WEBVTT - Go in search of lost time

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to identify the points in your days when

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<v Speaker 1>time is leaking out. When you go in search of

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<v Speaker 1>lost time, you might be able to figure out ways

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<v Speaker 1>to reclaim that time for something that is important to you.

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<v Speaker 1>I hear from a lot of people that they just

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<v Speaker 1>don't know where all their time goes. They are incredibly

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<v Speaker 1>busy from morning to night, but they are not quite

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<v Speaker 1>sure what it is they are doing all day. Even

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<v Speaker 1>people who have a good idea of how they spend

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<v Speaker 1>let's say their work hours may lose track of shorter

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<v Speaker 1>stretches here and there. In my recent evening Hours challenge,

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<v Speaker 1>I had people set intentions for the space of time

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<v Speaker 1>between the end of the workday and bedtime. For many people,

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<v Speaker 1>actually using this time for something fun was revelatory. As

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<v Speaker 1>one person wrote, she realized that evening time didn't have

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<v Speaker 1>to be lost hours, It was time that was there

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<v Speaker 1>for her to use and enjoy. Her phrase lost hours

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<v Speaker 1>has stuck with me because I think it is such

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<v Speaker 1>a common experience. Minutes and hours pass with no memories

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<v Speaker 1>or accomplishments to show for them. So how do we

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<v Speaker 1>find that lost time and get it back for something important?

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<v Speaker 1>Whether that's high quality time with family or friends, professional work, hobbies,

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<v Speaker 1>or simply rest. Longtime listeners won't be surprised to hear

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<v Speaker 1>that I think one of the best ways to find

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<v Speaker 1>lost time is to actually keep track of your time.

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<v Speaker 1>I think everyone should try keeping a time log for

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<v Speaker 1>a week, recording activities and half hour increments. The timelog

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<v Speaker 1>will let you see where your time is going. Then

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<v Speaker 1>you can identify any blocks of time going to nebulous

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<v Speaker 1>activities like tidying or email, or you might be able

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<v Speaker 1>to reclaim the lost time. You can also recalibrate if

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<v Speaker 1>you realize that how you spend your time isn't aligned

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<v Speaker 1>with your priorities. If you'd like to get a time log,

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<v Speaker 1>you can go to my website, Laura Vandercam dot com

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<v Speaker 1>and on the menu bar click start. Here you'll find

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<v Speaker 1>a timelog template and other resources. I will also be

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<v Speaker 1>running a time tracking challenge in January, so stay tuned

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<v Speaker 1>and sign up if you would like to track your

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<v Speaker 1>time alongside other people. If you are not quite sure

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<v Speaker 1>about tracking, another option is to simply train yourself to

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<v Speaker 1>be more aware. For instance, you can set a gentle

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<v Speaker 1>chime to go off on your phone every hour. Then

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<v Speaker 1>you can reflect on how you've spent the past hour.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are not sure, that suggests that maybe there

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<v Speaker 1>is some lost time to be found. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>learn more about how you spend your time by keeping

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<v Speaker 1>a journal. At the end of each day, reflect on

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<v Speaker 1>what you did and what mattered during the day. If

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<v Speaker 1>you find times of day or circumstances when you are

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<v Speaker 1>consistently losing time, it might help to start setting more intentions.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, if you realize that you don't accomplish much

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<v Speaker 1>meaningful during the first few hours of your work day

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<v Speaker 1>because you keep getting sucked into email exchanges, maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>designate the first thirty minutes for processing email, and then

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<v Speaker 1>you take the next ninety minutes to work on a

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<v Speaker 1>specific project that you have identified in advance. Or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you realize that the time between getting your kids out

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<v Speaker 1>the door for school and leaving for work yourself is

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<v Speaker 1>spent frantically one d around the house tidying who needs that?

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<v Speaker 1>Why not leave right after your kids do and devote

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<v Speaker 1>the extra time to hanging out by the coffee maker

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<v Speaker 1>in the break room and building relationships with your colleagues.

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<v Speaker 1>Or you could go straight to your desk and get

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<v Speaker 1>an extra twenty minutes every day for a speculative project.

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<v Speaker 1>Or maybe you spend all the time you care to

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<v Speaker 1>at work already. In that case, skip the puttering around

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<v Speaker 1>at home and instead sit down with your coffee and

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<v Speaker 1>spend twenty minutes reading a novel. When you find lost time,

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<v Speaker 1>you can redeploy it however you want. If you go

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<v Speaker 1>in search of lost time, I would love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>how it goes. You can reach me at Laura at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura vandercam dot com. 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. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.