1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: tip is that small things done repeatedly truly do add up. 4 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:24,639 Speaker 1: Even just a few minutes per day over the long 5 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: haul can add up to a significant amount of time. 6 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: This means that over the long haul, even big projects 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: can become doable if you just keep going. So when 8 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: people decide they need to tackle some huge project, let's say, 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: organizing their homes, they often get into the mindset that 10 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:51,279 Speaker 1: they need big, concentrated amounts of time. Honestly, I just 11 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: need to take three weeks off work and get caught up. 12 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: If only I could take three weeks off work. Of course, 13 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: you can immediately see the problem with this line of thought. 14 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: You are unlikely to get three weeks off of work, 15 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: and if you do, you are not going to want 16 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: to spend that time organizing your home or doing any 17 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: other big life administration project. You are going to want 18 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:18,199 Speaker 1: to go on vacation. Europe sounds nice, right, So setting 19 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: that out as a requirement means you stay stuck. But 20 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: let's say that a project really does require the equivalent 21 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: of three weeks off of work, presuming that the rest 22 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: of your life doesn't disappear. Three weeks of work is 23 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: about one hundred twenty hours. That is forty hours a 24 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 1: week for three weeks. So a different question is whether 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: you can find one hundred twenty hours in your life 26 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: to do something if you stretch out your time horizon 27 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: long enough. I'm guessing that you can. Here's something to 28 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: think about. There are three hundred and sixty five days 29 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: in a year. That adds up to eight thousands, one 30 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty hours. If you spend twenty minutes each 31 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: day on a project, that is the equivalent of one 32 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: hundred twenty hours over the course of a year. Now, 33 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: that is a much more reasonable ask. Most of us 34 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 1: can find twenty minutes a day. If we tried, we 35 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: spend twenty minutes on random things all the time, doing 36 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: something consistently for twenty minutes a day would be the 37 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: exact equivalent of taking three weeks off work without actually 38 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: having to do that. Now, I understand that the equation 39 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: isn't quite that simple. Getting in and out of things 40 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: takes time, so there might be some efficiencies to concentrating 41 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: one's time on a project. An eight hour day is 42 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: not the exact same thing as twenty four twenty minute chunks. 43 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: Sometimes things take more than twenty minutes, and even if 44 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,920 Speaker 1: you could break an individual component of a project into 45 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: twenty minutes, you might have to leave things out in 46 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: the middle, which could be discouraging. Many a would be 47 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: organizer has started taking things out of a cupboard, only 48 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: to have something come up. Now your kitchen looks even 49 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: worse than it did before. But I think these logistical 50 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: issues are solvable. One could do a lot while still 51 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: following a personal rule not to do anything that will 52 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: look worse after twenty minutes. You can spend twenty minutes 53 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: throwing away trash and a room looks better. You can 54 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: spend twenty minutes putting stuff in a donation box or 55 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:34,519 Speaker 1: then moving the box to where it's supposed to go 56 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: out the door, and the room will look better. And 57 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: let's be honest here, if you did take forty hours 58 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: a week for three weeks to organize your house, my 59 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: guess is that you would take breaks during that time. 60 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: You'd still need to eat, there would be periods of 61 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: more or less intensity. By only aiming to do twenty 62 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: minutes a day, you might be able to achieve an 63 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: intensity that you wouldn't otherwise, you simply have to stick 64 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: with it. So it goes for many things in life. 65 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: You could read War and Peace and Anna Karenina in 66 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: Middle March and Moby Dick in a year by reading 67 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: twenty minutes a day, as those books are mostly readable 68 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 1: in thirty hours each. A lot of creative things can 69 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 1: be done in twenty minutes a day, sowing a quilt 70 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,359 Speaker 1: block by block, for instance. Maybe other things like oil 71 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: painting require longer stretches of time, but if you scratch 72 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: that creative itch by sketching for twenty minutes a day, 73 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: you just might be motivated to find longer stretches of time. 74 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: I know, I've written some fiction and bits here and there, 75 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,559 Speaker 1: and then when I've got something more substantial, I feel 76 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: motivated to make a writing retreat fit into my life. 77 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: Even big things can be done in small steps. Doing 78 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: something for twenty minutes a day for a year is 79 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,840 Speaker 1: the equivalent of taking three weeks off of work. If 80 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: you are telling yourself that you need that for something, 81 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: maybe reconsider how you could configure that time. You might 82 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: be surprised at what is possible in the meantime. This 83 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 84 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. 85 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,720 Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach 86 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast 87 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, 88 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 89 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.