WEBVTT - When do your routines fall apart?

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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 for anyone struggling to maintain a good routine,

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<v Speaker 1>try to figure out when your routines tend to fall apart.

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<v Speaker 1>When you know when your routines stop working, you can

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<v Speaker 1>make adjustments so they are more likely to last. Good

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<v Speaker 1>time management is all about strong routines. But routines need

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<v Speaker 1>to be resilient and they need to work in people's lives.

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<v Speaker 1>I hear from people all the time who get discouraged

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<v Speaker 1>when life just doesn't work as they envisioned it would.

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<v Speaker 1>They try to build good routines, but then the routines

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<v Speaker 1>just seem to fall apart. If that is the case,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it is helpful to examine when exactly any

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<v Speaker 1>particular routine did fall apart what happened? Of course, falling

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<v Speaker 1>apart implies that the routine worked for at least a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit. And if that is the case, when was that.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are struggling to build a morning routine, do

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<v Speaker 1>you have a memory of a morning that went well,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe many mornings that went well, or maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>are looking at evenings if they feel like a mess. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>was there a time, or at least an evening in

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<v Speaker 1>recent memory that didn't feel so messy. Envisioning what was

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<v Speaker 1>going well can help you figure out what changed, so

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<v Speaker 1>you can address that. For instance, maybe you look back

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<v Speaker 1>and see that your evening routine works pretty well when

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<v Speaker 1>your kids are in school, but seems to fall apart

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<v Speaker 1>on school vacations. If so, maybe you need two different routines,

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<v Speaker 1>one for the school year and one for times that

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<v Speaker 1>are less structured. You set yourself up for success by

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<v Speaker 1>knowing you aren't going to plan on the same routine

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<v Speaker 1>when life looks very different. Or maybe every school year

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<v Speaker 1>you start strong with your evening routines, but then once

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<v Speaker 1>the activities ramp up, things seem to fall apart. Recognizing this,

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<v Speaker 1>you can plan for a much simpler routine, perhaps planning

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<v Speaker 1>to do family dinners on weekends and having more of

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<v Speaker 1>a grab and go dinner style for the work week.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no point aiming for a routine that simply

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<v Speaker 1>isn't going to work for big chunks of time. Or

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<v Speaker 1>here's one I see frequently people start the new year

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<v Speaker 1>with good intentions for a lengthy morning routine that involves

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<v Speaker 1>getting up early and exercising. They manage this for maybe

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<v Speaker 1>three weeks, but then they get sick and simply cannot

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<v Speaker 1>get out of bed at five point fifteen to go

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<v Speaker 1>work out for an hour. A week of the flu

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<v Speaker 1>is followed by a crazy week at work doing everything

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<v Speaker 1>that didn't get done during the flu week. So the

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<v Speaker 1>early morning exercise routine doesn't happen for two weeks, and

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<v Speaker 1>then it feels impossible to start up again. People blame

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<v Speaker 1>a lack of will power, but I'm not sure it's that.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe the exercise routine didn't feel compelling or sustainable long term,

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<v Speaker 1>so it was hard to rekindle the desire to do

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<v Speaker 1>it after a few weeks away. You didn't miss it,

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<v Speaker 1>but perhaps a different routine would feel more alluring. If

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<v Speaker 1>you planned to meet a friend to exercise two mornings

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<v Speaker 1>a week, maybe that person would be understanding for a

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<v Speaker 1>week or so, but would really push you to get

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<v Speaker 1>back to it. If you stopped for longer than that,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe that would be a more compelling routine. Or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you really just don't like getting up at five fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>in the morning. Maybe a shorter routine that starts later

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<v Speaker 1>would feel more doable, and so you would actually do

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<v Speaker 1>it even when life got complicated. Figure out why a

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<v Speaker 1>routine falls apart and when, and then you can troubleshoot

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<v Speaker 1>to make success more likely. It really is as simple

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<v Speaker 1>as that. 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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