1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to gain clarity on your goals by 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: picturing a realistic, ideal week. From time to time, I'll 5 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: see an exercise in self help literature that involves picturing 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: a perfect day. The idea is to ponder, in the 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: absence of all constraints, how you'd like to spend your 8 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: time now. I suppose this can be useful in some ways, 9 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: but there are a few problems with this exercise. One 10 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: is that, if your imagination is good enough, a perfect 11 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: day doesn't offer a whole lot of insight into your 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: current life. In my perfect day, I'd have a flying car, 13 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: but no one else would, and thus I could skip traffic, 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: or maybe there'd be teleportation. I could eat cinnamon rules 15 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: all day and not feel sick. I'd probably cure cancer 16 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: before breakfast while I was at This is not a 17 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: particularly useful thought experiment. The other problem is that we 18 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: don't live our lives in days. We live our lives 19 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: in weeks. So even if I'm going to ponder a 20 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: more realistic good day, should I think of a Tuesday 21 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: or should I think of a Saturday. They both occur 22 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: just as often, even if I spend my time quite 23 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 1: differently on each day. So that's why I like the 24 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: idea of creating a realistic, ideal week. This is the 25 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: schedule that you, within the current parameters of your life, 26 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: might reasonably expect to live. You don't get a flying car, 27 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: but you do spend your work hours on your favorite projects. 28 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: You take breaks to get lunch with friends or colleagues, 29 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: or to get some fresh air. You leave on time, 30 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 1: and you do interesting things with your evenings. You spend 31 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: your weekend hours in rejuvenating ways and minimize time devoted 32 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: to things you don't enjoy doing. The most straightforward way 33 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: to picture this week is on a spreadsheet. You can 34 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: go to Laura Vanderkam dot com that's my website and 35 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: fill out the subscription form to be sent a blank 36 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: time log, or you can just create one yourself and 37 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: Excel numbers or Google sheets. I put the days of 38 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: the week across the top Monday through Sunday, and then 39 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: half hour blocks down the left hand side from five 40 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: am to four thirty am. So that is a three 41 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: thirty six cell spreadsheet representing the hundred sixty eight hour week. 42 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: I feel in what time I'd like to wake up 43 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: and what time I'd like to go to bed. I 44 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: fill in my daily runs, maybe a date night with 45 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: my husband, a family adventure reading time. I fill in 46 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,959 Speaker 1: long stretches of uninterrupted writing time, and maybe a few 47 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: walks with individual kids for conversations too. In my realistic 48 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: ideal week, I'd have a social get together, maybe a 49 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: lunch out somewhere. So that's me. I suppose. It's an 50 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: open question of how optimistic this realistic ideal week should be. 51 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 1: I mean, how realistic are we talking? I guess in 52 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: my realistic ideal week, my four year old would never 53 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: wake up before six thirty am. Alas, judging by the 54 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: past week or so, this is a streak he's unlikely 55 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: to hit. I might aim to go to bed at 56 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: eleven or so and wake up at six thirty. But 57 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: I could leave some flexible time before bed so that 58 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: if he wakes up at five thirty am too many 59 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: mornings in a row, I could start going to bed 60 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: at ten thirty or ten. But the upside of creating 61 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: a realistic ideal week is that it reminds you of 62 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: the good things you'd like to have in your life 63 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: that are relatively accessible. All that stands between me and 64 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: my husband going out to dinner every other Friday night 65 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: or so is looking at our calendars and arranging to 66 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: have it happen. Since I work from home, going out 67 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: to lunch feels like a treat to me, and I 68 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: should take the initiative to invite people I find interesting 69 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: or just go myself. If I know I like evening 70 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: walks with kids one on one, I should do that 71 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: when I find myself in this situation where another adult 72 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: is in the house to watch the other kids, but 73 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: there's some downtime. I think it can also be useful 74 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: to create a template of a realistic ideal week and 75 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: then track an actual week. Time tracking has helped in general, 76 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: but it can be enlightening to compare a week that 77 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: actually happened with this realistic ideal Where do things match? 78 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: Hopefully they do, somewhere where do they diverge? No doubt 79 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: this happens too, but when you see it, you can 80 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: ask why and figure out if there's anything to be 81 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: done about that. Maybe nothing can be done, but maybe 82 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: something can, and that's good to figure out. So take 83 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: some time today to think about what your realistic ideal 84 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: week would look like. How would you spend your hundred 85 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: sixty eight hours? How are you spending them now? I 86 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: hope over time we can bring these two schedules very 87 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: close together. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, 88 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 89 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 90 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 91 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:04,280 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod 92 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D. 93 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 94 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast 95 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, 96 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is 97 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,720 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from 98 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 99 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.