1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: tip is for anyone struggling to maintain a good routine, 4 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: try to figure out when your routines tend to fall apart. 5 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: When you know when your routines stop working, you can 6 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: make adjustments so they are more likely to last. Good 7 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: time management is all about strong routines. But routines need 8 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: to be resilient and they need to work in people's lives. 9 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: I hear from people all the time who get discouraged 10 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,520 Speaker 1: when life just doesn't work as they envisioned it would. 11 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: They try to build good routines, but then the routines 12 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: just seem to fall apart. If that is the case, 13 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: I think it is helpful to examine when exactly any 14 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: particular routine did fall apart what happened? Of course, falling 15 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: apart implies that the routine worked for at least a 16 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: little bit. And if that is the case, when was that. 17 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: If you are struggling to build a morning routine, do 18 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: you have a memory of a morning that went well, 19 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: or maybe many mornings that went well, or maybe you 20 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: are looking at evenings if they feel like a mess. Now, 21 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: was there a time, or at least an evening in 22 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: recent memory that didn't feel so messy. Envisioning what was 23 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: going well can help you figure out what changed, so 24 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: you can address that. For instance, maybe you look back 25 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: and see that your evening routine works pretty well when 26 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: your kids are in school, but seems to fall apart 27 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: on school vacations. If so, maybe you need two different routines, 28 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: one for the school year and one for times that 29 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: are less structured. You set yourself up for success by 30 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: knowing you aren't going to plan on the same routine 31 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: when life looks very different. Or maybe every school year 32 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: you start strong with your evening routines, but then once 33 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: the activities ramp up, things seem to fall apart. Recognizing this, 34 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: you can plan for a much simpler routine, perhaps planning 35 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: to do family dinners on weekends and having more of 36 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: a grab and go dinner style for the work week. 37 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: There is no point aiming for a routine that simply 38 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: isn't going to work for big chunks of time. Or 39 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: here's one I see frequently people start the new year 40 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: with good intentions for a lengthy morning routine that involves 41 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: getting up early and exercising. They manage this for maybe 42 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: three weeks, but then they get sick and simply cannot 43 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: get out of bed at five point fifteen to go 44 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: work out for an hour. A week of the flu 45 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: is followed by a crazy week at work doing everything 46 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: that didn't get done during the flu week. So the 47 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: early morning exercise routine doesn't happen for two weeks, and 48 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: then it feels impossible to start up again. People blame 49 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: a lack of will power, but I'm not sure it's that. 50 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: Maybe the exercise routine didn't feel compelling or sustainable long term, 51 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: so it was hard to rekindle the desire to do 52 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: it after a few weeks away. You didn't miss it, 53 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 1: but perhaps a different routine would feel more alluring. If 54 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: you planned to meet a friend to exercise two mornings 55 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: a week, maybe that person would be understanding for a 56 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: week or so, but would really push you to get 57 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: back to it. If you stopped for longer than that, 58 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: maybe that would be a more compelling routine. Or maybe 59 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: you really just don't like getting up at five fifteen 60 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: in the morning. Maybe a shorter routine that starts later 61 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: would feel more doable, and so you would actually do 62 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: it even when life got complicated. Figure out why a 63 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: routine falls apart and when, and then you can troubleshoot 64 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: to make success more likely. It really is as simple 65 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: as that. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, 66 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks 67 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 68 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 69 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 70 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,919 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 71 00:04:49,200 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.