WEBVTT - Cope with constant interruptions

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to cope with constantly interrupted

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<v Speaker 1>time and how to manage your energy even if you're

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<v Speaker 1>not trying to get a whole lot of traditional work done.

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<v Speaker 1>This tip stems from a letter I got from a

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<v Speaker 1>listener who lives in India. Her elderly father had been

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<v Speaker 1>admitted to the hospital. Fortunately, he was starting to improve.

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<v Speaker 1>In India, the daughter wrote, it's common for a family

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<v Speaker 1>member to stay over in the hospital with a patient

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<v Speaker 1>to help with his care. That was what she was doing,

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<v Speaker 1>and so she was constantly on call. In the short

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<v Speaker 1>times I do get to myself when he is sleeping.

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<v Speaker 1>Mostly I find myself trying to get other stuff done,

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<v Speaker 1>she says, But for obvious reasons, I keep getting interrupted.

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<v Speaker 1>The stuff I'm doing is not highly intense, paying bills online,

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<v Speaker 1>reorganizing my lists, clearing down inboxes, sometimes just listening to podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>But even then I find it difficult to progress. So

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<v Speaker 1>she wondered, did I have any advice for dealing with interruptions?

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<v Speaker 1>Getting even small tasks done and feeling efficient is a

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<v Speaker 1>big part of my personal self care and goes a

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<v Speaker 1>long way in making me feel like at least some

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<v Speaker 1>aspects of life are under control in these difficult times.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, so she was looking for ideas. I thought

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<v Speaker 1>this was a great question. First, no one is going

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<v Speaker 1>to get much done in a hospital. Her first move

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<v Speaker 1>should be to release herself from any expectations. Even if

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<v Speaker 1>she did nothing other than manage her father's care for

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<v Speaker 1>a few weeks, it would be okay. Life would not

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<v Speaker 1>completely fall apart. That said, she could maintain some sense

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<v Speaker 1>of the progress that was important to her by turning

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<v Speaker 1>her tasks into very very small ones. Something like pay

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<v Speaker 1>bills might get interrupted, which can be frustrating, but write

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<v Speaker 1>down amount to pay for a single bill is doable.

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<v Speaker 1>Then she could write a check or find the website

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<v Speaker 1>or app to pay as another step. The next bill

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<v Speaker 1>might likewise be broken up into two to three steps.

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<v Speaker 1>Two with tasks taking less than a minute, she could

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<v Speaker 1>definitely get through enough to feel like she'd done something.

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<v Speaker 1>She could also find fun, fairly low effort activities that

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<v Speaker 1>would fit in small bits of time. She mentioned listening

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<v Speaker 1>to this podcast, which is great. She could also read

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<v Speaker 1>a poem, write in a one sentenced journal, borrow some

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<v Speaker 1>art books from the library and digital form, and then

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<v Speaker 1>look through a few beautiful pictures at a time she

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<v Speaker 1>could brainstorm items for her list of a hundred dreams.

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<v Speaker 1>That really extensive bucket list we've talked about in past episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if you're not caring for someone in the hospital,

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<v Speaker 1>I find it's helpful to make a list of these

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<v Speaker 1>little bits of joy that can fit into bits of time.

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<v Speaker 1>There are many circumstances in life when you can't do involved,

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<v Speaker 1>lengthy activities. Maybe you're caring for a toddler. Maybe you've

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<v Speaker 1>got some downtime at work, but not the sort where

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<v Speaker 1>you can plan to read a whole novel. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>come up with a few small items that can make

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<v Speaker 1>the time pleasant and well, the time will be more

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<v Speaker 1>pleasant and I'm a big fan of never wishing time

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<v Speaker 1>away in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's B the number four. Then breakst p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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