1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: Today's tip is that you will run out of steam. 4 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: We often succumb to the temptation to get some little 5 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: things crossed off the list first, But the danger with 6 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: this is that you won't get to the big stuff 7 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: until you lack the energy to do the big stuff. 8 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: I know this truth, though, and you can plan your 9 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 1: days to get more done. This summer, I have been 10 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: writing my next book, which is currently called Tranquility by Tuesday. 11 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: My writing schedule calls for writing a book chapter a 12 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: week for three weeks in a row, followed by an 13 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: edit week. It's an intense, but sleep doable schedule. Well, 14 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: that is when I don't turn into my own worst enemy, 15 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: because of course, I still have other stuff going on too. 16 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: Emails to return, speeches to plan, adds to record, blog 17 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: posts and newsletters to write, plus the logistics of managing 18 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: a household with five kids. The other day I looked 19 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: at this long list of stuff and thought, hey, I'll 20 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: just get to this other stuff first, and then I 21 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: can concentrate on my book all day long. You can 22 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: see where this is going. By the time I was 23 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: done with the little stuff, it was am or so, 24 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: and there wasn't a lot of time to focus before 25 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: I was going to be starving for lunch, so I 26 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: ate lunch, and then after lunch, I was feeling kind 27 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: of restless, so I went for a walk, which is 28 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: usually a good idea, But then it was one thirty 29 00:01:58,280 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: and I knew I'd have to take a break at 30 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: three pm to get some kids from camp. In other words, 31 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: the all day I planned to write was ninety minutes 32 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: in one chunk in mid afternoon, and then an hour 33 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: or so from three to four thirty. Neither of those 34 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: slots is exactly a high energy time for me, so 35 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: I didn't get nearly as much done as I hoped. 36 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: This was entirely predictable. I simply ran out of steam. 37 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: I ran out of steam like I run out of 38 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: steam every single day, and have done so for every 39 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: single day of my life. In other words, I should 40 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: have seen that coming, but the temptation to cross stuff 41 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: off the to do list is so strong. I had 42 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: six things on my list, and I wanted to see 43 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: five of them crossed off, rather than working on the 44 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: one big one and leaving the other five until the 45 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: last ninety minutes or so of the work day. We 46 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: can all fall prey to this temptation because it feels 47 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: so productive, but in the grand scheme of things, it 48 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: really isn't productive. It is much better to match the 49 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: right work to the right time. So a better approach 50 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: is to figure out when in your schedule you will 51 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: be dragging and shunt those little things to that time. 52 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: Now you don't actually have to wait to the end 53 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: of the day. I could have anticipated that am or 54 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: so wouldn't be peak productivity time right before lunch, so 55 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: a better approach would have been for me to write 56 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: my manuscript for three hours and then spend thirty to 57 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: forty minutes on the little stuff. I could have then 58 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: repeated that process after my lunch break and walk that 59 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: way everything would have got and done instead of all 60 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: the little stuff but only some of the big thing. 61 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: Sometimes it also just helps to remind yourself that you 62 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: will run out of steam. It can be easy to 63 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: convince yourself otherwise at eight am, when you have had 64 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: that first big cup of coffee and you feel like 65 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: you can conquer the world. But if you simply force 66 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: yourself to note that no one gets eight productive hours 67 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: in an eight hour work day. This can be enlightening. 68 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: So look at your list with this truth in mind. 69 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:49,719 Speaker 1: What deserves your good two to three hours what doesn't. 70 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: In case you are wondering signing kids up for fall 71 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: soccer and baseball, while important, does not need to happen 72 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: at nine am. Hopefully I have learned that lesson for 73 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: the next time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks 74 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. 75 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can 76 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just 77 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,799 Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before 78 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four, then Breakfast 79 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,040 Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email 80 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com 81 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 82 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 83 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For 84 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, 85 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 86 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: H