1 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: tip is to take a quick glance forward a week 4 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: or two when you are planning your week. This can 5 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: help you feel more prepared for just about anything. Longtime 6 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: listeners know that I am a big fan of planning 7 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: on Fridays. Indeed, plan on Fridays is one of my 8 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: nine core time management rules that I write about in 9 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: Tranquility by Tuesday, my book that will be out later 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: this year. On Fridays, take a few minutes to plan 11 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: the week ahead. Think about your top priorities in the 12 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: categories of career, relationships, and self. Plan when you will 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: do these things, what is already on your calendar, Make 14 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: a plan to meet any obligations and deal with any 15 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: tricky spots. That's it, You've got this. I have been 16 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: planning this way for years and it helps me hit 17 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: Monday ready to go. I even enjoy my weekends more 18 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: because I'm not worried about what is coming up on Monday. 19 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: I know what is coming up and I have a 20 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: plan to deal with it. It is really the best 21 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 1: way I know to calm the chaos and make time 22 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: for what matters. But there is one small extra step 23 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: that is helpful to take when you plan your upcoming week. 24 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: Take a quick glance forward through the next week or 25 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: two to see if there is anything major sitting on 26 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: your calendar. Are there any big deadlines you should be 27 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: thinking about, anything that's going to require more than a 28 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: few hours to prepare for. If so, you probably want 29 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: to devote sometime to that on the upcoming weeks to 30 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: do list. The reason is that if you have something 31 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: big do on a Monday or Tuesday, and you plan 32 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: your upcoming weeks on Fridays, you might realize the existence 33 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: of this impending deadline for the first time on the Friday, 34 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: that is, right before the Monday or Tuesday. Now, you 35 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 1: do still have a few days to work on it, 36 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 1: so it is better than realizing this Sunday night or 37 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: Monday morning. But you probably don't want to get this 38 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: news on Friday when you are sliding into weekend mode, 39 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: So get in a habit of taking a quick look 40 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: forward a week or two. Most things can be dealt 41 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: with in a few hours, and so they can be 42 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: planned on Friday for the upcoming week. But when you 43 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: flag something that might require a little more attention, you 44 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: can be a bit more proactive. In my case, I 45 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: realize the other day that I have scheduled a few 46 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: interviews with people on Mondays in recent weeks, and I 47 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: like to be respectful of their time, which means giving 48 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: myself a few days to think through the best questions 49 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: to ask. I could do it on Friday afternoon for 50 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: Monday morning, but if I flag it a week ahead, 51 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: I can spend some time on Thursday and Friday thinking 52 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: about it. Most likely the interview will be better, or 53 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: sometimes there won't be anything too out of the ordinary 54 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: coming up, but you can see that a future week 55 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: will be so full that you will want to pull 56 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: a few priorities forward. If the immediately upcoming seven days 57 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: is a lighter week, you could do that, or you 58 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: could make preparations for smarter relationship building. If you see 59 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: that you are going to a conference in two to 60 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: three weeks, you can make time ahead of time to 61 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: reach out to people and plan to get together. Or 62 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: maybe you will note that one of your kids has 63 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: a half day at school. Maybe you could plan ahead 64 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: to take off early that day or take a longer 65 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: lunch so you can spend some time together. It is 66 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: usually best to know these things a little more than 67 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,559 Speaker 1: a week ahead if you want to keep that time clear. 68 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: Now again, I want to stress that most stuff doesn't 69 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: require this. Your future self will not be incompetent. You 70 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: don't need to lay out outfits, or meal plan or 71 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: even figure out run of the mill work stuff more 72 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: than a few days ahead of time. You will be 73 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: able to figure these things out when you need to 74 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: figure them out. But no one likes to be blindsided 75 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: or wind up with a much heavier workload some week 76 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: than necessary. Taking a quick glance a week or two 77 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: ahead keeps this from happening. Incorporate this practice into your 78 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: Friday place and you will feel on top of things 79 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 80 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 81 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 82 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 83 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod 84 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then breakfast pod. You 85 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast 86 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out 87 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, sh I look 88 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production 89 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 90 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.