WEBVTT - Schedule cyclical plus linear time 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.680 Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:15.400 Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:24.440 Today's tip is to schedule cyclical plus linear time. Recurring 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:28.479 tasks like laundry and cooking meals do have to be done, 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:33.080 so you are wise to allocate time for them, But 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:37.600 if you don't dedicate other time to forward progress, you 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:42.000 won't reach your goals. It is good to find the 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:48.120 right balance. I have recently encountered some interesting research by 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:52.720 Anne Burnett about women and dizziness. One of the points 0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:55.280 she makes is that women in particular tend to be 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:59.560 responsible for a lot of repetitive, cyclically recurring tasks in 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:04.039 their house holds. Since these tasks always have to be done, 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:09.840 that contributes to the sense of dizziness. Of course, I 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.240 have plenty of male listeners who wind up doing a 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:15.959 great many of these tasks too. So let's just say 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.240 that I know a lot of people listening to this 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.480 are going to be spending their mornings getting kids dressed, 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:28.320 cooking breakfast, packing lunches, unloading the dishwasher, walking the dog, 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:33.000 driving kids to school, filling cars with gas, cleaning up 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:36.200 the kitchen, watering plants, and other such things that are 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:42.040 never truly done. You do them once, and then soon 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.920 enough you have to do them all over again. And 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:50.080 all of these things do indeed need to happen. The 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:52.800 trouble is that, because they always do need to be done, 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:56.280 it can be easy to spend all of our time 0:01:56.320 --> 0:02:00.760 on them. This is true for cyclical recurring work tasks 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:04.320 as well. You tell yourself you'll get to that big 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:07.520 speculative project once you have sent out the agenda for 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:10.959 tomorrow's weekly check in meeting, and sent in this month's 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:14.639 expense reports and so forth. But since these things will 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.840 all need to be done again soon enough, it is 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:21.880 hard to ever feel truly on top of them. If 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.120 you are waiting to feel free of these things to 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.960 start something big, you are going to be waiting for 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:32.440 a long time. So how do we escape this trap? 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.799 We can certainly spend less time on a great many 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:40.640 recurring tasks. We can share them with other people in 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:45.040 our households or our colleagues, or we can outsource some 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:48.880 of them. We can do them to a lesser standard, 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:53.000 think a rotisserie chicken plus a bagged salad for dinner. 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:57.360 Or you can just skip them. My bed doesn't get 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:01.160 made many a morning, I pull up the top blanket 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:03.040 and then I just make sure the pillows are where 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.160 I like them when I get back in at night. 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:09.680 But since cyclical tasks do need to be done to 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:13.000 some degree, my advice is to carve out time that 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:19.480 is specifically for them. Give recurring chores a window. Like 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:22.800 you do as many recurring work tasks as possible on 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:26.840 Friday morning from ten thirty to lunch. You give yourself 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.560 a chore window on weekends, maybe ninety minutes on a 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:35.800 Saturday afternoon to get through the most critical stuff. And 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:41.960 then this is key. You also carve out time specifically 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:46.080 for linear progress too. These are the things that move 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:50.520 your career or your personal life forward. Drafting a book proposal, 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:54.680 writing up a pitch for a new client, learning to 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:58.440 use software that is in demand in your field, starting 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:03.600 a neighborhood volunteering project. It designate time on your schedule 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:10.000 specifically for these linear tasks. I like Monday morning. It's 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:13.200 nice to start the week moving your career forward, or 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.000 if you're not working for pay, moving your other big 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:20.000 projects forward. You will get to the cyclical stuff during 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:24.000 the time designated for that. There is a time for that, 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:28.120 but now is not that time, So you don't need 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.719 to feel guilty for not doing your expense report on 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:37.680 Monday morning, that time is spoken for. Same with personal tasks. 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:41.560 Maybe you decide that Saturday morning is for a personal 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:46.080 linear time. That's when you train for your marathon or 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:51.520 organize the neighborhood association. When we designate time for tasks, 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.120 we tend to do them. We are going to do 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.760 the cyclical stuff for the most part because it has 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.159 to get done. You have to eat a again, you 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:04.680 need clean clothes. At some point. It is harder to 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:08.320 get to the linear stuff. But when we never do, 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.280 we feel busy all the time, but like we are 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:20.440 not getting anywhere. Best to schedule time for both in 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:26.360 the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:36.479 to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:38.920 love to hear from you. You can send me your tips, 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:43.600 your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:48.920 and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b the number 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:53.159 four than breakfast p o D. You can also shoot 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:56.919 me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.600 dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:02.200 the letter U. Thanks so much, I look forward to 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:10.440 staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:14.400 heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.839 the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:19.080 listen to your favorite shows.