WEBVTT - Win the week ahead in 20 minutes 

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:08.440
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:14.880
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:18.360
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how you can win the week

0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:22.360
<v Speaker 1>ahead in twenty minutes. By taking a few minutes on

0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:26.320
<v Speaker 1>Friday to think about the next week's priorities, you increase

0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:30.120
<v Speaker 1>the chances of spending time well and the really good

0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.639
<v Speaker 1>news is that this doesn't take much time at all.

0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.120
<v Speaker 1>Over the past year, I have become a big fan

0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.519
<v Speaker 1>of the podcast Best Laid Plans, which is hosted by

0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.199
<v Speaker 1>my friend Sarah hart Unger, who is also my co

0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:49.040
<v Speaker 1>host on the Best of Both Worlds podcast. Her podcast

0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:52.440
<v Speaker 1>shows all the amazing planners out there, and she interviews

0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:57.120
<v Speaker 1>people who have inspiring artistic styles of writing or planner decoration.

0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:01.840
<v Speaker 1>I love learning about this world old, but what I

0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:05.080
<v Speaker 1>have come to recognize is that planning has a functional

0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:10.360
<v Speaker 1>component and then for the planner community, an aesthetic elegant component.

0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:14.600
<v Speaker 1>In this way, it's a lot like cooking. You can

0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:17.840
<v Speaker 1>create amazing meals and study for a lifetime to be

0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:21.199
<v Speaker 1>a gourmet chef, but you don't have to do that either.

0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.160
<v Speaker 1>Most of us would improve our lives by mastering a

0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:28.959
<v Speaker 1>few twenty minute meals that will feed our families on weeknights.

0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:35.440
<v Speaker 1>Same with planning, you can create intricate spreads with high

0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:39.040
<v Speaker 1>end planners and beautiful pens. You can also get a

0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.319
<v Speaker 1>basic notebook, look at your calendar, and do a quick

0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.080
<v Speaker 1>and dirty planning session once a week that takes twenty

0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:51.280
<v Speaker 1>minutes max. That is pretty much what I do on Friday's.

0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:53.360
<v Speaker 1>I sit down with my planner and my calendar, and

0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:57.200
<v Speaker 1>I think through my priorities for the upcoming week. I

0:01:57.320 --> 0:01:59.400
<v Speaker 1>list what projects I'd like to spend my time on,

0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:04.120
<v Speaker 1>pally and personally. I figure out what is already on

0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:08.760
<v Speaker 1>my calendar that deserves extra attention. I draw up a

0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:13.040
<v Speaker 1>rough schedule for the week and think through logistics, and

0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:17.680
<v Speaker 1>then I am done. I often do this while eating

0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:21.840
<v Speaker 1>my lunch. It's really no big deal. Some people have

0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.160
<v Speaker 1>told me they are too tired to plan on Fridays,

0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:26.440
<v Speaker 1>which makes me think they've got the idea of planning

0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:30.520
<v Speaker 1>kind of wrong. Lower your standards and you will realize

0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.520
<v Speaker 1>it's not a marathon. It's really just a quick walk

0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:39.960
<v Speaker 1>around the block. But take that walk Friday after Friday,

0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:44.040
<v Speaker 1>and the upcoming weeks will be so much less stressful.

0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:47.960
<v Speaker 1>If you'd like to implement a weekly planning session, but

0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.720
<v Speaker 1>think it will take too much time. Challenge yourself to

0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:53.920
<v Speaker 1>set a timer for twenty minutes and absolutely do not

0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.880
<v Speaker 1>spend more time on it than that. My guess is

0:02:57.919 --> 0:02:59.880
<v Speaker 1>that in twenty minutes you'll get a lot more done,

0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:02.600
<v Speaker 1>and you think you will. You'll have a much better

0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:06.079
<v Speaker 1>handle on your upcoming week. You'll know what's going on

0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:09.520
<v Speaker 1>and what you'd like to have going on. Maybe you'll

0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:11.679
<v Speaker 1>send a note to a friend to arrange a phone call,

0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:15.240
<v Speaker 1>or to your spouse to arrange a date night, or

0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:17.880
<v Speaker 1>you'll make a reservation for that exercise class you keep

0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.399
<v Speaker 1>wanting to try. That is a lot of future fun

0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:25.000
<v Speaker 1>for your twenty minutes. And maybe I'll see that there's

0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.919
<v Speaker 1>a big project do Friday, but Thursday is full of meetings,

0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:30.600
<v Speaker 1>so you will carve out time to work on the

0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:35.400
<v Speaker 1>big project on Tuesday and Wednesday rather than being surprised

0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:40.040
<v Speaker 1>by it. That is a lot of tranquility for twenty minutes.

0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:45.200
<v Speaker 1>And so this is a big win. When we plan,

0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:49.720
<v Speaker 1>we don't live in chaos, or at least that chaos

0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:53.720
<v Speaker 1>that is always lurking is more manageable. And yes, you

0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:57.480
<v Speaker 1>could spend hours on planning. You could spend days planning,

0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:00.480
<v Speaker 1>but you can also spend twenty minutes and get a

0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:06.080
<v Speaker 1>lot done. So why not give it a try. In

0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:10.920
<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:20.960
<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.400
<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:27.120
<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:32.960
<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the

0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:37.279
<v Speaker 1>number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also

0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.719
<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:43.800
<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:46.560
<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:54.760
<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:58.159
<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:02.159
<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.400
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows. H