WEBVTT - Stretch the cadence

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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 if you are looking to reduce the

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<v Speaker 1>time spent on life maintenance, experiment with whether you can

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<v Speaker 1>stretch the cadence on some recurring tasks. My hunt is

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<v Speaker 1>that life will go on if certain things happen a

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<v Speaker 1>bit less often. Longtime listeners know that my planning is

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<v Speaker 1>focused on weeks, that is, one hundred and sixty eight hours.

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<v Speaker 1>Much of our life happens in weekly rhythms. Work, school, exercise, classes,

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<v Speaker 1>religious services, many volunteer commitments, and even some social engagements

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<v Speaker 1>have a weekly rhythm. So it might seem to make

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<v Speaker 1>sense to tuck chores into the hardescape of our weekly

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<v Speaker 1>calendars around the other recurring fixed points. I know that

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<v Speaker 1>many people absorb the idea that certain chores need to

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<v Speaker 1>be done weekly when they're growing up. If your parents

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<v Speaker 1>did laundry every Monday, grocery shopping every Tuesday, cleaning every Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>and so forth, you may assume that this rhythm is right,

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<v Speaker 1>and sometimes a weekly cadence for life maintenance tasks works well.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you are trying to spend less of your

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<v Speaker 1>time on chores. One way to do that is to

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<v Speaker 1>stretch the cadence of some tasks. Are there some tasks

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<v Speaker 1>that can be done less frequently than weekly. A lot

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<v Speaker 1>of tasks take about the same amount of time, even

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<v Speaker 1>if more time has elapsed since you last did them.

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<v Speaker 1>Not all, I mean, I wouldn't let the dishes stack up.

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<v Speaker 1>But in many cases, by stretching the cadence of the task,

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<v Speaker 1>you spend less time on the task overall. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>have a rhythm of picking up and dropping off dry

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<v Speaker 1>cleaning on Saturday morning on the way to take your

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<v Speaker 1>daughter to ballet. Could you handle dry cleaning every other

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday instead? Or instead of grocery shopping every Sunday afternoon,

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<v Speaker 1>could you do a big shop every other week and

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<v Speaker 1>then fill in with a quick trip for produce and

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<v Speaker 1>milk in between. Cleaning tasks can often be stretched if

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<v Speaker 1>you run a cordless vacuum in the kitchen is needed.

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<v Speaker 1>You may not need to vacuum your whole house or

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<v Speaker 1>apartment every week. Maybe every ten days could work, possibly

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<v Speaker 1>even less if you don't have pets or little people

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<v Speaker 1>making messes. Vacuuming takes the same amount of time if

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<v Speaker 1>you do it weekly or every ten days so over

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<v Speaker 1>the course of a year. Stretching the cadence lets you

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<v Speaker 1>reclaim time for something more fun than vacuuming. It takes

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<v Speaker 1>only a little more time to do a full load

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<v Speaker 1>of laundry than it does to do a partial load,

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<v Speaker 1>so instead of doing laundry weekly or on another rhythm

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<v Speaker 1>determined by the calendar, try waiting till you have a

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<v Speaker 1>full load to do it. The lawn may likewise be

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<v Speaker 1>okay if you let it grow a little longer before cutting.

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<v Speaker 1>Your hair might be fine if it gets a little

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<v Speaker 1>longer too. While you probably should go to the dentist

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<v Speaker 1>every six months, if it happens every eight months, that

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<v Speaker 1>is better than it not happening at all. Stretching the

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<v Speaker 1>cadence can give you a little breathing room in life,

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<v Speaker 1>and for many things, the downsides won't be disastrous, so

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<v Speaker 1>it's worth a shot. Are there tasks you have discovered

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to be done quite as often as you

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<v Speaker 1>used to think? You can let me know at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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