Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to think ahead of time about what
Speaker 1: will be today's highlight. Done right, this can make your
Speaker 1: day feel far more pleasant and productive. This tip comes
Speaker 1: from Jake Knap and John Zeratsky's book Make Time. In
Speaker 1: this book, they argue that focusing on activities that fall
Speaker 1: between long term goals and short term tasks is the
Speaker 1: key to slowing down, bringing satisfaction to your daily life,
Speaker 1: and helping you make time. Long Term goals are useful
Speaker 1: for orienting you in the right direction, but make it
Speaker 1: hard to enjoy the time spent working along the way,
Speaker 1: and tasks are necessary to get things done, but without
Speaker 1: a focal point, they fly by in a forgettable haze.
Speaker 1: The middle ground between the two is a daily highlight.
Speaker 1: Nap and Zaratski right that we want you to begin
Speaker 1: each day by thinking about what you hope will be
Speaker 1: the bright spot. If at the end of the day
Speaker 1: someone asks you what was the highlight of your day?
Speaker 1: What do you want your answer to be? When you
Speaker 1: look back on your day, what activity or accomplishment or
Speaker 1: moment do you want to save her. That's your highlight. Now,
Speaker 1: a highlight doesn't have to be an obvious high point,
Speaker 1: like spending half the day at a spa. On some days,
Speaker 1: the highlight might be finishing a work task that really
Speaker 1: needed to get done. It could be something satisfying if difficult,
Speaker 1: like hitting a speed goal during your post work run.
Speaker 1: Or maybe it's something joyful, like lunch with the colleague
Speaker 1: that you always find hilarious. In any case, Nap and
Speaker 1: Zaratski recommend choosing a highlight that will take about sixty
Speaker 1: to ninety minutes. This isn't a huge amount of time
Speaker 1: in your waking six to eighteen hours per day, but
Speaker 1: figuring out the highlight ahead of time time will do
Speaker 1: several positive things. First, you'll look forward to the highlight
Speaker 1: and structure the day's logistics to make sure it happens. Second,
Speaker 1: you'll notice the highlight while it's happening. It can be
Speaker 1: easy to trudge through even good things in a distracted
Speaker 1: frame of mind, but if you know lunch with your
Speaker 1: colleague is a highlight, you'll pay attention to his funny
Speaker 1: jokes and give yourself permission to laugh a bit more
Speaker 1: rather than thinking about your inbox, and rather than going
Speaker 1: through the motions of that post work run, you really
Speaker 1: think about it and celebrate what your body can do.
Speaker 1: And finally, choosing a highlight ahead of time can help
Speaker 1: change the story we tell ourselves about our lives. It's
Speaker 1: easy to fall into a trap of thinking I have
Speaker 1: no time or I'm not in control of anything, But
Speaker 1: even an hour spent on an activity that you are
Speaker 1: executing agency over can go a long ways. Your highlight
Speaker 1: gives each day a focal point. Knapp and Zerotsky right
Speaker 1: research shows that the way you experience your days is
Speaker 1: not determined primarily by what happens to you. In fact,
Speaker 1: you create your own reality by choosing what you pay
Speaker 1: attention to. In a previous episode of Before Breakfast, I
Speaker 1: talked about turning morning time into family time, and if
Speaker 1: you're looking for a family breakfast discussion topic, this could
Speaker 1: be good for everyone. What will today's highlight be? Looking
Speaker 1: forward to the day's schedule, what is the main thing
Speaker 1: you'd like to remember from the next few hours. Now,
Speaker 1: maybe some days the highlights won't happen, or some days
Speaker 1: it will be really tough to identify a highlight. But
Speaker 1: as Nap and Zerotski note the upside of seeking out
Speaker 1: a daily highlight is that we can always try again tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Eventually there's going to be a highlight we can foresee
Speaker 1: and celebrate. In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.