1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to pair little tasks with things you 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,799 Speaker 1: already do. By pairing habits, you'll be less likely to 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 1: forget them. We all have little things we know we 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: should do regularly. Maybe it's flaw sing or writing in 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: a journal. It can be very powerful to make these 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: good decisions automatic, but building habits is hard. That's why 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: I'm always on the lookout for ways to make habit 10 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: building easier. So I love this suggestion that I received 11 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,919 Speaker 1: from Before Breakfast listener Peggy. She wrote in that I 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: realize I have a habit that helps me with getting 13 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: little things done that can be overlooked. I try to 14 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 1: combine two or more tasks so that I don't forget 15 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: one of them. She gave me a few examples of 16 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: pairings that worked well in her life. When I make 17 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: my bed in the morning, she says, I pray. If 18 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: I see my bed isn't made, I know I forgot 19 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: to pray. Also, Peggy notes that she injured a muscle 20 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: in her leg at one point and knows she needs 21 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: to stretch it. I was forgetting to stretch it after running, 22 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: as I'm usually short on time in the morning, she says. 23 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: I found when I am in the shower and conditioning 24 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: my hair after a run, I just stretched that particular 25 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: muscle for a few minutes while I let my conditioner sit. 26 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: I had problems for years with this muscle, but once 27 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: I started this routine, it hasn't been a problem. Praying 28 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: and stretching are frequent tasks, but other little things don't 29 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: need to be done nearly as often. There are a 30 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: few tasks I have to do once a month, Peggy writes, 31 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: I finally realized I needed to combine them all on 32 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: the same day. The first of each month, I put 33 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: in a new pair of contacts, budget and write out 34 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: checks to my kids music and dance teachers, wash my 35 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: vacuum filters, and do the cleaning cycle on my washing machine. 36 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: I have written down my monthly items on my phone, 37 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: and I do them all at once. I think these 38 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: are eight ideas. All sorts of little habits can be 39 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: paired with others. For instance, I've suggested in previous episodes 40 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: that people keep time logs. It's empowering to know where 41 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: the time goes, but It's also easy to forget to 42 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,519 Speaker 1: write down where the time went until so much time 43 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: has passed that you no longer remember. So I suggest that, 44 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,359 Speaker 1: at least during the work day, people pair time tracking 45 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: with bathroom breaks. When you come back from a bathroom break, 46 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: write down what you did since the last one. Or 47 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: here's another opportunity for pairing. I don't know about you, 48 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: but my car has a tendency to accumulate a lot 49 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: of trash. Now, when I'm putting gas in my car, 50 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: I set the handle to keep pumping, and then I 51 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: clean out the car. This feels like a real win 52 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: because I wasn't using that time for anything important anyway, 53 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,359 Speaker 1: and now I have a much cleaner vehicle. I don't 54 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 1: watch TV much, and I almost never watch it live, 55 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: but if you're watching something with commercials, this can be 56 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: a great time to do something like stretching or strength training. 57 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: Or you can use the time while food heats up 58 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: in the microwave. In our house, we stack mail on 59 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: the counter under our microwave, and it has a tendency 60 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: to pile up. If I sort the mail anytime I'm 61 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: using the microwave, I can avoid losing important notes in 62 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: the mess now. To be clear, I don't think we 63 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: need to pack every minute of every day. People can 64 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: go a little overboard with pairing. I have personally been 65 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: mocked in more than one article for the idea of 66 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: using microwave time for anything. But I also do know 67 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: that small things done repeatedly add up habits are powerful. 68 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: But relying on our conscious minds to remember to do 69 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: all the things we know we should do, it's just 70 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: asking for failure. Pairing new habits with things we already 71 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: do greatly increases the chances that we stick with them. 72 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: Just ask Peggy, whose leg injury is no longer bothering 73 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: her and who's keeping a spiritual commitment She decided to 74 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: make two. What happens do you pair together? I'd love 75 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: to hear about them. Please email me your pairs Before 76 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime, 77 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 78 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to 79 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: hear from you. 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