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 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,479 Speaker 1: tip is that if you are looking to reduce the 4 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: time spent on life maintenance, experiment with whether you can 5 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: stretch the cadence on some recurring tasks. My hunt is 6 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: that life will go on if certain things happen a 7 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: bit less often. Longtime listeners know that my planning is 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: focused on weeks, that is, one hundred and sixty eight hours. 9 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: Much of our life happens in weekly rhythms. Work, school, exercise, classes, 10 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: religious services, many volunteer commitments, and even some social engagements 11 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: have a weekly rhythm. So it might seem to make 12 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: sense to tuck chores into the hardescape of our weekly 13 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: calendars around the other recurring fixed points. I know that 14 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: many people absorb the idea that certain chores need to 15 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: be done weekly when they're growing up. If your parents 16 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,759 Speaker 1: did laundry every Monday, grocery shopping every Tuesday, cleaning every Wednesday, 17 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: and so forth, you may assume that this rhythm is right, 18 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,119 Speaker 1: and sometimes a weekly cadence for life maintenance tasks works well. 19 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: But if you are trying to spend less of your 20 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: time on chores. One way to do that is to 21 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: stretch the cadence of some tasks. Are there some tasks 22 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: that can be done less frequently than weekly. A lot 23 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: of tasks take about the same amount of time, even 24 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: if more time has elapsed since you last did them. 25 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: Not all, I mean, I wouldn't let the dishes stack up. 26 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: But in many cases, by stretching the cadence of the task, 27 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: you spend less time on the task overall. Maybe you 28 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: have a rhythm of picking up and dropping off dry 29 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: cleaning on Saturday morning on the way to take your 30 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: daughter to ballet. Could you handle dry cleaning every other 31 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: Saturday instead? Or instead of grocery shopping every Sunday afternoon, 32 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: could you do a big shop every other week and 33 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: then fill in with a quick trip for produce and 34 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: milk in between. Cleaning tasks can often be stretched if 35 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: you run a cordless vacuum in the kitchen is needed. 36 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:36,799 Speaker 1: You may not need to vacuum your whole house or 37 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 1: apartment every week. Maybe every ten days could work, possibly 38 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: even less if you don't have pets or little people 39 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: making messes. Vacuuming takes the same amount of time if 40 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: you do it weekly or every ten days so over 41 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: the course of a year. Stretching the cadence lets you 42 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: reclaim time for something more fun than vacuuming. It takes 43 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: only a little more time to do a full load 44 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: of laundry than it does to do a partial load, 45 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: so instead of doing laundry weekly or on another rhythm 46 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: determined by the calendar, try waiting till you have a 47 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: full load to do it. The lawn may likewise be 48 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: okay if you let it grow a little longer before cutting. 49 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: Your hair might be fine if it gets a little 50 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: longer too. While you probably should go to the dentist 51 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: every six months, if it happens every eight months, that 52 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: is better than it not happening at all. Stretching the 53 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: cadence can give you a little breathing room in life, 54 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: and for many things, the downsides won't be disastrous, so 55 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: it's worth a shot. Are there tasks you have discovered 56 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: don't have to be done quite as often as you 57 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: used to think? You can let me know at Laura 58 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 59 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 60 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 61 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 62 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 63 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 64 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 65 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.