1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: Today's tip is that you might be just a few 4 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:25,760 Speaker 1: hours from good. Even seemingly big problems can be a 5 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: lot closer to a solution with a few hours of 6 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:34,239 Speaker 1: focused work. So put in those hours and you will 7 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: be surprised how far you've come. Longtime listeners know that 8 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: my family bought and is renovating a historic house in 9 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: our neighborhood. We are finally putting our current house on 10 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: the market. Our first ordeal of this listing process was 11 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: the real estate photos, getting the house presentable enough to 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: look nice in those photos that will be on Zillo 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: and everywhere else. We have lived in this house for 14 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: ten years, so let's just say there is a reasonable 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: amount of stuff in here. Kid toys, kid clothes, books, 16 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: old artwork. I will admit that I lacked the patients 17 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: to cull through everything. A lot of stuff wound up 18 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: in clear bins that we will store in the new 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: house's garage until we can get to them. However, with 20 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: this boxing up and clearing out, plus some good old 21 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: fashioned cleaning, we made a lot of progress in about 22 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 1: twenty household hours. Most of the rooms reached a state 23 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: where they were about two minutes away from being photographable. 24 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: We just had to clear out the unphotographable stuff of life, 25 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: like waste baskets, and they were good to go. I 26 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: suspect that a great many seemingly intractable projects are like that. 27 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: Organizing your digital photos seems like it could take I 28 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: don't know years, But what if you decided to devote 29 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: three hours to it over a weekend. What do you 30 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: think you could do? My guess it's quite a bit 31 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: same with clearing out the garage or weeding the yard. 32 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: You might not be done, but you would be a 33 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: lot closer to good with a few focused hours than 34 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: you had been before. Even really large projects might take 35 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: fewer hours than you imagine. Every November, thousands of people 36 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 1: participate in National Novel Writing Month, in which they write 37 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: a fifty word novel in thirty days. In general, people 38 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: devote too to three hours per day to this pursuit. 39 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: That comes out to six in November. In other words, 40 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 1: if you have an eye idea for a novel that 41 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: you've been kicking around, you might be only sixty to 42 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: nine hours to a first draft, not a great first draft, 43 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: but a draft, and then you can make that something 44 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: into something better. Training for a half marathon might involve 45 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: about five hours of running a week for twelve weeks. 46 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: That's just sixty hours to crossing your first major finish line. 47 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: In many situations we might be only a few hours 48 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: two good. Sometimes it is literally only a few hours, 49 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: and sometimes it is just a few hours a week 50 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: over a slightly longer period. But either way, big goals 51 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: are generally achievable in finite amounts of time. After all, 52 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: other people have done them in finite amounts of time, 53 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: So why not you think about what a few focused 54 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: hours could do for you and your projects, and then 55 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: make those focused hours happen. Your closets might look a 56 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: lot better than before. In the meantime. This is Laura. 57 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 58 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 59 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 60 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 61 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then 62 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an 63 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcast at I hurt me da 64 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all 65 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,720 Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying 66 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. 67 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i 68 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 69 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.