WEBVTT - Gather with an agenda

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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 that when you are gathering with friends or

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<v Speaker 1>extended family for an extended period of time, gather with

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<v Speaker 1>an agenda. Even if you know everyone well, you need

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<v Speaker 1>a loose plan. This will make the gathering better and

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<v Speaker 1>prevent a lot of awkward planning and logistical debate during

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<v Speaker 1>a time when you are supposed to be just enjoying

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<v Speaker 1>each other's company. If you've got family coming to spend

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<v Speaker 1>a week with you, you may assume that you will

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<v Speaker 1>just spend the time catching up, but you may not

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<v Speaker 1>have an infinite amount of stuff to catch up on.

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<v Speaker 1>People might need a break, and if you have kids,

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<v Speaker 1>you know that getting out of the house and having

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<v Speaker 1>some structure prevents a lot of meltdowns and bad feelings.

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<v Speaker 1>So just as you'd have some sort of agenda for

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<v Speaker 1>a company retreat, have some plan for your get together. Personally,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a fan of planning one activity a day that

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<v Speaker 1>gives everyone a reason to get up and get going.

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<v Speaker 1>People make memories to gather, kids can get some energy out,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you can all relax and reflect afterwards. This

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<v Speaker 1>activity should be determined ahead of time. If people want

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<v Speaker 1>to beg off, they can, or if everyone decides not

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<v Speaker 1>to do it, fine, but with no plan you can

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<v Speaker 1>waste the whole day trying to come up with something

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<v Speaker 1>rather than just going doing and relaxing afterwards. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are somewhere with an obvious activity, like you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>the beach or an amusement park, that is fine, But

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<v Speaker 1>if not, think zoo, aquarium, the local children's museum, and

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<v Speaker 1>so forth. If you are all adults, that can be

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<v Speaker 1>something a little different, like a group bike ride, a

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<v Speaker 1>trip to a cheese tasting place, a matinee movie, bowling,

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<v Speaker 1>you name it. Choose something for each day. If you

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<v Speaker 1>need reservations, make them, because showing up with twelve people

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<v Speaker 1>at that cheese tasting place is probably not going to work.

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<v Speaker 1>You should also have a rough sense of your meals.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got multiple families gathering, you can assign each

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<v Speaker 1>family a night. They can take you all out to

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<v Speaker 1>dinner if they want, but again, with twelve people you

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<v Speaker 1>need that reservation. Finally, you want at least one or

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<v Speaker 1>two to fallbacks for things you can do during downtime.

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<v Speaker 1>Many extended families like to start a puzzle. As the

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<v Speaker 1>family gathers, many hands make light work of a thousand pieces,

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<v Speaker 1>and as you all sit around you can chat in

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<v Speaker 1>a way that you won't with the TV on. You

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<v Speaker 1>can obviously play cards or board games too, though those

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<v Speaker 1>have the disadvantage that you can't really come in and out.

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<v Speaker 1>That is problematic if you've got, say, parents of young

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<v Speaker 1>kids who need to put them to bed or deal

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<v Speaker 1>with their needs. If you're not into puzzles, it might

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<v Speaker 1>be something like a giant mural that you are all

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<v Speaker 1>coloring together. You might decide for some post kid bedtime

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<v Speaker 1>activities like a bonfire in the yard or a dip

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<v Speaker 1>in the hot tub if there is one in your

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<v Speaker 1>vacation rental. But the point is to think this all

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<v Speaker 1>through no one and sustain a week long intense conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>And even people who love each other dearly will get

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<v Speaker 1>bored without some new inputs, or you may wind up

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<v Speaker 1>with rainy weather and really appreciate that someone has thought

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<v Speaker 1>through the activities. Boredom kills memories. Better to figure out

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<v Speaker 1>a plan. What are your good to activities? When you

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<v Speaker 1>get together with family and friends. You can let me

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<v Speaker 1>know at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. 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 times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at before fist pod that's b E 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 Podcasts at iHeartMedia

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.

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