WEBVTT - Just tackle one spot

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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 tackle one spot when you are

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<v Speaker 1>faced with an overwhelming project, Limiting the scope can make

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<v Speaker 1>you feel productive rather than defeated, and that is a

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<v Speaker 1>much better way to go through life. Like many people,

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<v Speaker 1>I've been spending a lot of time in my house

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<v Speaker 1>over the past few months. Not so coincidentally, other family

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<v Speaker 1>members have also been spending a lot of time in

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<v Speaker 1>the house. All of our stuff stacks up. I looked

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<v Speaker 1>around recently and realized that, among other things, the Toy

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<v Speaker 1>Advent calendars from last Christmas were still sitting on a

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<v Speaker 1>shelf by the dining room. The mail spot contained a

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<v Speaker 1>stack of Christmas cards from twenty nineteen. I had a

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<v Speaker 1>baby on December twenty nine of last year, so that

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<v Speaker 1>somewhat explains how everything got frozen in time right after

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<v Speaker 1>the holidays, and it has past time to tackle the mess.

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<v Speaker 1>But of course, the baby and his siblings and my

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<v Speaker 1>job sort of limit the time available. So I came

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<v Speaker 1>to this realization, I don't have to think of this

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<v Speaker 1>job as decluttering and cleaning the whole house, which sounds impossible. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>I can think of the job as a series of

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<v Speaker 1>much smaller projects. There's the mail pile, There's the shelf

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<v Speaker 1>where I stash the advent calendars. There has each child's

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<v Speaker 1>been in the mudroom each weekend. I can tackle one

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe two of these spots. No, the house never

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<v Speaker 1>winds up in a pristine state in this method, but

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<v Speaker 1>at least one spot will look better. I can look

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<v Speaker 1>at that one spot and feel like I've gotten something done.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you too are trying to declute, or after months

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<v Speaker 1>of staying at home, maybe you too are finding it overwhelming.

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<v Speaker 1>We watch shows like The Home Edit and picture a

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<v Speaker 1>team swooping in to do the whole place in a night.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a fun fantasy, but it's just a fantasy for

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<v Speaker 1>those of us with normal lives and normal schedules. But

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have to do everything to do something. For

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<v Speaker 1>any project, find a very small aspect of it that

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<v Speaker 1>you can do. Not the whole garage, one shelf in

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<v Speaker 1>the garage, one box in the garage, not the whole basement,

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<v Speaker 1>just the pile of stuffed animals. You can find twenty

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<v Speaker 1>minutes for this at some point during the week or weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>and if that's your whole goal, you'll have done what

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<v Speaker 1>you set out to do. Progress is always motivational. In

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<v Speaker 1>any case, I made it through the mail pile. I

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<v Speaker 1>actually found twenty dollars in there, so that was highly motivational,

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<v Speaker 1>beyond my sense of making progress. On another day, I

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<v Speaker 1>dumped all the Advent calendars, just in time for Advent

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<v Speaker 1>to start again in a few weeks. Of course, I

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<v Speaker 1>tackled two extra tables in the dining room at a

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<v Speaker 1>different point. The house doesn't look like a magazine, but

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<v Speaker 1>those spots look better, and that is something. So today,

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<v Speaker 1>if you are feeling overwhelmed by a big project, just

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<v Speaker 1>tackle one spot. That's true for clutter, but it could

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<v Speaker 1>be true for anything. You don't have to overhaul your

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<v Speaker 1>entire wardrobe, find one good pair of black pants. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>worry about your entire financial picture just yet. Focus on

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<v Speaker 1>redirecting the cash from one recurring and pointless charge towards

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<v Speaker 1>your savings account. It's not that big goals are bad.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just that when time is tight, they can seem undoable,

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<v Speaker 1>so we don't do anything. It's generally better to do something,

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<v Speaker 1>and hey, maybe you'll find twenty dollars in your old

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<v Speaker 1>mail pile too. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and 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 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>podcast 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>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H