Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to remember that your time is your own.
Speaker 1: We have responsibilities to other people and organizations, but your
Speaker 1: time is fundamental yours and you could make choices with
Speaker 1: how to spend it. So. I frequently hear from people
Speaker 1: about their challenges and hopes for their time. One person
Speaker 1: recently told me that if she were successful in making
Speaker 1: over her schedule, she would feel that her time and
Speaker 1: her life belonged to her again. Well, on some level,
Speaker 1: I think that is an inspiring goal. It was also
Speaker 1: sobering to hear because it implied that she didn't feel
Speaker 1: like her time in her life belonged to her currently,
Speaker 1: and I stand that feeling. I think a lot of
Speaker 1: people feel like their time is not their own. When
Speaker 1: you are at work, you might feel like that is
Speaker 1: your employer's time. When you are cooking or doing laundry,
Speaker 1: getting groceries, it's your family's time. Or maybe it's more
Speaker 1: abstract than that. You may feel a vague sense of
Speaker 1: obligation to no one in particular to keep a clean
Speaker 1: house and make a balanced meal and send Christmas cards to.
Speaker 1: When you're with your kids, it is their time, and
Speaker 1: maybe when you're not with your kids, you may feel
Speaker 1: like it should be. You feel like the time is
Speaker 1: actually theirs, but you are borrowing it to wrap up
Speaker 1: a work project. You may have friends you feel you
Speaker 1: should get together with, or organizations for whom you are
Speaker 1: overdue on a task you volunteered to do but haven't completed.
Speaker 1: It can feel as if everybody else has a claim
Speaker 1: on your time and there is none left for you.
Speaker 1: But fundamentally, your time is yours. There are always consequences,
Speaker 1: but over the long run, we have the power to
Speaker 1: fill our lives with the things we want to see there.
Speaker 1: If you feel like your time doesn't belong to you,
Speaker 1: one of the first things I suggest doing is tracking
Speaker 1: your time, which lots of people are doing with me
Speaker 1: here in January. You may find times that could be
Speaker 1: more obviously reclaimed as yours with a mindset shift. If
Speaker 1: your kids are in bed at eight and you go
Speaker 1: to bed at ten, at least an hour of this
Speaker 1: could be yours. If you limit the housework, maybe you
Speaker 1: work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays and your kids
Speaker 1: are on the bus at seven point thirty. If your
Speaker 1: calls don't start until nine, maybe this ninety minute gap
Speaker 1: could be spent on whatever you'd like, as long as
Speaker 1: you remind yourself that you will work a full day
Speaker 1: at nine and the house can be cleaned up later.
Speaker 1: As for things that do seem like obligations, sometimes it
Speaker 1: helps to articulate your values and priorities. If your time
Speaker 1: commitments to don't fit with these values and priorities, you
Speaker 1: may need to make some adjustments. But if they do,
Speaker 1: then perhaps you can connect your time with your purpose.
Speaker 1: Working incredibly hard on a work project isn't about owing
Speaker 1: time to your employer. It's that you want to have
Speaker 1: an impact on your field and you see a direct
Speaker 1: link between this project and people changing how they do things.
Speaker 1: If you value having a smooth, functioning home, then a
Speaker 1: solid laundry system isn't about owing time to Martha Stewart
Speaker 1: or your mother or your home act teacher. It's something
Speaker 1: you do so you and your family can get dressed easily.
Speaker 1: Now I am not saying this is always easy, but
Speaker 1: it might help, and you might even be able to
Speaker 1: insert some pleasure in to moments of less pleasant obligation.
Speaker 1: You value physical activity and friendship. So you drive your
Speaker 1: kid to soccer, but maybe you get to listen to
Speaker 1: your music or your audio books in the car. At
Speaker 1: least some of that time can still feel like it
Speaker 1: is yours. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.