1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: tip is that every calendar needs a good spring. Cleaning 4 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,759 Speaker 1: Your closets and freezer aren't the only things that need 5 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: airing out. A smart schedule requires some maintenance as well. 6 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 1: So I hear all the time from people that their 7 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,520 Speaker 1: lives feel too busy. And there's nothing wrong with having 8 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: a lot of good things going on, But when people 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: complain of being too busy, it's often because their lives 10 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,279 Speaker 1: feel stuffed with things that they are not so excited about. 11 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:55,319 Speaker 1: Workdays feature tedious meetings stacked back to back. There might 12 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: be various volunteer committee meetings or kid activities taking up 13 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: evenings and weekends. Some things are what they are for 14 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: most people. It's going to be hard to create a 15 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: schedule where every moment feels blissful. But just as even 16 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: a generally clean house can build up clutter over time, 17 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: so a schedule can start to feel a little heavy. 18 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: In general, it is easier to add activities than to 19 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 1: get rid of things. Consequently, things accumulate, so just as 20 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: even a well run house might need a big clean out, 21 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,919 Speaker 1: from time to time, it's wise to think about whether 22 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: everything that exists on your calendar should be there, even 23 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: if it theoretically fits. When we're scrambling to fit in 24 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: the essentials in between everything else, you can wind up 25 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: with a few problems. First, you might be spending time 26 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: on the wrong stuff. If you compare your current needs 27 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: and priorities to scheduled commitments, you may realize they no 28 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: longer a line. Perhaps you agreed to things years ago 29 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: for very good reasons, but life is different now. The 30 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: weekly boot camp that used to provide structure for getting 31 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,239 Speaker 1: cardio may be less necessary now that you have a 32 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: treadmill at home and a strongly ingrained exercise habit. Or 33 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: maybe your business has held on to a long term 34 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: client even though you've mostly gone in a different direction 35 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: and they're not really paying what you are charging new folks. 36 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,519 Speaker 1: Everything needs to end at some point. If your calendar 37 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: is full with your past priorities, you may be giving 38 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: inadequate attention to what you care most about now. Another 39 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: issue with being too tightly scheduled is that stuff comes up. 40 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: Maybe everything fits during a perfect week, but what if 41 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: you break a tooth? What if you get a last 42 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: minute request from an important client. When there is no 43 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: open space in your schedule, anything unusual will leave you scrambling. 44 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: But maybe most important, if you don't have open space 45 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: in your schedule, you end up missing out on opportunities. 46 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 1: That's because open space invites opportunities in a way that 47 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: a cluttered calendar can't. If you don't have to race 48 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: off to the next thing, you might spend a little 49 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: longer chatting with people at that conference and wind up 50 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: landing an important new client. Or maybe open space might 51 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: mean the opportunity to think about things like why did 52 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: your company have such high utility bills last year? And 53 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: some open space you might come up with a way 54 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: to save a big chunk of cash. Or maybe with 55 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: white space, you accept a spontaneous invitation to go out 56 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: to lunch with a senior colleague and you get some 57 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: helpful mentoring. If your calendar is too cluttered, you might 58 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: push these things off because, well, you're busy, but you 59 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: don't have to be busy, so this spring, let your 60 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: calendar be part of your spring cleaning. In an upcoming episode, 61 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: i'll talk about how to do that, but I think 62 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: this is a helpful tip in general, life is not 63 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: a set it and forget it phenomenon. Everything requires maintenance. 64 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: That is true for physical objects, but it's true for 65 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: more nebulous things like relationships and of course, a schedule. 66 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: It is wise to build in a regular time to 67 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,359 Speaker 1: make sure that you are spending your time on what 68 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: makes sense. Spring cleaning a schedule creates an opportunity to 69 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: do just that. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks 70 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. 71 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 72 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 73 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 74 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 75 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.