Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to plan your check in times. If you
Speaker 1: have set any sort of annual goals, or if life
Speaker 1: looks different in different seasons for you, you want to
Speaker 1: set sometimes during the year to check in on how
Speaker 1: things are going and to plan the next season. Setting
Speaker 1: those times now early in the year increases the chances
Speaker 1: that they happen. So plenty of people set annual goals,
Speaker 1: and plenty of people plan their days or weeks, but
Speaker 1: a lot of life happens in chunks that are between
Speaker 1: those sizes. Sarah hartunger my co host on the Best
Speaker 1: of Both Worlds podcasts, thinks of her year in quintiles.
Speaker 1: There is January to spring break, spring break to summer, summer,
Speaker 1: and then the beginning of the school year to November first.
Speaker 1: Quintile five goes from November first to the end of
Speaker 1: the year. She checks in at the beginning of each
Speaker 1: quintile to look at her annual goals and see how
Speaker 1: things are going. She also plans out things that need
Speaker 1: to happen over the next two to three months. Perhaps
Speaker 1: you might think of your life in some different way.
Speaker 1: Many people think of life in quarters, or maybe it
Speaker 1: is seasons. In general, academics often go for trimesters. But
Speaker 1: however you think about your time, it is good to
Speaker 1: have multiple check in times during the year. You will
Speaker 1: be able to check in on any goals you have set,
Speaker 1: pivot or set new ones, and plan anything requiring long
Speaker 1: range planning. Now, perhaps you are thinking, yes, Laura, that
Speaker 1: makes sense, But how do you know that come the
Speaker 1: beginning of say Q two, you will actually remember to
Speaker 1: sit down with your list of annual goals. Well, here's
Speaker 1: how choose check in dates. Now, pull out or pull
Speaker 1: up your calendar for the year and set times at
Speaker 1: the beginning of each new season or at least every
Speaker 1: three months or so, to review your life. Put these
Speaker 1: appointments on your calendar. Now, I am not saying that
Speaker 1: these are completely set in stone. It is entirely possible
Speaker 1: that you don't know what you will need to do
Speaker 1: on or around October first. However, by putting the appointment now,
Speaker 1: when it gets close to October first, you will see it.
Speaker 1: You will think, oh, yes, I need to do my
Speaker 1: quarterly check in. Even if you can't do the check
Speaker 1: in at that particular time that you chose back in January.
Speaker 1: Seeing the appointment will nudge you to put it at
Speaker 1: some point and then you will do it rather than
Speaker 1: forgetting about it and not doing it. Making the appointment
Speaker 1: increases the chances of you staying on track. Or maybe
Speaker 1: you could be more formal about it. Maybe you envision
Speaker 1: taking a half day off work each quarter for planning
Speaker 1: and reviewing life. I think that's a nice idea. If
Speaker 1: you do, too, then you should go ahead and request
Speaker 1: those dates off. Doing that will likely make them stick
Speaker 1: a bit more. Or maybe you would like to make
Speaker 1: one of your check ins more of a retreat. If
Speaker 1: you think you will be going somewhere for a weekend,
Speaker 1: plan it in That will also more likely stick. But
Speaker 1: do at least put some check ins on the calendar.
Speaker 1: People go to the trouble of setting new intentions for
Speaker 1: the new year, and then they forget about them when
Speaker 1: life gets busy, or perhaps they have hopes for particular seasons,
Speaker 1: but forget those hopes by the time that time rolls around.
Speaker 1: Planning in your check in times gives you a fighting
Speaker 1: chance of keeping your intentions front of mind. Check in
Speaker 1: times will also give you a chance to look at
Speaker 1: the bigger picture and take stock of your life. These
Speaker 1: are all good things, so they deserve space on your calendar.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our times. Thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.