1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: tip is to think about the arc of a month. 4 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: Taking a few moments at the beginning of the month 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: to think about what you need to do and what 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: you are looking forward to can make any stretch of 7 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: time feel more doable and interesting. Longtime listeners know that 8 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: I believe most people live their lives in weeks. A 9 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: week is the unit of repeat in the pattern of 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: our lives, and by looking at one hundred and sixty 11 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,599 Speaker 1: eight hours, you will have a pretty good sense of 12 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: what someone's life truly looks like. I generally plan my 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: life in weeks, but lately I've been thinking a little 14 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: bit more about months. By taking a few minutes at 15 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: the beginning of a month to think about what's going on, 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: what I need to do, and what I'm looking forward to, 17 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: I can plan time more holistically. Maybe I can move 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: something to a lower key week, or maybe I need 19 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: to add something to a time that's looking kind of dreary. 20 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: A key thing this practice does is remind you what 21 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: the weekends are for any given month. The last weekend 22 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: of the month can seem a ways away from the 23 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: vantage point of the first, but if there is something 24 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: more elaborate you would like to do, getting a rough 25 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: idea far ahead of time makes it more likely to happen. 26 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: You also keep yourself from getting blindsided by big stuff. 27 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: Maybe you know on some level that you have a 28 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: big deadline on the twenty seventh of a given month 29 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: that seems far away, but you are not actively thinking 30 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: about the fact that you're going to that conference from 31 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: the nineteenth to the twenty third, and you've got family 32 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: visiting the week before that. Knowing you to have all 33 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: that on your plate can remind you to work ahead 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: earlier in the month, so you're not quite so crunched 35 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: at the end. Alternately, you might see that you're going 36 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: to get slammed in the first week or two, but 37 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: the last two weeks of the month are pretty open now. 38 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: You know to try to keep them that way so 39 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: you can recover after going through the ringer, rather than 40 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: simply putting things there without thinking about it. There might 41 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,919 Speaker 1: also be days that it's just wise to know about. 42 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: I know I sometimes forget about the random half days 43 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: at my kids' schools. Looking ahead a month reminds me 44 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: to get those on the calendar, and if things are 45 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: looking kind of grim, well, it's always good to put 46 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: something fun into the near future. I know the early 47 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: days of January felt much better for me when I 48 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: decided to put two fun Friday night activities on different 49 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 1: weekends through the month. It was not just a cold 50 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: and dreary month. January was a month where I went 51 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,239 Speaker 1: to see a Sixers game and I went to Boston 52 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: with a friend. You don't need to spend much time 53 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: on this. I don't, and if I forget to do it. 54 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: Planning life just in terms of weeks and then seasons 55 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: is fine. But I know a lot of people do 56 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: get some sort of fresh month energy as they at 57 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: least metaphorically flip their calendar pages. If that is true 58 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: for you, then there's no harm in treating a month 59 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: as a unit and looking at all of it. You 60 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: just might wind up with more fun on the calendar 61 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: or more space if that's what you want by looking ahead. 62 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 63 00:03:51,000 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for 64 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: listening to before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback. 65 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 66 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts 67 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 68 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.