Be calendar savvy

Plan for breaks before they happen

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to be calendar savvy, whether you have
kids or not, looking at the school calendar and just

(00:25):
the regular calendar for the upcoming year can help you
plan your breaks wisely. Those of my listeners who have
school aged kids know that you quickly become beholden to
the school calendar. You either want to take your vacations
during the school vacations, or else you need to arrange

(00:45):
childcare for those random days that wind up off a
lot of people just see these days as they appear,
or think of them a few weeks ahead of time
at most. Oh, yes, spring break has comeing up. What
are we going to do about that? But if you
take a more holistic and mindful approach, you can enjoy

(01:07):
your time far more. I will start with people who
don't have school aged children. If a lot of your
colleagues do, then it is helpful to look at the
calendars for the districts where you live. It is good
to know that half your colleagues are going to be
requesting a particular week in April. Off you can plan

(01:29):
for that and not schedule major deadlines right around then
if it is at all possible, if you work closely
with someone who has kids closely enough that you need
to alternate vacations, you can score major goodwill by offering
to take your breaks when kids are in school so

(01:52):
your colleagues can get the days that they are off.
So your colleagues can get the days that they are off.
It is quite possible that your colleagues are not organized
enough to think of this for breaks that are far
in the future, but if you are, you will quickly
become colleague of the year. I would also note that
if you want to book something nearby that's in high demand,

(02:15):
there's a big difference between booking it when kids are
in school and when kids are not in school. You
can avoid overpaying by avoiding peak season, And if you
don't have to choose the peak season because you aren't
beholden to the school calendar, then that is a big
win for you. As for people who do have kids

(02:39):
in school, make sure the school breaks are on your
calendar now, right as school is starting. I mean it
all the way to June. In fact, it is quite
possible that your district publishes the next year's calendar too.
If you happen to see that the winter holiday in

(03:00):
Unity two is shorter for some reason, but the winter
holiday is longer, then you know to plan the big
trip do the short trip. In my case, we've had
some years where we want to do something during spring
break but don't think about it until well March. But

(03:20):
my district always takes the week between Passover and Easter off.
Those dates are set on liturgical calendars, perhaps into eternity.
As far as I can tell, if I would like
to book a particular place for I could figure out
the day the reservations come open and get on there.

(03:43):
I know exactly when my kids will be off. Knowing
the days allows you to seize some opportunities. For instance,
I took a trip with my big kids in May
because I knew they had a random Tuesday off from school.
We could leave afternoon and come back Tuesday night and
get a four day trip while only missing one day

(04:05):
of school during off peak season. Looking at the calendar
can also help you fend off disasters. For instance, you'd
hate to realize right when you've got a major work
deadline that your kids are all off school. On a
random teacher in service day, you will be scrambling, But

(04:26):
if you knew that day was coming up, you wouldn't
be so today. Look at your school district's calendars, and
just look at the calendar in general. Maybe you work
with a lot of people who observe a religion that's
different from your own. It's just helpful to know when
those major holidays might be. My school district closes for

(04:48):
the major Jewish holidays, for instance, so I've become well
versed with figuring out when Rossia Shana falls every year.
That then gives me a little nudge to mention it
and send my good wishes to friends who are celebrating.
B Calendar savvy and you can seize opportunities and not
be caught off guard. In the meantime, This is Laura.

(05:13):
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

(05:33):
Before Breakfast Pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast Podcast at I Heeart media dot Com
that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

(05:57):
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