WEBVTT - One task per weekend

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to assign yourself one task beyond life

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<v Speaker 1>maintenance each weekend. When you assign yourself one task, it's

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<v Speaker 1>more likely to happen, and then you can move on

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<v Speaker 1>to something else. I am sure you, like many of us,

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<v Speaker 1>have all kinds of ongoing personal projects. You want to

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<v Speaker 1>get curtains for the guest room. You want to clean

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<v Speaker 1>out a space in the garage for a work bitch.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to empty out those boxes that have been

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<v Speaker 1>sitting in the living room for a year after your move,

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<v Speaker 1>and find the floor of the laundry room under the

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<v Speaker 1>pile of sheets you are not sure if you want

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<v Speaker 1>to save or not. Okay, that last one is me.

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<v Speaker 1>Often these lists of personal tasks wind up quite long.

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<v Speaker 1>You tell yourself you will get to them on the weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>but then the weekend has its usual amount of kids

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<v Speaker 1>stuff and basic life maintenance like groceries and laundry. Plus

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<v Speaker 1>you want to relax. All the tasks you could do

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<v Speaker 1>seem overwhelming, and you either feel like you spend all

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<v Speaker 1>your time doing them but aren't sure what you've accomplished,

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<v Speaker 1>or you do nothing. Why bother? It just feels like

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<v Speaker 1>too much. But there is another approach. Assign yourself one

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<v Speaker 1>task beyond life maintenance per weekend. So yes, you do

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<v Speaker 1>the laundry and get your groceries and anything else you

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<v Speaker 1>do to make regular functioning possible. Then pull one task

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<v Speaker 1>from your long list and focus on that, just one.

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<v Speaker 1>Figure out roughly how long it will take and when

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<v Speaker 1>you can do it. If all that is uncertain, decide

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<v Speaker 1>on a certain quantity of time, as in I will

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<v Speaker 1>spend two hours dealing with the boxes in the living room,

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<v Speaker 1>Then do it. You might be surprised at what you

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<v Speaker 1>can get through when you put all your energy into

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<v Speaker 1>one thing instead of spreading it around six different projects. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>you will feel less guilty. You know that this weekend

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<v Speaker 1>you do the living room boxes, you do not need

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<v Speaker 1>to worry about anything else. Next week you can do

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<v Speaker 1>the laundry room, or clean out space in the garage

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<v Speaker 1>or something along those lines. There is a time to

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<v Speaker 1>do those things. Now is not that time? And guess

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<v Speaker 1>what you will start to make it through your list.

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<v Speaker 1>I am happy to report that a few weekends ago

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<v Speaker 1>I emptied out four boxes in the living room. Then

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<v Speaker 1>the next weekend I tackled the laundry room. Next weekend

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<v Speaker 1>I will do the one big box in the foyer

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<v Speaker 1>with all the stuff that seems to resist classification. Bit

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<v Speaker 1>by bit, it all gets done and I don't feel

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<v Speaker 1>so overwhelmed. So maybe think about this for your weekend

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<v Speaker 1>task list too. If you divvy up projects with someone

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<v Speaker 1>else in your household, maybe each of you can take

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<v Speaker 1>one assignment for the weekend. This could be mutually agreed upon,

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<v Speaker 1>so there are no bad feelings. Why isn't So and

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<v Speaker 1>so hanging those pictures well, because this is the weekend

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<v Speaker 1>for taking those bins of old toys to the donation center.

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<v Speaker 1>Next weekend is picture hanging weekend. It is all good.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcasts at i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters, thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts

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