WEBVTT - Thirty days to finished

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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 with a short push, you might be

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<v Speaker 1>able to finish a project that has been lingering on

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<v Speaker 1>your to do list. Give yourself thirty days and see

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<v Speaker 1>what you can do. It won't be perfect, but it

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<v Speaker 1>just might be done. And done is a good place

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<v Speaker 1>to be. This episode is first airing in late October.

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<v Speaker 1>The upcoming month of November will bring many things, but

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<v Speaker 1>one of them is what people call National Novel Writing Month.

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<v Speaker 1>During this challenge, thousands of people will attempt to write

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<v Speaker 1>a fifty thousand word novel during the thirty days of November.

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<v Speaker 1>Some time listeners know that I am a big fan

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<v Speaker 1>of this concept. One of the things that trips writers

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<v Speaker 1>up when they attempt to write that novel that they

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<v Speaker 1>have been thinking about for years is that they want

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<v Speaker 1>to produce good writing, and most first drafts are terrible.

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<v Speaker 1>Good writing comes from thoughtful editing. The good news here

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<v Speaker 1>is that it is much easier to turn something into

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<v Speaker 1>something better than to turn nothing into something. A challenge

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<v Speaker 1>like National Novel Writing Month forces you to write quickly

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<v Speaker 1>without second guessing yourself, you get out of your own head,

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<v Speaker 1>write a story, and then once it exists, you can

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<v Speaker 1>turn it into something that you would actually like to read. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you don't want to write a novel, but maybe

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<v Speaker 1>there is some other big project in your life that

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<v Speaker 1>you'd like to undertake. Maybe you have started this project

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<v Speaker 1>several times, You've got bits and pieces of it here

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<v Speaker 1>and there. It could be many things, like writing a

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<v Speaker 1>new curriculum for your school or for the training program

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<v Speaker 1>you run at work. It might be revamping your employee

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<v Speaker 1>evaluation system or creating a class for your house of worship.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you want to finish the application for a grant

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<v Speaker 1>or clean out your basement. I am sure there is

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<v Speaker 1>something you have been telling yourself for a long time

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<v Speaker 1>that you really should do. So here's an idea. Why

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<v Speaker 1>not adopt the spirit of National Novel Writing Month and

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<v Speaker 1>commit to finishing your project in thirty days. You've got

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<v Speaker 1>a few days now to map out a plan before

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<v Speaker 1>the month starts. There are thirty days in November. If

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<v Speaker 1>you skip Sundays and Thanksgiving, you're looking at more like

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five days. What would you need to do on

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<v Speaker 1>each of those twenty five to thirty days in order

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<v Speaker 1>to get to done. If you are creating a four

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<v Speaker 1>week course, let's say maybe you spend five days on

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<v Speaker 1>each module, and then five days making it more coherent.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you count that you've got twenty five boxes in

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<v Speaker 1>the basement and you look at one each day and

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<v Speaker 1>spend the last five days sweeping things out or vacuuming,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe repainting the walls. But whatever it is, break

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<v Speaker 1>your project down into twenty five to thirty chunks, just

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<v Speaker 1>like National Novel Writing Month participants do. They pledge to

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<v Speaker 1>write sixteen hundred and sixty seven to two thousand words

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<v Speaker 1>a day. I know this takes about two hours for me,

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<v Speaker 1>but maybe it takes some other amount of time for

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<v Speaker 1>other people. Whatever your intermediate steps, figure out how much

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<v Speaker 1>time they'll take, and then figure out when in your

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<v Speaker 1>schedule you can block in this time, figure out back

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<v Speaker 1>up slots for the first slots get taken away from you.

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<v Speaker 1>But then picture yourself on December first, with a complete

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<v Speaker 1>version of your project. That's pretty motivating. Thirty days is

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<v Speaker 1>enough time to do a lot, but it is a

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<v Speaker 1>short enough time that we can see the finish line.

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<v Speaker 1>Really picture yourself enjoying your accomplishment and then get started,

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<v Speaker 1>keep going. That's all there is to it. In thirty days,

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<v Speaker 1>you just might be done with something big, or if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't start, you won't be. But thirty days are

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<v Speaker 1>going to pass no matter what you do, Won't It

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<v Speaker 1>be nice to be on the other side feeling proud

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<v Speaker 1>of what you've done. In the meantime, This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the moss of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.