Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to make it work once. Even if
Speaker 1: something doesn't fit regularly into your life, you can probably
Speaker 1: make it happen from time to time. Acknowledging this can
Speaker 1: change the way you see your life. I have had
Speaker 1: thousands of people track their time for me over the years.
Speaker 1: Usually I have people track one week, which is a
Speaker 1: hundred sixty eight hours, and I make sure to tell
Speaker 1: people that there are no typical weeks. It really doesn't
Speaker 1: matter which week you choose to track because we can
Speaker 1: still learn a lot. But I'm still fascinated to see
Speaker 1: some of the editorial comments people insert into their logs
Speaker 1: about how it isn't a typical week. Some of my
Speaker 1: favorite comments are about leisure activities that don't fit with
Speaker 1: people's narratives. For instance, one woman went to the spa
Speaker 1: during the week that she trapped. She made sure to
Speaker 1: write me this this never happens, though clearly it did.
Speaker 1: We all developed certain stories about our lives. If we
Speaker 1: think we are working all the time or have no
Speaker 1: time for fun when we do get time off work,
Speaker 1: or we do have fun. We have to figure out
Speaker 1: a way to make this fit with our narratives. So
Speaker 1: we might decide that it is so rare that it
Speaker 1: is not worth acknowledging. The problem with that, though, is
Speaker 1: that then we don't get the full benefit of anticipating, savoring,
Speaker 1: and reminiscing. Of course, this can go the other way too.
Speaker 1: Sometimes we talk ourselves out of trying something that we'd
Speaker 1: like to try because it can't fit in our lives
Speaker 1: all the time. I love to run in the mornings,
Speaker 1: and unfortunately, at the stage of my life with a
Speaker 1: toddler who sometimes has bad nights and who wakes unpredictably,
Speaker 1: it can be pretty challenging to pull off morning runs.
Speaker 1: That said, it is not impossible. Even if I can't
Speaker 1: guarantee that I can run it precisely six thirty a m. Monday, Wednesday,
Speaker 1: and Friday, I can run in the morning sometimes. For instance,
Speaker 1: I can usually make it work at least one weekend
Speaker 1: day each weekend, and if I planned ahead and coordinated
Speaker 1: with my husband, I'm sure I could do one week
Speaker 1: day each week if I wanted to as well. This
Speaker 1: is a far cry from none, so we want to
Speaker 1: make sure our narratives are accurate. If there is something
Speaker 1: you'd love to do but it doesn't fit regularly in
Speaker 1: your life, see if you can make it happen once
Speaker 1: in the next two weeks. Look at your calendar, see
Speaker 1: what time might be a possibility, figure out the logistics
Speaker 1: required to make it work. Calling in chits once every
Speaker 1: two weeks probably isn't going to over tax anyone in
Speaker 1: your life. But if you acknowledge that this good thing
Speaker 1: is happening, it contains the story you tell yourself. For instance,
Speaker 1: I can think, hey, I get to run in the morning.
Speaker 1: It may not happen as easily or as often as
Speaker 1: I'd like, but it is still happening. And if you
Speaker 1: get to visit a spa, well, why try to convince
Speaker 1: yourself that this never happens. You're much better off putting
Speaker 1: it on the calendar, looking forward to your fun, savoring
Speaker 1: it while it happens, and then recounting the happy memory afterward.
Speaker 1: That way, you can maximize your enjoyment. Whereas if you
Speaker 1: try to convince yourself that it never happens, well, what
Speaker 1: fun is that other than to maintain a narrative of
Speaker 1: being a martyr? I guess and that can be fun
Speaker 1: in a way, but as we often say, hear it
Speaker 1: before Breakfast, no one wins in the misery Olympics. Better
Speaker 1: not to take part. In the meantime, This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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