1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: tip is to identify the points in your days when 4 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: time is leaking out. When you go in search of 5 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: lost time, you might be able to figure out ways 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: to reclaim that time for something that is important to you. 7 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: I hear from a lot of people that they just 8 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: don't know where all their time goes. They are incredibly 9 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: busy from morning to night, but they are not quite 10 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: sure what it is they are doing all day. Even 11 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: people who have a good idea of how they spend 12 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: let's say their work hours may lose track of shorter 13 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: stretches here and there. In my recent evening Hours challenge, 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: I had people set intentions for the space of time 15 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: between the end of the workday and bedtime. For many people, 16 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 1: actually using this time for something fun was revelatory. As 17 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: one person wrote, she realized that evening time didn't have 18 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: to be lost hours, It was time that was there 19 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: for her to use and enjoy. Her phrase lost hours 20 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: has stuck with me because I think it is such 21 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: a common experience. Minutes and hours pass with no memories 22 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: or accomplishments to show for them. So how do we 23 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,759 Speaker 1: find that lost time and get it back for something important? 24 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: Whether that's high quality time with family or friends, professional work, hobbies, 25 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: or simply rest. Longtime listeners won't be surprised to hear 26 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: that I think one of the best ways to find 27 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: lost time is to actually keep track of your time. 28 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: I think everyone should try keeping a time log for 29 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: a week, recording activities and half hour increments. The timelog 30 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: will let you see where your time is going. Then 31 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: you can identify any blocks of time going to nebulous 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: activities like tidying or email, or you might be able 33 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: to reclaim the lost time. You can also recalibrate if 34 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: you realize that how you spend your time isn't aligned 35 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: with your priorities. If you'd like to get a time log, 36 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: you can go to my website, Laura Vandercam dot com 37 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,399 Speaker 1: and on the menu bar click start. Here you'll find 38 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: a timelog template and other resources. I will also be 39 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: running a time tracking challenge in January, so stay tuned 40 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: and sign up if you would like to track your 41 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: time alongside other people. If you are not quite sure 42 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: about tracking, another option is to simply train yourself to 43 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: be more aware. For instance, you can set a gentle 44 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:58,239 Speaker 1: chime to go off on your phone every hour. Then 45 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: you can reflect on how you've spent the past hour. 46 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: If you are not sure, that suggests that maybe there 47 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: is some lost time to be found. You can also 48 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: learn more about how you spend your time by keeping 49 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: a journal. At the end of each day, reflect on 50 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: what you did and what mattered during the day. If 51 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: you find times of day or circumstances when you are 52 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 1: consistently losing time, it might help to start setting more intentions. 53 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: For instance, if you realize that you don't accomplish much 54 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: meaningful during the first few hours of your work day 55 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: because you keep getting sucked into email exchanges, maybe you 56 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: designate the first thirty minutes for processing email, and then 57 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: you take the next ninety minutes to work on a 58 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: specific project that you have identified in advance. Or maybe 59 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: you realize that the time between getting your kids out 60 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: the door for school and leaving for work yourself is 61 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: spent frantically one d around the house tidying who needs that? 62 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: Why not leave right after your kids do and devote 63 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: the extra time to hanging out by the coffee maker 64 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: in the break room and building relationships with your colleagues. 65 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: Or you could go straight to your desk and get 66 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: an extra twenty minutes every day for a speculative project. 67 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: Or maybe you spend all the time you care to 68 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: at work already. In that case, skip the puttering around 69 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: at home and instead sit down with your coffee and 70 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: spend twenty minutes reading a novel. When you find lost time, 71 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: you can redeploy it however you want. If you go 72 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: in search of lost time, I would love to hear 73 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: how it goes. You can reach me at Laura at 74 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:51,599 Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 75 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 76 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 77 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 78 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 79 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 80 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 81 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.