WEBVTT - Editing your life, with Christine Koh 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:09.240 Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:14.720 This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:17.360 episode is going to be a longer one part of 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:20.200 the series where I interview fascinating people about how they 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.200 take their days from great to awesome and any advice 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:25.880 they have for the rest of us. So today I 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.840 am delighted to welcome Christine Co to Before Breakfast. Christine 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:32.400 is the host of the Edit Your Life podcast, along 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:35.720 with numerous other projects. So Christine, welcome to the show. 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:39.200 Hello Laura, I'm so happy to be recording with you today. 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:41.200 Yeah, I'm happy to have you here. Well, why don't 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:43.599 you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself? 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.879 Okay, the top line is, in my previous life, I 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:51.080 was a music and brain scientist. I have a PhD 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.160 in that field. That was a long time ago, and 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.480 whenever people asked me to drop neuroscience information, I'm kind 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.960 of like my training is a little outdated. But about 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:05.160 twenty years ago I left the field and just wanted 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:10.000 to create more independent, creative, flexible ventures and I started 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:12.640 in the wild world of the internet with a personal 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:18.120 blog and over the years, my various iterations have included 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:22.759 a published book, a couple of podcasts, a very robust 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:27.920 creative consulting consultancy. I work as a creative director and 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.520 storytelling expert, and so I just do a lot of things, 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.520 and I have a couple substack newsletters now. And I've 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:39.520 just always loved, you know, problem solving, helping people solve problems, 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.240 and you know, trying to disrupt this kind of perfect 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.199 lifestyle narrative with just how we all get things done. 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:48.200 And I think that's why you and I aligned so well, 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.960 is we're just both really committed to helping people figure 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:52.960 out ways to do things. 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.400 Yeah, take our days from great to awesome, as we 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:59.720 always say around here. So your podcast is called Edit 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.880 your Life. What does it mean to edit your life? 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.279 Yeah? I think in general there's a lot of content 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:09.880 about decluttering, which of course is covered on the show. 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:14.519 But to me, editing your Life is about really addressing 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:19.920 well first, noticing the different pain points, stressers, areas of discontent, 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.160 whatever they may be in your life, and figuring out 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.320 how to edit those things out so you have more 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.600 room to do the things you care about, make days 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:33.040 more awesome, all of those things, because honestly, we all 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:33.720 deserve it. 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:38.400 Yeah, So well, I want to hear about how Christine 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.720 edits her life. So I am hoping you can talk 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.400 about some any routines you have right now in your 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.760 life that are serving you and making life better. 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.320 Yeah. Well, my approach, especially in the last few years, 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:57.359 perhaps sparked by the pandemic, perhaps just sparked by who 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:00.280 I am in this current phase of my life, has 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.800 really been all about micro So what are the little 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.480 levers we can pull in our day to day lives 0:03:06.560 --> 0:03:10.040 in order to insert a little more joy, find some ease, 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:15.000 some relief, calmer nervous systems, any of those things. And 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:17.760 because all of us are under a lot of stress 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:22.000 these days and we just need more touch points with joy, 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.440 we just we deserve that too, right, So I think 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:29.760 I mean just to think about Literally before breakfast this morning, 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.840 I decided instead of I really do try to start 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:36.800 my day by not scrolling. So if I have a 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.520 great book with me, that's like my usual first choice. 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.800 But this weekend I cracked open a brand new per 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.640 puzzle that I received from my birthday. So I started 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:49.040 my morning at like six in the morning laying out 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:52.000 a few puzzle pieces, putting them together while I sipped 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.080 my coffee, and it was like ten minutes before I 0:03:55.120 --> 0:03:57.840 started doing the things like making lunch and whatever else. 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:00.800 But those little moments that I inst in my days 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:04.440 are proving to be really powerful for my general well being. 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.600 Yeah, do you have a usual morning routine? I mean, 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:12.000 is do you normally start your days with something like that? 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:13.880 Or I wonder if you can talk us through that. 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:16.200 Sure? Sure, Well I don't have as many children as you. 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.479 I have two. One is out of the house, she's 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:21.400 a college senior, and the other is a high school freshman. 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:24.920 So like many parents during the school year, we have 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:29.040 the routine of, you know, getting everybody up. We you know, 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.320 I do my little practice with my puzzle or my books, 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:34.520 and we all relax a little bit, and then it's 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:38.120 kicking into gear with helping our kid out the door 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.880 to school. She actually leaves pretty early at like seven 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.160 am for the bus because that's just how things roll 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.919 around here. And then I usually walk the dog with 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.440 my husband or I do I do these growing strength 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:51.440 classes like one or three times a week, which is 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:55.040 really nice, and I kind of do all that stuff 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.160 before I kick off my workday, so it's a lot 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.400 of nice. I'm realizing kind of personal touch points with 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.440 my family and my dog before I get rolling for 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.919 the day, which is you know, I'm sort of in 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:10.440 my office cave hammering away for a full day. So 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:11.719 it's a nice way to start the day. 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.000 Yeah. Is there anything you've stopped doing? I mean, as 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.400 we talk about editing your life, is there anything in 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:20.280 recent years that you have stopped doing in order to 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:22.760 make life work better? Yeah? 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:25.080 That's a good question. I mean, I think if we 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:29.120 zoom out big picture, you know, the calendar and time 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:31.320 is always a big pain point for people. I mean, 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:34.640 you know that you help people autit their time all, 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:39.039 you know, on the regular. So I think that I've 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:45.600 really made a conscious practice of regarding any inbound invitations 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:47.120 I get, you know, through my work, I get a 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.760 lot of invitations to things. I'm always looking at it 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:53.960 with a lens of do I really want to do this? 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.800 Is this values consistent? Is this something that makes me 0:05:56.839 --> 0:05:59.360 feel sort of grumpy and resentful? Or do I feel 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:03.560 joyful and excited about it? So I've really this is 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:06.880 kind of a longer answer, but like over a greater 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.360 body of time, maybe five to ten years, really worked 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:12.280 on listening to that gut reaction so that I can 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:15.120 easily just say no to the stuff immediately for things 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:16.840 that I don't want to do, because I think it 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:20.200 just people often struggle with saying no to things or 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.160 declining things. And one thing I've realized and a practice 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.560 I put into place a long time ago, was what 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.240 I call a graceful decline, where I just say no, 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:30.200 thank you, I can't make it, and I don't try 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:34.280 to make excuses. And I think doing more of that, 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.839 and so, you know, saying no to things that I 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.680 really don't want to do has created a lot more 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:41.160 space in my life. 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:42.960 Yeah, why don't you think people do that. 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.320 That they struggle to do that? I think it's because 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:49.279 what I've found in the years of talking to people 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:52.320 about it is people want they don't want to hurt 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:54.839 other people's feelings, or they don't want to lie. That's 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:56.680 usually the thing. They don't want to have to make 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:59.320 up an excuse. And so that's why I say, just 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:03.560 don't make up an excuse, just decline gracefully, and that's it. 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:06.360 And I find that that works really really well. People 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:08.760 don't usually come back and say, well, why aren't you 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:11.160 going to come to my thing, and. 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:13.320 Earth has yet to crash into the sun as a 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.000 result as well. All as well, all as well for 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:17.680 share All right, Well, We're going to take a quick 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:19.160 ad break and then I will be back with more 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:29.120 from Christine co. Well, I am back talking with Christine 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:31.640 Coe as the host if You Edit Your Life podcast, 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.320 along with numerous other projects. So Christine, let's talk a 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.720 little bit about planning, because I know that how you 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:43.040 approach planning might be helpful for some people who are 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:43.680 listening to this. 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:48.640 Yes, I love planning, and I have like the vision 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.360 of who I would like to be, which might be 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:54.520 somebody like Sarah Hardung with like a nice notebook and 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.800 some cool pens and whatever else. But I'm not that person. 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:00.240 My handwriting is terrible, so I do. I want to 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.280 encourage people to always find a system that works best 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:05.800 for you, otherwise you're never going to use it. So 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:09.600 I am weed to to do app. I use to dost. 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:11.960 There's a free version, but I use the paid version 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:14.160 because I like that you can, you know, link Google 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.760 docs and do a bunch of other things that make 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.120 the mental load of finding what you need much easier. 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.080 So I like to do a kind of plan a 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:24.800 two levels. One is the weekly level, where I do 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.520 a weekly look ahead. It's usually on Friday, but I'll 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:30.760 check in on it on Sunday just to make sure 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:33.920 things are holding, in which I kind of look at 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:37.080 my schedule see how busy it is. That's actually a 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:39.080 point at which I kind of do my like what 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:41.800 I call Goldilocks assessment of the week. You know, so 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:45.240 if things look good, great, If things look a little 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.960 boring or empty, I'll be like, oh, well, I have 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:49.680 a lot of freedom this week. This would be the 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.000 perfect time to try to schedule a catch up coffee 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:55.760 with a friend. Or if things are too busy, if 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.480 there's stuff that is really negotiable that I could move, 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.320 I might try to move some things around, because I know, 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:04.680 for myself and my personal work style, being back to 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:08.440 back in meetings during days is tough because then I 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:10.640 don't feel like I can actually do the work to 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:14.360 do other things. So I'll do the weekly touch point 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:18.000 on Fridays, and then every morning I pretty much start 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:21.520 my day looking at that to do list and identifying 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:24.960 this sort of top priority items for the day. Because 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:28.240 it's important to note that for me and my particular 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.480 mental load style, and also because I'm running a number 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.800 of different projects and clients at the same time, i 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:38.320 go super granular with my to do list, and I'll 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:41.880 break out specific tasks, probably to a level that some 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:44.520 people might feel as a little too granular, but for me, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.480 I need that because then I know, okay, I did 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:48.400 that thing. Now I can move on to the next thing. 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:52.240 So doing the day look ahead is really important because 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:55.440 I literally flag in red into dost what are the 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:58.960 absolute top priority items, so I don't lose track of things, 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:00.160 you know, in my longer. 0:09:59.880 --> 0:10:02.920 Lif And when you're talking very granular, can you give 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.840 an example of how granular these things are? 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.120 Yeah, I mean from actually for a podcast example, which 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:10.439 would be good because, as you know, there are a 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:14.440 lot of moving pieces. I usually do podcast production on Friday, 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:17.720 but I'll literally break out as separate tasks. You know, 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:21.480 listen to the sound files, create you know, cover art, 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:25.520 write show notes, what else is there? You know, schedule 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.280 to megaphone in certain timestamps. I'm like breaking all of 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:30.720 those little steps, which helps me not forget anything too. 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.080 Yeah, yeah, I know. That's always always helpful. And then 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.480 how do you actually organize your workday? Then I mean, 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:40.480 because you say you have multiple projects, do you aim 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:43.080 to do like all for one client on one day. 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:44.640 Are you always doing a certain kind of work in 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.040 the morning or is there some sort of structure that 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:47.800 you generally go with. 0:10:48.280 --> 0:10:52.240 Yeah, Yeah, I definitely am a person who's I call 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:54.040 them the golden hours. I think that's a phrase that 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.560 you also use. And my golden hours for work and 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.640 creativity and productivity are is definitely the more arning. And 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:03.760 so late afternoon is when I'm really slumping. I don't 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:07.000 think that's unusual. So I usually try to round robin 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.840 on my clients in the morning, you know, after I've 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:11.360 gone out and walk the dog or gone to an 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:13.520 exercise class and I feel like I'm ready to sit down, 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:17.320 I'll round robin through those. Pretty much. I need to 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:21.280 touch everything every day, and then in the later afternoon 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:25.240 I can work on things like podcast production or writing 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:29.160 or thing or graphic design, things that still require my 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.600 brain but aren't as intense. So that's usually how I 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:34.800 batch it, and it kind of all works around meetings 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:35.160 and things. 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:37.800 Yeah, and do you have anything that helps you get 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:38.720 better ideas? 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:42.960 Better ideas? Can I make a confession and say that 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:47.200 I have yet to use chat, GPT or any kind 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:49.840 of way. That's all right, I've not. 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:51.959 I don't really use it either, so I made again 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:52.839 welcome to the club. 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:55.400 Okay, Okay, I just feel like I'm, like, you know, 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:57.960 sitting under a rock. Everybody seems to use it. I 0:11:58.040 --> 0:11:59.880 just haven't. I think I'm kind of an old school 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:05.079 Reave that way. I do think that really good ideas 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:08.280 come when you're not sitting in front of a computer. 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:13.760 So oftentimes I'll and the only tricky thing is I 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:15.520 when I go for walks and things, I like to 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:17.280 not bring my phone so I can just kind of 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:20.560 like be free and bilateral and not be listening to 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:24.600 anything and just be outside in the elements. But I 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:26.120 do find that I tend to have a lot of 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.880 good ideas popping when I'm walking around. So sometimes, you know, 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.280 I will either literally bring a piece of paper in 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:34.280 a pen with me on my walk, or if I 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.040 have my phone, I can dictate into it to jot 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:37.880 those ideas down. 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:41.520 Okay, So an ideal walk is what we're for you absolutely, 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:44.000 And then I wonder, you know, we always love to 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:50.040 hear people's various time management strategies and any general productivity strategies. 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:51.800 I wonder if there's any you've used in the past 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:55.480 few days that have been helpful to you. Yeah. 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:59.160 I mean I think that one thing that I've been 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:01.400 using for a very long time, I haven't needed it 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.040 yet in the last week because i haven't had anything 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:07.720 like terribly onerous. But I'm a big believer in do 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:12.120 your hardest thing first, because I think that sometimes tasks 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:15.360 that don't actually take a lot of time but carry 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:18.160 some emotional burden or some weight or some dread because 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:20.240 you don't want to lie about saying no to something 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:25.600 can be a struggle. So I sometimes will do identify, 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.000 like or give myself fifteen minutes at the beginning of 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:31.120 a workday to just power through some of that you know, 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:36.360 kind of dreaded albatross adulting type flavor of to do's 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.199 that really need to get done and just bust through them, 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:42.199 and it's so satisfying and relieving for the rest of 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:45.120 the day. And I really I know this is in 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.080 line with you and Sarah as well, but I really 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:53.200 do advocate for those check ins and figuring out looking 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:56.920 at your weekly sort of scope and what you want 0:13:56.960 --> 0:13:59.600 to get done during the day. And not just from 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:03.000 a word perspective, but also like, you know, what do 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:06.360 I as human Christine co like person who needs like 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:08.280 love and nurturing in the world, Like what do I 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:11.360 need this week? So I think that's another important thing 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:14.280 that I think. I'm not sure it's as common in 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.280 productivity talks, but I think that we are more productive 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.120 if we also are nurturing all the sides of ourselves. 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:22.720 Absolutely I agree with that. Is there anything you have 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:25.320 tried that hasn't worked for you. 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:28.200 Tribe that hasn't worked? 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:32.240 Not lately? 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:34.400 I mean, I'm pretty creature of habit these days with 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:39.880 the things that I enjoy doing. Yeah, I don't. I 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:41.160 don't think so though. 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:46.320 Just checking. Christine likes to try things out and they 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.400 often some element to them will will work. 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:50.680 Yeah, I'm sure there's something that I'm forgetting, But I 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.080 mean I will say there's one thing that I think 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:58.000 it's important to know, like to be curious, but also 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:00.360 kind of know your limits. So I mentioned and earlier 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.880 my handwriting is really bad, and I've always wanted to 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:08.640 be a journaling type person, and I just I couldn't. 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.400 It was a real block for me, and so I 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.720 started doing a micro journaling practice where I literally write 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:18.000 one or two sentences every day, and that has been 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:21.120 pretty powerful. But I'm positive that if I had set 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:23.440 myself up and said, Okay, I'm going to do fifteen 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.800 minutes of journaling every day, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:28.160 have worked out. So I think part of you know, 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:31.600 experimenting with things is also knowing where your points of 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:32.400 falling off are. 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:35.680 Yeah. I love that because, yeah, well I set yourself 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:37.280 up to fail if it's if you know it's not 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:40.720 a strength, then that apparently writing two sentences, even if 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:44.640 your handwriting is not wonderful, can still be accomplished. 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:45.040 Right, mm hmm. 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:46.960 All right, Well, we're going to take one more quick 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:48.720 ad break and then I'll be back with more from 0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:59.360 Christine co. Well, I am back talking with Christine Coe, 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.160 who is the of the Edit Your Life podcast. You 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:04.920 also mentioned you had a couple of substack newsletters. Can 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:06.120 you tell us a little bit about this? 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.720 Yeah, I love substack as and you're grade at substack too. 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:15.000 It's been so fun. My first substack is a personal one. 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.160 It's called There's Always a Story. I started that one 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:20.400 while I've written close to one hundred and fifty posts, 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:23.120 so maybe it's been two years or something, and that 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:27.080 one is kind of longer form. I would say it 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:31.160 can be anything from photo recaps and very food oriented 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:35.640 to deeper reflection pieces on work and parenting and lifestyle. 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.000 I think it was a real healing place when I 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:43.560 was transitioning out of a very toxic work situation a 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.600 couple of years ago into being fully on my own 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:50.840 as a business person. So I love that space. And 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:54.320 then just recently, like literally in the last month, I 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:57.880 started a second substack for the Edit Your Life podcast. 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:00.200 So some may say that was a long time I'm 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:02.640 kept coming since Edit your Life has been around for 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:06.000 a decade, but you know, good things take time, and 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:10.040 that has just been pure fun. You know. It's just 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:13.359 been kind of taking a micro edit, like a weekly 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:17.399 edit approach, and then occasionally I'll respond to listener questions 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:20.040 and that sort of thing. But it's you know, I'm 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:24.000 a writer and that space is such a happy one 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:25.440 for me, so it's been really delightful. 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:29.280 Yeah, it's definitely been fun trying out substack and seeing 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.639 how people are getting their work out to a bigger 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:37.240 audience through it. So Christine, I always ask my guests 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:39.760 this question of what is something you've done recently to 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.600 take a day from great to awesome? And normally I 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:44.879 just let people respond as they will, but I am 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.119 hoping that you will tell us a little bit about 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:51.520 a recent newsletter you did write, which is about your 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:56.080 birthday weekend, and afterwards you recounted I believe it was 0:17:56.280 --> 0:18:01.520 fifty two moments of wonderfulness in the course of the 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.639 weekend in this newsletter, So that would definitely take a 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:06.639 day from great to awesome. Somebody you could talk a 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:07.600 little bit about that. 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:11.720 Yeah, well, it was kind of an unexpected post. I mean, 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:13.600 I think I had in the back of my mind 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:16.520 that I might write something about my birthday. That's like 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:19.480 literally what I wrote as a potential idea for that 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:25.000 week's newsletter. I just turned fifty two, and my daughter 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:28.719 came back from college, and my husband and younger daughter Violet, 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:33.479 and the dog of course always around, and it just 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:37.040 the weekend started. I have the good fortune, or I 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.160 had the good fortune this year of having a Sunday 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:41.720 birthday on a holiday long weekend, so I had a 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:45.520 little extra time for awesome, and I just kept being 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:49.840 struck by all of these tiny, little moments, you know, 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:53.040 from the moment my older daughter came off the Amtrak 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:54.800 and walked in the house and I could see our 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:59.679 dog's tail wagging furiously in excitement. There were just so 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:02.800 many little moments of delight like that, and I didn't 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:05.240 want to forget them, so I just started writing them 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:08.919 down in a note in my to do app and 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:12.880 then the list kept growing and growing and growing, and 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:17.359 it just ended up feeling like this really delightful exercise 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.720 of noticing, you know, noticing what was around, noticing all 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:24.720 these moments where I was feeling people express their care 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:28.040 for me. And you know, it wasn't extraordinary. We were 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:32.359 at home that weekend, and I'm intentionally a pretty mellow 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:34.399 person when it comes to celebrations, so it wasn't like 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:36.679 I wanted some big thing I had asked for dinner. 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:38.840 I said, I just like snacks, Like snacks are my 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:41.920 favorite things, so I'd like snacks but with like shrimp cocktail. 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:44.280 That's like all I want. And of course the kids 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:48.760 made this like beautiful dinner. So I ended up jotting 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:50.919 all these things down, and when I finished the list, 0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:53.240 I thought, oh, I think I'll share this to substack 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.600 it was fifty two things and I had turned fifty two, 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:59.159 So I thought, this is kind of magical. I'm going 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:03.600 to share this. So I think that exercise of noticing 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:08.720 is really important because oftentimes we're all so busy and 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:13.080 it can be hard to just pause and think about 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.359 all those tiny moments that are happening around you. But 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:17.679 when you do, even if you do it, you know, 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:19.320 it would be a fun exercise to do on a 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:22.400 Saturday or a Sunday to just, you know, drap little 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:26.000 moments down as you're experiencing your day and then look 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:27.320 at them at the end of the day and see 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:28.760 how that shook out. I think that would be a 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:29.480 fun exercise. 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.199 Well, and don't you think that perhaps by having like 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:34.760 once you started, I mean, you weren't necessarily going into 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:36.360 this intending to be like, Okay, I'm going to write 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:39.320 down when my dog's tail is wagging. But when you 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:41.000 started and then you knew you were going to keep 0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:42.600 going with this, do you think that led you to 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.000 see more of them than you might sure otherwise. 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:48.679 Yeah, And I had a couple of things that happened 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:50.960