Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today is the official one year anniversary of Before Breakfast launch.
Speaker 1: Every weekday morning since March, I've been sharing a productivity
Speaker 1: tip designed to take your day from great to awesome.
Speaker 1: So today I'll be sharing a few of my favorite
Speaker 1: tips from the past year. These are tips that I
Speaker 1: use all the time, so I hope they're helpful for you.
Speaker 1: To The first one, plan your weeks on Fridays. We
Speaker 1: all need time to think through our priorities. I take
Speaker 1: a little time on Friday afternoon to think about the
Speaker 1: week ahead. I list my top priorities in three categories, career, really,
Speaker 1: and chips self. Then I think about when those things
Speaker 1: can happen. Simply by doing this, I vastly increase the
Speaker 1: chances that I make space for what matters to me.
Speaker 1: Why Friday afternoon, Well, to be honest, I'm not doing
Speaker 1: much else. Then it's hard to start new projects. But
Speaker 1: I think about what future me should do, and that
Speaker 1: turns what might be wasted time into some of my
Speaker 1: most productive minutes of the week. The second tip is
Speaker 1: also about looking forward, be kind to your future self.
Speaker 1: It is so easy to over commit. When we're asked
Speaker 1: to do something and say October, we either figure it
Speaker 1: will never be October, or our future selves will be
Speaker 1: so organized and productive that will be able to take
Speaker 1: on anything. But sadly, come October we will be the
Speaker 1: same people we have always been, will be just as busy,
Speaker 1: only now we'll also have these other commitments that we
Speaker 1: were lukewarm about squeezed into our calendars. So here's the
Speaker 1: way to avoid this. Whenever you are asked to do
Speaker 1: something in the future, ask yourself if you would do
Speaker 1: it tomorrow? And sure, I know you're busy tomorrow, which
Speaker 1: is kind of the point. But would you be willing
Speaker 1: to move things around or cancel things to fit this
Speaker 1: new thing in? If so, awesome, but if not, best
Speaker 1: to decline. Your future self will thank you. Since I
Speaker 1: started doing this, my future self has been thanking me
Speaker 1: all the time. A third one, give yourself a bedtime.
Speaker 1: Life feels so much more doable when you get enough sleep.
Speaker 1: Since most adults can't sleep in frequently, the best way
Speaker 1: to sleep in is to go to bed early, and
Speaker 1: the best way to guarantee that to give yourself a
Speaker 1: bed time. These days, I need a really good reason
Speaker 1: to be up past PM. Now. If there is a
Speaker 1: good reason, awesome, I won't turn into a pumpkin. But
Speaker 1: if not, time to turn in so I'll be functional
Speaker 1: in the morning. A fourth, think before you send. Whenever
Speaker 1: I'm writing an email that I need to make sure
Speaker 1: is right, I fill in the address last. This gives
Speaker 1: me a chance to double check that I'm sending to
Speaker 1: the right person and that the email says what I
Speaker 1: mean it to say. It also gives me a chance
Speaker 1: to pause and ask if the email should be sent
Speaker 1: at all. It's a simple habit that can ward off
Speaker 1: disasters and finally elevate the every day. Sure, I'm a
Speaker 1: big fan of big adventures, but upgrading the little things
Speaker 1: in life can have a huge effect on your happiness.
Speaker 1: Whatever you do repeatedly should be as pleasant as possible.
Speaker 1: So spring for the good cleaning supplies. I've made sure
Speaker 1: all the hand soaps in my house smell fantastic. Drink
Speaker 1: your coffee out of your favorite mug. Frankly, all your
Speaker 1: mugs should be your favorite mug. There is zero reason
Speaker 1: to drink your morning coffee out of a subpar mug.
Speaker 1: If you bring your lunch to work, bring good silverware.
Speaker 1: It just feels different from eating with a plastic fork.
Speaker 1: I have finally convinced myself to buy the good pens.
Speaker 1: Sharing that tip with listeners inspired me to do these
Speaker 1: things myself. So that's one way that Before Breakfast has
Speaker 1: helped me take my days from great too awesome. I
Speaker 1: very much appreciate the emails listeners send me. Please know
Speaker 1: that I do read all of them and I respond
Speaker 1: to most of them too. I love hearing your tips
Speaker 1: and questions, so please keep sending them in. You can
Speaker 1: reach me at Before Breakfast pot cast at i heeart
Speaker 1: media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening for the past year, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much. I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in Touch Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite chips