WEBVTT - Remembering becomes easier over time

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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 that remembering where the time goes becomes

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<v Speaker 1>easier over time, while trying to get a grip on

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<v Speaker 1>time is challenging at first, Over time, you will become

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<v Speaker 1>more mindful, which makes it easier to figure out where

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<v Speaker 1>the time really goes. When this episode is first airing

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<v Speaker 1>in January, I am leading a time tracking challenge where

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds of people are logging their time for a week.

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<v Speaker 1>We are all trying to figure out where the time

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<v Speaker 1>really goes so we can make wise decisions. If that

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<v Speaker 1>sounds good to you, then feel free to join in.

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<v Speaker 1>You just write down what you're doing as often as

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<v Speaker 1>you remember, and keep going for a week. Then you

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<v Speaker 1>can celebrate, reflect or change. If you have never tracked

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<v Speaker 1>time before, you might find that it's a little tough

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<v Speaker 1>at first. It's tough to remember to check in with

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<v Speaker 1>your log. It's tough to describe what you were doing

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<v Speaker 1>in short phrases. It might be hard to remember what

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<v Speaker 1>you were doing a few hours ago if you weren't

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<v Speaker 1>really paying attention. Sometimes these challenges make people stop tracking

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<v Speaker 1>their time. But I really hope they won't stop you.

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<v Speaker 1>Because here's the thing. Remembering where the time went becomes

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<v Speaker 1>much easier the more you do it. I have been

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<v Speaker 1>tracking my time for almost seven years now, yep, every

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<v Speaker 1>half hour for seven years. I have a busy life,

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<v Speaker 1>so there is no way I would have stuck with

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<v Speaker 1>this habit if it were difficult. At this point, I

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<v Speaker 1>usually check in three times a day and write down

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<v Speaker 1>what I've done since the last check in. Over the

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<v Speaker 1>past few months, there have been a few weekend days

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<v Speaker 1>in particular, that have just been so full I've been

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<v Speaker 1>nowhere near my computer. But I have found that after

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<v Speaker 1>almost seven years, I can in fact reconstruct a full

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four hours with what feels like reasonable accuracy. The

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<v Speaker 1>reason is that I now think about where my time

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<v Speaker 1>is going. I remember that, oh, yes, we did that

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<v Speaker 1>thing at two pm, so we were in the car

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<v Speaker 1>at one thirty, and I put the baby to bed

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<v Speaker 1>at eight pm, or that the pizza came out of

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<v Speaker 1>the oven at six thirty pm, and so forth. As

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<v Speaker 1>I think about my time and think about how I'd

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<v Speaker 1>like to spend my time, there are more conscious decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>I look at the clock and see at two PM

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<v Speaker 1>that I don't have anything I have to do until

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<v Speaker 1>and so I go read a book on the back porch,

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<v Speaker 1>because that is a conscious decision. It is in my

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<v Speaker 1>brain and I can remember it for at least a

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<v Speaker 1>day or so. I have found this to be the

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<v Speaker 1>case with other folks as well. For my next book,

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<v Speaker 1>Tranquility by Tuesday, I had a hundred fifty people learned

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<v Speaker 1>nine time management rules over the course of nine weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>I had people track their time before the study and

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<v Speaker 1>after the study. It turned out that people had an

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<v Speaker 1>easier time recollecting where their time went in the post

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<v Speaker 1>study survey than the pre study survey. Once they were

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<v Speaker 1>primed to start thinking about their time and to think

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<v Speaker 1>about how they would like to spend their time, time

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<v Speaker 1>was less likely to be spent mindlessly. They were making

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<v Speaker 1>active choices about where it should go, so they remembered

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<v Speaker 1>their choices. In general, I think this mindfulness is a

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<v Speaker 1>good thing. Perhaps there are some times we don't really

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<v Speaker 1>want to think about this too much. I mean, I

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<v Speaker 1>have definitely put something like beach for five hours when

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<v Speaker 1>I'm at the beach, rather than recount every single time

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<v Speaker 1>I went into the waves or built a sandcastle. But

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<v Speaker 1>since we only get so much time, knowing where it

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<v Speaker 1>goes allows us to be better stewards of it. Days

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<v Speaker 1>and weeks and years don't disappear into the abyss. A

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<v Speaker 1>life is lived in hours. We can use those hours

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<v Speaker 1>to create the lives we want. Being mindful of where

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<v Speaker 1>those hours go is the first step to doing just that.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our times. M 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 Breakfast 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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