WEBVTT - Let limits help you make choices 

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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 let limits help you make choices.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't generally seek out limits, but when we encounter them,

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<v Speaker 1>we can acknowledge that sometimes they have their benefits. They

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<v Speaker 1>help us prioritize, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Like many folks, I realized not long ago that I

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<v Speaker 1>had ended up with a fair amount of stuff in

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<v Speaker 1>my closet that I didn't wear. My husband had the

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<v Speaker 1>same problem. Neither of us felt compelled to do much

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<v Speaker 1>about it. Then we had a fifth baby. We are

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<v Speaker 1>eventually going to move to a house where the baby

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<v Speaker 1>will have a room, but the renovations are taking a while,

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<v Speaker 1>and in the meantime we decided to put his crib

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<v Speaker 1>in the master bedroom closet. This required cleaning out an

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<v Speaker 1>entire corner, two double racks plus a single one, and

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<v Speaker 1>the pile of stuff we had on the floor, So

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<v Speaker 1>we each took some time and got rid of what

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<v Speaker 1>didn't fit in our remaining space. Much of what we

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<v Speaker 1>got rid of could have been disposed of years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>but we didn't have an obvious need to do so.

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<v Speaker 1>Once we had a need, the limits on our space

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<v Speaker 1>made decisions a little easier. Maybe you can use the

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<v Speaker 1>same principle. If you have more books than bookshelf space,

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<v Speaker 1>and trust me, I sympathize with us, get rid of

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<v Speaker 1>some books, take the bookshelf space you have as a given,

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<v Speaker 1>decide which books you want to keep on those shelves,

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<v Speaker 1>and then let the rest go. It is time consuming

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<v Speaker 1>and exhausting to ask yourself whether or not you want

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<v Speaker 1>to keep each and every book, and to contemplate the

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<v Speaker 1>likelihood that you want to reread it or lend it

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<v Speaker 1>to a friend, and then start shopping through the universe

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<v Speaker 1>of extra bookcases that might or might not go in

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<v Speaker 1>your house. It's much easier to accept the limit of

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<v Speaker 1>the size of your bookcase and right size your library

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<v Speaker 1>for the available shelf space. If all your books have

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<v Speaker 1>a home, grete you have the right number. If not,

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<v Speaker 1>keep grabbing books you can give away until your shelves

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<v Speaker 1>provide enough space. Limits can help us decide what to

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<v Speaker 1>do with our time too. If you have ever worked

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<v Speaker 1>in a department that was short staffed, you probably noticed

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<v Speaker 1>that amazingly, the most critical work still got done. Now

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a lot of other great stuff didn't get done,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm not suggesting cutting just to do so, but

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<v Speaker 1>when there are limited hands available, this inspires a certain

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<v Speaker 1>level of focus. Same thing with our personal lives. During

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<v Speaker 1>a busy weekend, when there is less time available for

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<v Speaker 1>life maintenance and household tasks. You will certainly make a

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<v Speaker 1>quick stop at the store for the obvious stuff, but

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<v Speaker 1>you won't visit three big box stores hunting for the

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<v Speaker 1>perfect shovel. You will probably do laundry, but you aren't

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<v Speaker 1>going to dust the base boards. You can even intentionally

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<v Speaker 1>plan less time for life maintenance tasks so that they

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<v Speaker 1>don't take over your weekend. Instead of thinking of Saturday

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<v Speaker 1>as errand day, devote an hour or two to errands

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<v Speaker 1>and let that limit help you decide which errands you

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<v Speaker 1>actually need to do. Of course, lots of people are

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<v Speaker 1>experiencing time constraints in their professional lives right now that

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<v Speaker 1>they didn't really choose. Hopefully, schools and child care will

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<v Speaker 1>be back to their usual operations soon, but in the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>if you have fewer hours available for your job responsibilities,

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<v Speaker 1>I am guessing that, as a listener of this podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>you are likely identifying the most import work and doing

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<v Speaker 1>what fits with the available time. Wise move and if

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<v Speaker 1>you aren't doing that, well, take a little time to

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<v Speaker 1>consciously determine what's most important and what can be put

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<v Speaker 1>on the back burner. Life won't always be like this,

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<v Speaker 1>but maybe you can find a few tasks that never

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<v Speaker 1>need to be prioritized again, and that is worth knowing.

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<v Speaker 1>So today, if you are contending with limits on your

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<v Speaker 1>time or space, start by being realistic and acknowledging the limit.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, there are four hours I can do focused

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<v Speaker 1>work today. What are my top priorities? Or we have

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<v Speaker 1>a small car and a lot of stuff we wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to take on this trip. What do we actually need

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<v Speaker 1>the most? Then, without overthinking it, decide what's most essential

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<v Speaker 1>to fit within your limits and what you can set aside.

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<v Speaker 1>Handled such limits can make all decisions easier 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

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<v Speaker 1>questions or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at before Breakfast pod. That's B the

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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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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah,