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<v Speaker 1>what kind of exercise do you plan to do? Are

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<v Speaker 1>you going to do something different if it's raining, is

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<v Speaker 1>childcare an issue for you? Figure out how you'll execute

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<v Speaker 1>your plan, including how you'll address any challenges. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also use planning prompts with your kids. For instance, if

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<v Speaker 1>you get a cat with the understanding that your son

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<v Speaker 1>is going to scoop its litter box every day, prompt

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<v Speaker 1>your son to plan when he will do that. If

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<v Speaker 1>something prevents him from doing it, then when else can

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<v Speaker 1>you handle this responsibility. By prompting yourself and others to

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<v Speaker 1>plan how to follow through on good intentions, you decrease

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<v Speaker 1>the likelihood of forgetting. By planning to deal with the obstacles,

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<v Speaker 1>you decrease the chances of getting derailed, and that makes

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<v Speaker 1>success far more likely. 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 com.

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<v Speaker 1>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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