Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to get clear on why you are doing
Speaker 1: what you are doing, especially if you're feeling stretched. Because
Speaker 1: it is on my schedule or because it is on
Speaker 1: my to do list may not be an adequate reason
Speaker 1: to do much of anything, So get clear on what
Speaker 1: the real reason is. When we get busy, it is
Speaker 1: tempting just to focus on what is immediately in front
Speaker 1: of us. We march through the day's schedule, going from
Speaker 1: meeting to meeting, doing whatever tasks we immediately need to do.
Speaker 1: But if you are feeling like you have more on
Speaker 1: your plate than you'd like to right now, it is
Speaker 1: probably wise to step back and see if all the
Speaker 1: things keeping you busy are actually moving you somewhere you
Speaker 1: would like to go. To do this, audit your schedule
Speaker 1: and your to do list. Whenever you are doing something
Speaker 1: or are about to do something, ask yourself, why am
Speaker 1: I doing this. If you are not sure why, or
Speaker 1: if the results aren't worth the effort, you could consider
Speaker 1: whether you want to adjust. For instance, why are you
Speaker 1: spending an hour every Friday writing a weekly email update
Speaker 1: to your boss. Why are you meeting a friend who
Speaker 1: lives twenty minutes away for a walk every Monday at
Speaker 1: six am? Why are you spending an hour and ninety
Speaker 1: dollars taking tennis lessons every week? Why are you going
Speaker 1: to visit your dad at the retirement home on Saturday.
Speaker 1: Sometimes your answer to the question why am I doing
Speaker 1: this may point you toward doing something more efficiently. For instance,
Speaker 1: maybe the weekly update email is intended to make sure
Speaker 1: your boss knows what what you're doing. That's probably wise. However,
Speaker 1: you could also make the email shorter, with just two
Speaker 1: bulleted lists projects completed this week and projects in process.
Speaker 1: You're still accomplishing the goal, but in less time, and
Speaker 1: my guess is that your manager is probably going to
Speaker 1: appreciate the brevity. Sometimes the reason you're doing something may
Speaker 1: be that the activity made sense in the past, but
Speaker 1: you need to figure out how to make it make
Speaker 1: sense right now. Perhaps you and your walking buddy you
Speaker 1: still live closer to each other. You had to get
Speaker 1: home in time to get your kids ready for daycare
Speaker 1: drop off. Six a m was the time that fit
Speaker 1: in your schedule, but now you live in a different neighborhood.
Speaker 1: You and your friend both work remotely, your kids are older.
Speaker 1: Could you walk over your lunch breaks on a weekday
Speaker 1: and alternate walking in your neighborhood one week and hers
Speaker 1: the next. You're still getting physical activity and time with
Speaker 1: your friend, but you cut the driving time in half
Speaker 1: and eliminated the need for an early wake up. Sometimes
Speaker 1: you may realize that what you're doing just doesn't make
Speaker 1: sense anymore. If you are not enjoying your tennis lessons,
Speaker 1: you could quit and use the time and money for
Speaker 1: something else. Other times, the question might reconnect you with
Speaker 1: the purpose of the activity. For example, you are visiting
Speaker 1: your father because you really want to spend time with him,
Speaker 1: and visiting him regularly is a good way to do that.
Speaker 1: Reminding yourself of this can help you assure yourself that
Speaker 1: taking time to do this over the weekend is, in fact,
Speaker 1: the best way you could be spending your time. Everything
Speaker 1: else can wait. When you ask yourself why am I
Speaker 1: doing this? You can prompt yourself to be more intentional
Speaker 1: about your schedule. If there's a good reason, you're doing
Speaker 1: something amazing, and if you don't have a good reason
Speaker 1: for doing something, you have the power to adjust that
Speaker 1: will make time feel a bit less like being on
Speaker 1: a hamster wheel. If you try auditing your schedule and
Speaker 1: to do list by asking why am I doing this?
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear what you learn. You can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app podcasts, or wherever you listen
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.