WEBVTT - How to spring clean your calendar

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is about how to spring clean your calendar. In

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<v Speaker 1>an earlier episode, this week, we talked about why life

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<v Speaker 1>isn't a set it and forget it phenomenon. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is about how to scrub things clean. Schedules, just like homes,

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<v Speaker 1>tend to accumulate clutter over time. Stuff comes in and

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<v Speaker 1>unless you are diligent about taking it out, new items

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<v Speaker 1>will start to stack up. Even if you are diligent

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<v Speaker 1>about taking things out, there might be one off projects

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<v Speaker 1>to tackle, like putting away seasonal items or dusting spots

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<v Speaker 1>that aren't in your regular rotation. Goes with time, It

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<v Speaker 1>is easier to start things than end them. To avoid

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<v Speaker 1>just getting busier and busier, we need to actively manage

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<v Speaker 1>what is on the calendar. So this week is the

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<v Speaker 1>weather in at least my part of the world starts

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<v Speaker 1>to turn towards spring. Take a good look at your schedule.

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<v Speaker 1>It is always a good idea to track your time

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<v Speaker 1>for a week. If you have done that recently, take

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<v Speaker 1>a few minutes to look back at how you spent

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<v Speaker 1>your time But if you haven't done a full time audit,

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<v Speaker 1>just look back at your calendar for the last few weeks. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>think back to your past few weekends and what the

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<v Speaker 1>weeknights have looked like too. What did you enjoy, what

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<v Speaker 1>was okay? What felt like a drain, what felt like

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<v Speaker 1>a waste of time? Well, we can't usually just zero

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<v Speaker 1>out our calendars. It might help to look at each

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<v Speaker 1>thing through this lens. If someone proposed this right now,

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<v Speaker 1>would you say yes? Or if given the opportunity to

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<v Speaker 1>extricate yourself, would you move on? People's lives look different.

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<v Speaker 1>So it is hard to say for sure what is clutter,

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<v Speaker 1>but here are a few guidelines. First, look at all

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<v Speaker 1>recurring commitments carefully. When things don't need to earn their

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<v Speaker 1>place on your calendar each week, then sometimes they don't

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<v Speaker 1>deserve a place on your calendar. Not everything, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>I love my choir rehearsals, my scheduled session with my trainer,

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<v Speaker 1>But that Monday afternoon meeting with a team that is

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<v Speaker 1>managing itself quite well may no longer be necessary. If

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<v Speaker 1>you and a colleague keep canceling a meeting because there

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<v Speaker 1>is nothing new to discuss, maybe you just get rid

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<v Speaker 1>of the meeting and evaluate in a few weeks if

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<v Speaker 1>anything has gone wrong. And sometimes we do wind up

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<v Speaker 1>with recurring personal commitments that just aren't right for us anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe it's a volunteer commitment that you find yourself feeling

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<v Speaker 1>kind of happy whenever it is canceled for weather or

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<v Speaker 1>something like that. If that is the case, it might

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<v Speaker 1>be time to move on. That doesn't mean the activity

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<v Speaker 1>isn't important, Honestly, it means it might be so important

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<v Speaker 1>that if you can't be enthusiastically involved, it's better that

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<v Speaker 1>your spot go to someone who can't be. I'd also

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<v Speaker 1>question things that you think you need to do, but

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you don't. I've had a few parents recently tell

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<v Speaker 1>me that they aim to go to every practice in

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<v Speaker 1>every game for their kids' sports. Well, this is an

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<v Speaker 1>interesting idea. It's often not true in reality. If you

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<v Speaker 1>have more than one kid, for instance, then you're going

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<v Speaker 1>to miss something because inevitably their schedules will overlap. You

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<v Speaker 1>can be there for a lot while not being there

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<v Speaker 1>for everything. One wise idea might be to create a

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<v Speaker 1>carpool with other parents. You drive to the twice a

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<v Speaker 1>week practice for one week and two other families take

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<v Speaker 1>two other weeks. Now two out of every three weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>you've opened up space in your evenings to relax and

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<v Speaker 1>be more present with your family at other times. And

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<v Speaker 1>given that a lot of sideline time is just spent

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<v Speaker 1>scrolling around on phones, this might be a massive life boost.

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<v Speaker 1>You can minimize lots of other things too. Maybe a

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<v Speaker 1>meeting that is sixty minutes can take thirty. Maybe it

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<v Speaker 1>can be a five minute zoom check in, or even

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<v Speaker 1>tacked on to the end of another meeting that everyone

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<v Speaker 1>will be attending. Maybe your kids are doing an activity

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<v Speaker 1>that they are not excited about. Maybe that can go.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe someone else can take over a project. Maybe time

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<v Speaker 1>can be redeployed. You decide that you'll make double of

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<v Speaker 1>Monday night's meal, put it in the fridge, and eat

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<v Speaker 1>it Wednesday because you'll go to the gym after work

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<v Speaker 1>on Wednesday. Maybe you hire a weekly cleaning service and

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<v Speaker 1>stop spending your weekends cleaning. Maybe you decide to start

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<v Speaker 1>going to a gym that's closer or shopping at a

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<v Speaker 1>grocery store that's closer, because it takes less time to

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<v Speaker 1>get there, even if the prices are a tad higher.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you make a shopping list and go once a

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<v Speaker 1>week rather than twice. In any case, look at your

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<v Speaker 1>schedule for anything that doesn't feel particularly meaningful or enjoyable.

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<v Speaker 1>Does it have to get done? Maybe it does, but

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<v Speaker 1>maybe it doesn't. If you can ignore, minimize, or outsource it,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll have more space and probably feel better about life

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<v Speaker 1>as well. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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