WEBVTT - Make your own mini-retreat

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I 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 make your own mini retreat. Getting

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<v Speaker 1>away for just a little bit with a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>of structure can give you the opportunity to ask important

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<v Speaker 1>questions about your life. While a long retreat might be great,

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<v Speaker 1>taking a mini retreat is more doable for people who

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<v Speaker 1>can't just go sit in a cabin somewhere for a year.

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<v Speaker 1>Since Thorough went to Walden Pond to contemplate life, many

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<v Speaker 1>of us have idealized this idea of escaping from our

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<v Speaker 1>usual routines to think deep thoughts. Organizations everywhere host annual

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<v Speaker 1>retreats for their leaders to ponder strategy, often at some

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<v Speaker 1>hotel with a view of the beach or the mountains.

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<v Speaker 1>That can be great, but any corporate retreat will inevitably

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<v Speaker 1>focus on futures within the organization and not big life

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<v Speaker 1>decisions which might not include the organization, and many of

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<v Speaker 1>us don't work for large companies. Anyway, We might crave

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<v Speaker 1>space to think about our lives, but in the bustle

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<v Speaker 1>of carpools and emails, this can be tough to do.

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<v Speaker 1>But I do think it's possible. I've taken a few

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<v Speaker 1>writing retreats, and I've got a Think Deep Thoughts professional

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<v Speaker 1>retreat on the calendar soon too. Here's how to make

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<v Speaker 1>these retreats fit in life, and how to optimize your

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<v Speaker 1>time while you're doing them. First, privileged convenience over other factors.

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<v Speaker 1>You might like to go to Malibu, but a quiet

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<v Speaker 1>beach an hour from your house is perhaps a better bet.

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<v Speaker 1>Or you might tack a few days onto a business trip.

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<v Speaker 1>I took one writing retreat in jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, which

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<v Speaker 1>is a cute mountain town about ninety minutes from my house.

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<v Speaker 1>I did another writing retreat in a different part of

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<v Speaker 1>the Poconos. When I was speaking at someone else's retreat,

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<v Speaker 1>I just showed up two days early. When you've got

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<v Speaker 1>a full life, you don't want to lose time to transit.

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<v Speaker 1>Being just an hour away can be enough to remove

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<v Speaker 1>you from your daily situation. Second, think short, but not

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<v Speaker 1>too short. I think two nights is the minimum because

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<v Speaker 1>it gives you at least one whole day during which

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<v Speaker 1>you don't need to move yourself or your stuff. Three

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<v Speaker 1>would be better, giving you two whole days with no

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<v Speaker 1>transit the past. This there may be a point of

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<v Speaker 1>diminishing returns. You want enough time to think and relax,

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<v Speaker 1>but not so much that it's overwhelming and you start

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<v Speaker 1>wasting time. Many of us do better when we have

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<v Speaker 1>some limits. Third, go with a specific goal in mind.

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<v Speaker 1>With both of my writing retreats, I wanted to devote

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<v Speaker 1>whole days with no interruptions, to editing my book. Manuscripts

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<v Speaker 1>were at the point where I could do that, and

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<v Speaker 1>I was basically happy with what I'd written, but I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to experience this writing as a through reader, making

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<v Speaker 1>notes and then addressing what I could. You might take

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<v Speaker 1>a retreat with the goal of pondering your professional and

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<v Speaker 1>personal goals for the next year. Or maybe you're thinking

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<v Speaker 1>of switching careers and want to identify and rank what

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<v Speaker 1>aspects of a new career would make you happiest. Just

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<v Speaker 1>getting away sounds nice, but as a recipe for watching

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<v Speaker 1>hotel movies rather than thinking deep thoughts. Fourth, prepare Do

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<v Speaker 1>you need to read something before you go? Do you

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<v Speaker 1>need to ask for other people's advice? If I had

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<v Speaker 1>gone on my retreats with half a manuscript, they would

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<v Speaker 1>have been much less productive, So I needed to get

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<v Speaker 1>that done ahead of time. If you have a complex life,

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<v Speaker 1>you also need to make sure the plans are in

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<v Speaker 1>place for you to escape. Do you have child care,

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<v Speaker 1>do you have backup childcare? If you have a partner,

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<v Speaker 1>is this person on board? Ideally, because you've offered to

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<v Speaker 1>reciprocate at some point, block off the days and be

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<v Speaker 1>ruthless about keeping them blocked. Anticipate what could derail you,

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<v Speaker 1>and make sure there's a plan to address those derailments.

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<v Speaker 1>It might even help to create a backup slot for

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<v Speaker 1>your retreat should your first choice of timing not work.

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<v Speaker 1>If it's important, you deserve to give yourself that space.

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<v Speaker 1>Fifth plan to work and think, but to do other

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<v Speaker 1>things too. On both my retreats, I spent some time

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<v Speaker 1>walking around outside. I hiked in the Poconos, and I

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<v Speaker 1>visited little restaurants in jim Thorpe. Even on a retreat,

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<v Speaker 1>you're not going to be able to work for twelve

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<v Speaker 1>hours straight, so get a sense of when you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to take breaks. Meals are a good option, but you

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<v Speaker 1>probably want something physical to give yourself a schedule of

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<v Speaker 1>goals for each segment by noon, I want to have

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<v Speaker 1>written this list by nightfall. I want to have explored

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<v Speaker 1>the upsides and downsides of each idea. And finally, don't

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<v Speaker 1>sabotage yourself. If you plan to think deep thoughts, put

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<v Speaker 1>your phone in airplane mode or hide it somewhere. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>get sucked into an email chain about something that will

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<v Speaker 1>yank you right back to your office or the politics

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<v Speaker 1>of your homeowners association board. By building in breaks, you

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<v Speaker 1>can nix some of this temptation, but not all of it.

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<v Speaker 1>That's on you. If you view your mini retreat as

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<v Speaker 1>a gift you are giving yourself, perhaps you can appreciate

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<v Speaker 1>it and honor it as a gift someone else might

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<v Speaker 1>give you. You wouldn't smash it right in front of

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<v Speaker 1>their eyes. Have you ever taken a mini retreat? I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear how you pulled it off. You can

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<v Speaker 1>email me at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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