WEBVTT - Try a challenge 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to try out one of the myriad

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<v Speaker 1>challenges floating around on the internet. These short term guided

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<v Speaker 1>projects are a great way to get new ideas, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is true whether you stick with the projects or not.

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<v Speaker 1>Around the start of the new year, many self help

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<v Speaker 1>experts run challenges. I signed up for a lot of these,

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<v Speaker 1>the Frugal Woods, Uber, Frugal Month, Apartment Therapies, January Cure,

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<v Speaker 1>Jeremy Derbergh's Begreed. I ran my own time tracking challenge

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<v Speaker 1>during the first week of January, as I do every year.

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<v Speaker 1>I joined another mother runners Many Happy Miles Club. Now

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<v Speaker 1>I will admit that I have a business reason for

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<v Speaker 1>all this. I'd like to see how other people do

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<v Speaker 1>email marketing and their courses. But I find it fun

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<v Speaker 1>personally too, because these challenges or day by day plans

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<v Speaker 1>are also a very easy way to shake things up

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<v Speaker 1>and get some new ideas. For instance, the Many Happy

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<v Speaker 1>Miles program sent me a suggested workout for a recent

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<v Speaker 1>Monday morning that involved doing hill repeats. I planned to

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<v Speaker 1>run from eight to eight am anyway, So I decided

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<v Speaker 1>to do a slightly different route than my usual default

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<v Speaker 1>loops and run up and down a hill located next

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<v Speaker 1>to a nearby nature preserve. I did that four times.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a little out of the ordinary on a

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<v Speaker 1>wet winter morning, but I quite enjoyed it. More importantly,

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<v Speaker 1>I remember it this time didn't slip through my fingers.

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<v Speaker 1>I probably wouldn't have tried a different run without the suggestion.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I should be clear here I am not doing

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<v Speaker 1>all the suggested workouts. In some cases with the challenges,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not planning to do many of the suggested activities

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<v Speaker 1>at all. For instance, I'm pretty frugal already, so I

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<v Speaker 1>am not going to argue with my husband that he

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<v Speaker 1>needs to comparison chop for eggs at three different grocery stores. However,

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<v Speaker 1>in the Frugal Woods case, the Uber Frugal Month challenge

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<v Speaker 1>links to old blog posts from say, two thousand fifteen,

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<v Speaker 1>that I never would have dug up on my own.

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<v Speaker 1>And these can be still entertaining to read and more

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<v Speaker 1>upbeat and interesting to read while I'm feeding a baby. Then, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>coronavirus headlines. Since many challenges are free or at least

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<v Speaker 1>relatively cheap, they can be worth it even if you

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<v Speaker 1>get one good idea or get motivated to do something

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<v Speaker 1>that you might not have done otherwise. Maybe you finally

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<v Speaker 1>sort through that band of old mittens or that overflowing juncture.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you set up automated transfers to your retirement account. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that would be a huge one. Or maybe, like me,

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<v Speaker 1>you just try a different workout now. I would caution

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<v Speaker 1>that for all of this you have to know yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>I am perfectly happy to pick and choose from anything

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<v Speaker 1>people tell me to do guilt free. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>know that you are going to feel bad if you

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<v Speaker 1>don't do absolutely everything you are told to do in

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<v Speaker 1>a challenge, then you should either skip these sorts of

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<v Speaker 1>programs or choose just one to focus on at any

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<v Speaker 1>given point. That way, you don't get overwhelmed. No one

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<v Speaker 1>is going to clean out their entire apartment, save thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of dollars, finish a new training program, and read War

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<v Speaker 1>in Peace all at the same time, or if you do,

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<v Speaker 1>you should be hosting this podcast, not me. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you're willing to take what you like and leave the rest,

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<v Speaker 1>then there is very little to lose. So why not

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<v Speaker 1>ask friends for suggestions, or watch to see if people

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<v Speaker 1>mention challenges on your favorite websites. You just might light

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<v Speaker 1>a fire under yourself to go further with a project.

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<v Speaker 1>Or hey, you might find a running route that you'd

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<v Speaker 1>be willing to run again. In the meantime, This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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<v Speaker 1>favorite shows. Yeah,