WEBVTT - The secret to sticking with things

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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 we tend to stick with things that

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<v Speaker 1>are easy, pleasant, and fit in our lives. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are trying to stick with any project long term, it

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<v Speaker 1>helps to structure it to satisfy those conditions. I know

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<v Speaker 1>that a great many people set goals and resolutions for

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<v Speaker 1>the new year. By the end of the year, many

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<v Speaker 1>of these have been forgotten or at least abandoned. It

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<v Speaker 1>may be true that some people are more oriented towards

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<v Speaker 1>sticking with random, self imposed goals than others, but I

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<v Speaker 1>also think that in many cases, people abandon their projects

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<v Speaker 1>because they aren't structured in a way that makes success likely.

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<v Speaker 1>I set a few long term goals this year, and

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<v Speaker 1>I am happy to report that they have mostly happened.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, I wanted to listen to all the works

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<v Speaker 1>of Beethoven. I wanted to read Anna Karnina, and I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to write fifty two sonnets. Those are fourteen line

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<v Speaker 1>poems that follow a certain rhyming scheme. Coming into December,

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<v Speaker 1>I have indeed listened to almost all of Beethoven. I

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<v Speaker 1>finished Tolstoy's epic a while ago, and I have written

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<v Speaker 1>forty eight sonnets and will hit fifty two by January.

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<v Speaker 1>I will not credit any deep well of discipline for

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<v Speaker 1>any of this. Anyone thinking that should see how much

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<v Speaker 1>time I waste scrolling on social media. But I did

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<v Speaker 1>structure all of these projects very carefully. For instance, when

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<v Speaker 1>I decided I wanted to listen to Beethoven, I became

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<v Speaker 1>aware of a site called the Complete Beethoven, which breaks

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<v Speaker 1>his work into three hundred and sixty six daily assignments

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<v Speaker 1>with links to the best recordings of each piece. I

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<v Speaker 1>understand this isn't truly complete, as we skipped some of

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<v Speaker 1>his less exciting folk songs, but it is pretty comprehensive.

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<v Speaker 1>Each day I simply listened to the day's performances as

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<v Speaker 1>I was driving people around in the car. It was easy.

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<v Speaker 1>All I had to do was click on the links

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<v Speaker 1>and pleasant. Beethoven is kind of known for being a

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<v Speaker 1>good composer. This elevated time in the car considerably. It

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<v Speaker 1>also fit into my life, since I spend a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of time in the car. Same with reading Tolstoy. Anna

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<v Speaker 1>Karna is about nine hundred pages long, but it consists

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<v Speaker 1>of around two hundred and forty very short chapters. I

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<v Speaker 1>just read one chapter a day through to September, and voila,

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<v Speaker 1>I had finished the book. It took just a few

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<v Speaker 1>minutes a day, and since Anna Karinyna is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the best novels ever written, this was pleasant enough. No

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<v Speaker 1>huge will of discipline required. I kept the book on

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<v Speaker 1>my nightstand and just read through it, reading a little

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<v Speaker 1>ahead or making up a little time afterward when I traveled.

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<v Speaker 1>As for the sonnets, writing fourteen lines a week requires

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<v Speaker 1>writing two lines a day. Each of these lines is

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<v Speaker 1>just ten syllables, so the requirement was simply twenty syllables

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<v Speaker 1>a day, not that hard at all. I could usually

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<v Speaker 1>do that in a minute or two, and now I

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<v Speaker 1>have a lot of poems. If you are trying to

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<v Speaker 1>stick with anything long term, it might help to follow

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<v Speaker 1>this same rubric. How can you make each step toward

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<v Speaker 1>your goal as easy as possible? We won't do anything

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<v Speaker 1>for two hours a day. Twenty minutes might be more

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<v Speaker 1>possible or even less. As for pleasure, to be successful,

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<v Speaker 1>you generally need to choose goals you actually want to

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<v Speaker 1>do and find it least semi enjoyable for their own sake.

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<v Speaker 1>If you hate running, it's going to be hard to

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<v Speaker 1>stick with running. Maybe you need to find another form

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<v Speaker 1>of exercise that you hate less. There are all sorts

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<v Speaker 1>of longer projects I haven't done. I don't really want

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<v Speaker 1>to read all of Dickens, for instance. It also helps

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<v Speaker 1>to think through your life and think about when you

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<v Speaker 1>can do whatever these small steps are. If you want

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<v Speaker 1>to journal, maybe you should do that for five minutes

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<v Speaker 1>in the morning, or maybe for you it would work

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<v Speaker 1>better as a short break during the workday. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>plan to do five minutes of push ups and sit

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<v Speaker 1>ups each day while watching TV. Maybe you have something

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<v Speaker 1>you could listen to in the car each day, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know you spend a lot of time in the car.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't assume a perfect life. Don't assume your life will

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<v Speaker 1>change dramatically. Look at life as it is or as

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<v Speaker 1>it reasonably could be, and see what fits with that.

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<v Speaker 1>If you do those things, though, then you won't need

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<v Speaker 1>huge supplies of discipline to stick with things. Even big

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<v Speaker 1>goals can be achieved through very small steps. This becomes

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<v Speaker 1>less a matter of discipline and more just a matter

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<v Speaker 1>of remembering, and that is easy enough. Put your goal

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<v Speaker 1>on your to do list each day and cross it

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<v Speaker 1>off when you do it, and then just keep going.

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<v Speaker 1>That is the secret to sticking with things, and I

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<v Speaker 1>do think sticking with things can be a superpower in

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<v Speaker 1>this world where people often get distracted. Anyone can start something.

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<v Speaker 1>Finishing things is incredibly satisfying. In the meantime, This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening years to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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