WEBVTT - Second Cup: Plan your weeks on Fridays

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Today's tip is to plan

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<v Speaker 1>your weeks on Fridays. So this will probably not surprise you,

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<v Speaker 1>But I like to plan. Okay, fine, I love to plan.

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<v Speaker 1>There is nothing I like more than sitting down to

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<v Speaker 1>plan what I'm going to do with myself, what my

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<v Speaker 1>family members are going to do with themselves. Shockingly, my

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<v Speaker 1>family members don't always go along with these plans. Imagine

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<v Speaker 1>that must be fun to be married to or parented

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<v Speaker 1>by me. Anyway, just because you're planning doesn't mean you're

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<v Speaker 1>doing it in the most effective way. A few years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>I made a change in how I plan that has

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<v Speaker 1>really made a difference in my life and might be

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<v Speaker 1>helpful for you as well. So to start my story,

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<v Speaker 1>A long, long time ago, I read the late Stephen

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<v Speaker 1>Covey's book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It's

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<v Speaker 1>really a great book if you haven't read it. He

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<v Speaker 1>talks about planning your life in weeks, and I think

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<v Speaker 1>this is really smart. Weeks are the cycle of life

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<v Speaker 1>as we actually live it, not days. I mean, what's

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<v Speaker 1>a typical day for you? Is it Tuesday or is

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<v Speaker 1>it Saturday? They both occurred just as often, and they

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<v Speaker 1>both have the same number of hours, but I'm guessing

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<v Speaker 1>they look pretty different for you. Weeks give you an

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<v Speaker 1>accurate picture. So after reading Seven Habits, I started sitting

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<v Speaker 1>down on Sunday evenings and planning the upcoming week. Then

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<v Speaker 1>a few years after that, I got the chance to

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<v Speaker 1>interview David Allen. A lot of listeners of this podcast

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<v Speaker 1>probably know him as the author of Getting Things Done.

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<v Speaker 1>That's also a great book. I mentioned my Sunday planning

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<v Speaker 1>to him, and he told me that a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>his clients reviewed and planned their weeks on Fridays. So

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<v Speaker 1>I decided to try Fridays, and specifically Friday afternoons. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a big fan of the switch. Sunday planning is great,

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<v Speaker 1>but Friday afternoon is even better. Here's why. First, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know about you, but Friday afternoon is not exactly

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<v Speaker 1>my peak productivity time. I am usually doing nothing of

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<v Speaker 1>consequence by Friday afternoon. I am sliding into the weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not answering my phone, I am hiding out so

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<v Speaker 1>no one can find me. It is really hard to

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<v Speaker 1>start anything new on Friday afternoon, but I can usually

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<v Speaker 1>summon the energy to think about what future me should

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<v Speaker 1>be doing. And by taking a few minutes on Friday

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<v Speaker 1>afternoon to plan the week ahead, I turn what would

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<v Speaker 1>have been wasted time into some of my most productive

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<v Speaker 1>minutes of the week. Friday planning also gives me better

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<v Speaker 1>weekends in two ways. First, even if you love your job,

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<v Speaker 1>you can always feel a little bit of Sunday trepidation.

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<v Speaker 1>You know what this is. There's like an avalanche of

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<v Speaker 1>work waiting for you on Monday, but you don't know

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what or know how you're going to deal with it.

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<v Speaker 1>If you make a plan on Sunday night, well, you've

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<v Speaker 1>spent much of the weekend cohabitating with that sense of unease.

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<v Speaker 1>If you plan Monday morning on Friday, though, well you've

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<v Speaker 1>got a plan so you don't have to spend your

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<v Speaker 1>weekend worrying about it. And just as a side note,

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<v Speaker 1>if this plan involves meeting with people. Making your plan

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<v Speaker 1>on Friday means that you can call or email them.

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<v Speaker 1>They're probably still at their desks so they'll respond, which

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<v Speaker 1>might not be the case if you try and get

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<v Speaker 1>in touch with them on Sunday night. Second, if you

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<v Speaker 1>haven't thought about your weekend, Friday planning gives you a

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<v Speaker 1>chance to call friends, make reservations, buy tickets, whatever you

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<v Speaker 1>need to do. This vastly increases the chances that your

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<v Speaker 1>weekends are awesome rather than forgettable. So if you plan

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<v Speaker 1>on Fridays and I hope you will, just take a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes to think about the week ahead. Make yourself

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<v Speaker 1>a short three category priority list career, relationships, self. Making

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<v Speaker 1>a three category list reminds us that you should put

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<v Speaker 1>something in all three categories. It is pretty hard to

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<v Speaker 1>make a three category list and then leave one of

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<v Speaker 1>the categories blank, So that right there is going to

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<v Speaker 1>nudge you to have a more balanced life. But anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>just a short list two to three items in each,

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<v Speaker 1>look at the next week, see where they can go,

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<v Speaker 1>plan them in. Just like that, you're putting first things

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<v Speaker 1>first in your life. I think Stephen Covey would approve

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<v Speaker 1>of that. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at before Breakfast pod that's B the number

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<v Speaker 1>four then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with follow

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. H