1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:09,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: tip is to do some rather than none. Even if 4 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: you can't do your normal routines or meet your goals 5 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: for a day, doing a little something is often better 6 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:34,559 Speaker 1: than nothing at all. You keep the habit and make 7 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: a little progress, which means there might be less to 8 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: make up later. So we have all been there. You 9 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: plan to go to the gym after work, but in 10 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: the work day with little energy, you are trying to 11 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: read through an immense book, but reading much of it 12 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: on a certain day seems daunting. You resolve to work 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: on your novel, but you are facing a creative block 14 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: or the day is rapidly getting away from you. We 15 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: are human. From years of studying people's habits and goals, 16 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: I am pretty sure that we often set way too 17 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: lofty expectations for what we can do on any given day. 18 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: These expectations then feel overwhelming in the moment, and we 19 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: give up on the hard days and then have trouble 20 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: getting back in better to keep expectations low. But even 21 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: if you haven't set low expectations on any given day, 22 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: it might help to lower them a bit. Do some 23 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: rather than none, and you maintain the habit while moving forward. 24 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: So if you are too tired to do a full workout, 25 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: but the gym is on the way home, tell yourself 26 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: you'll just stop there for five minutes. You will lift 27 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: that set of dumbbells once, or you will simply read 28 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: one page and that giant book you're attacking one page, 29 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: you don't have to write for an hour. You will 30 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: just write one sentence. These choices to do some rather 31 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: than none, do a few good things many times. Once 32 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: you have started, you will keep going. You are at 33 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: the gem, so it doesn't seem like a big deal 34 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: to move on to the leg press after those dumbbells 35 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: or something cool happens on that one page you are reading, 36 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: and you want to find out what happens next. But 37 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: even if you only do a little bit, you haven't 38 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: stopped the habit. You have made some progress, which is 39 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: less progress you will have to make in the future. 40 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: That is, one fewer pages to read or one less 41 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: sentence to write. It does add up. I think the 42 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: tendency to do none is a way to let ourselves 43 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: off the hook. We design our habits for our best days. 44 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: Instead of thinking through the logistics of how things will 45 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: work on bad days, doing none allows us to treat 46 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: bad days as total aberrations. Of course I couldn't go 47 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: to the gym given that stressful meeting. Of Course I 48 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: can't write anything in my novel if I just had 49 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: to take a kid to urgent care. But is that 50 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: true for many things? The answer is that you can 51 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: still do a little bit. Doing a little bit helps 52 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: diminish this all or nothing thinking that usually isn't helpful. 53 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: You aren't going to get many perfect days in life, 54 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: so figure out what you can do on the bad 55 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: days and make those things happen. It is still something, 56 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: and something is almost always better than nothing. In the meantime, 57 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 58 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to 59 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 60 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, 61 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, 62 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: then breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me 63 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. 64 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 65 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch. 66 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 67 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 68 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.