1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: tip is to use the French cooking technique of meson 4 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: plas to be more efficient at all things. It is 5 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: good to be prepared, and by setting the stage before 6 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: you undertake projects, you will feel less stressed as you 7 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,520 Speaker 1: get more done. So. In the questions after our recent 8 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: speech of mine, an audience member asked about the concept 9 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: of meson plas and whether it applied to productivity and 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: time management. Now, I did not know that I was 11 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: going to be quizzed about French and cooking, but I 12 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: love this concept and I think it's a good one. 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: On plas means to set in place or gather and 14 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: fancy French restaurants, chefs pull together all their ingredients and 15 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: equipment and organize them before they begin cooking. Now, as 16 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: someone who has had to drive to the grocery store 17 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: in the middle of cooking dinner, I'll admit that I 18 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: don't necessarily follow this in my kitchen, but it is 19 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: a good mindset for anything that requires a lot of 20 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: moving parts. For instance, let's say that you are generally 21 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: responsible for getting three kids out the door in the morning. 22 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: You could be running around all over the place finding 23 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: shoes and backpacks and coats. But what if the children's shoes, coats, 24 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: and backpacks are always gathered in the mudroom or foyer 25 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: or whatever space is right by the door where you exit. 26 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: You will be able to grab your things and leave 27 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: in a far more calm fashion. Let's say you have 28 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: a big meeting coming up. You could walk in and 29 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: realize that you haven't read everything, or that a key 30 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: person didn't get a key document. You might waste time 31 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: and not accomplish what you meant to. But if you 32 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: have copies of any important documents and summaries to hand 33 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: to people if they haven't read something, and you have 34 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: gathered any extra information you might need for the meeting 35 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: before it starts, you'll be more prepared. You won't be 36 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,519 Speaker 1: doing the metaphorical equivalent of running to the store because 37 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: you realize you're out of eggs. I'd recommend doing something 38 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: similar for a trip that requires a lot of special equipment. 39 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: As we discussed on a recent episode. I'm not a 40 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: huge fan of packing too far before packing like email, 41 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: expands to fill the available space. But if you're say, skiing, 42 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: best to lay out the entire outfit, including mittens and goggles, 43 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: so you know you've got it all. You're running a marathon, 44 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: best to lay things out so you know you have 45 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: your socks and sunglasses now. It might not be a 46 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: disaster if you don't. My husband and I once went 47 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: to Walmart in a town where we were racing to 48 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: get running pants, but best to avoid it if possible. 49 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,239 Speaker 1: In most cases, we are going to be smart enough 50 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: to figure something out if we're not prepared. But generally 51 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: it's better to be prepared, So measure out your ingredients 52 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: and lay them out that way. When you start cooking, 53 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: it's all smooth sailing from there. In the meantime, this 54 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 55 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. 56 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach 57 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast 58 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, 59 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 60 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.