WEBVTT - Set a life maintenance time

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my 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 to set a life maintenance time. By

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<v Speaker 1>having a spot on the calendar that you generally choose

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<v Speaker 1>for life maintenance tasks, you can make steady progress on

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<v Speaker 1>these and keep them from taking over your life. I

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<v Speaker 1>recently realized that I was past due for a number

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<v Speaker 1>of life maintenance things. My hair needed to be cut,

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<v Speaker 1>I needed to visit the dermatologist. My car needed its

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<v Speaker 1>annual inspection. I needed to get my eyes checked and

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<v Speaker 1>get new contacts. We all need to go to the dentist.

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<v Speaker 1>There are different schools of thought on how to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with this reality. Some people might try to schedule everything

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<v Speaker 1>at once, but taking days off to deal with all

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<v Speaker 1>your personal life issues can make you feel even more

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<v Speaker 1>behind at work, or you feel like you are using

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<v Speaker 1>vacation days for stuff that is not really fun and

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<v Speaker 1>not everyone can take whole days off with limited consequences,

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<v Speaker 1>so I am a fan of a different method. Aim

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<v Speaker 1>to take care of one life maintenance thing every few weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe once a week if you're catching up. Ideally,

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<v Speaker 1>choose a particular spot during the week that is your

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<v Speaker 1>first choice for scheduling such things that more or less

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<v Speaker 1>works with your work schedule. That way, you know there

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<v Speaker 1>is a time that generally works, that you can ask

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<v Speaker 1>for and that you can build into your schedule and

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<v Speaker 1>into your expectations. There are many potential options here. Many

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<v Speaker 1>people like to take care of appointments first thing, when

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<v Speaker 1>viders are less likely to be running behind. If that

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<v Speaker 1>is the case, early Thursday or Friday morning might be good.

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<v Speaker 1>The week tends to be a little less busy towards

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<v Speaker 1>the end, and hopefully you have tackled your top priorities

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<v Speaker 1>Monday and Tuesday morning, so you don't need this morning

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<v Speaker 1>energy by then. An alternative is a late afternoon spot,

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<v Speaker 1>say Thursday, a bit before you have any after school duties. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>providers might be running late by the afternoon, but then

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<v Speaker 1>you get most of the work day to focus before

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<v Speaker 1>you need to be answering emails from a waiting room.

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<v Speaker 1>Or perhaps you can shift your work schedule to start

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<v Speaker 1>a little earlier on these days so you don't need

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<v Speaker 1>to take official time off. If weekends are the only

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<v Speaker 1>time that will work for you, choosing an early morning

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<v Speaker 1>slot can still keep the rest of the day open.

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<v Speaker 1>As long as you are done by noon on Saturday,

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<v Speaker 1>you can still enjoy a mostly relaxing weekend knowing that

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<v Speaker 1>you are making progress on all those personal to dues. Now, obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't always get the times that you ask for.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes providers are so booked up that you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>a choice, but if you are scheduling far ahead, you might.

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<v Speaker 1>In some places, like maybe hair salons or a pharmacy

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<v Speaker 1>where you're getting a booster shot, might be a bit

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<v Speaker 1>more flexible. And even if a provider only has a

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<v Speaker 1>few slots, if you know that your preferred time is

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<v Speaker 1>early morning later in the week, you can ask them

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<v Speaker 1>to look forward a few weeks from the first time

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<v Speaker 1>you are offered to see if any of your preferred

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<v Speaker 1>spots are available. You might periodically think through any appointments

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<v Speaker 1>you need to make and then assign yourself one each

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<v Speaker 1>week during your weekly planning time. I plan on Friday afternoons,

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<v Speaker 1>so I use that time to make an appointment for

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<v Speaker 1>the following week once I have determined which life maintenance

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<v Speaker 1>thing i'd like or need to do. I am happy

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<v Speaker 1>to report that I recently had a long list that

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<v Speaker 1>I needed to tackle. But now I have everything scheduled.

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<v Speaker 1>Since it's only been one life maintenance item per week,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't feel like I'm losing my life to car

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<v Speaker 1>inspections and I exams, but I am getting them done.

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<v Speaker 1>It's no fun, but it's part of adulthood and we

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<v Speaker 1>may as well make it work for our lives. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from it. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

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