It's time for a September reset

Laura talks about building new routines during the back-to-school season

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's episode,
on like most Wednesdays, is going to be a shorter episode,
but that's because it's going to be just me talking.

(00:24):
Don't worry. We'll be back to interviews with fascinating people
next week, learning how they take their days from great
to awesome and any advice they have for the rest
of us. But today, I want to talk about how
you can take your days from great to awesome. As
the new season starts, this episode is first airing right

(00:45):
around the beginning of September. September tends to be a
time of new beginnings. If you have school aged kids
here in the US at least, then they might be
starting new grades or even new schools. Maybe you are
going back to school yourself. But even if you're not,

(01:05):
summer is ending and fall is starting, and so daily
rhythms are changing. Whenever daily life changes, it can be
a great opportunity for a fresh start. Handled right, this
can be an opportunity to view your schedule intentionally and
think about what you would like it to look like.

(01:28):
I have five kids, and three of them are starting
new schools this fall. My oldest just moved to Boston
for his freshman year of college. So exciting. I have
a tenth grader and an eighth grader, and then my
fifth grader is just starting middle school. My little guy, yep,
my baby is starting kindergarten this fall. It's all so

(01:51):
exciting to buy school supplies and backpacks and see them
think about classes and activities and which teachers their friends
have too. I am spending time thinking through the family
schedule and thinking through my schedule. I'm thinking about when
it makes sense to do more focused work and when
I need to be more flexible because of kids being

(02:13):
around in the various driving requirements. I am thinking about
my own choir rehearsals I'm definitely still doing those and
how those will fit in. And I am thinking about
when I might be able to run. I am thinking
of any habits I want to develop. Perhaps you are
thinking of these things too. If so, I invite you

(02:34):
to join me for what I am calling the September Reset.
This is a project I am running for about two
weeks in September where lots of us will rethink our
schedules and habits together. Don't worry. It's totally free. I'm
not selling anything here. I just like doing this and
I think it will be useful for others too. Here's

(02:57):
how this works. You can sign up up for the
September Reset on my website, which is Laura Vandercam dot com.
Just my name, you can enter your email address and
you will start getting emails from me about the project.
This project, the September Reset, will run for about two
weeks in the middle of September. For the first week,

(03:20):
we will all track our time together. We will figure
out exactly where the time goes for one hundred and
sixty eight hours, that is one week. If you have
never tracked your time before, I think you will find
this fascinating. We often tell ourselves stories about our time,

(03:40):
but we don't have any actual data. How much time
do you sleep, work, spend with family, spend in transit,
spend on housework, or have for leisure pursuits. I don't know.
But when we do know, we can make smarter choices.
We can add or subtract to get closer to the

(04:03):
lives we want. I will be providing support as you
track your time for a week. Then during that week,
I will start sending notes about some of my favorite
time management tips. These strategies are about building smart habits,
those that allow you to feel in charge of your life,

(04:25):
however busy it is, and to make space for fun.
I know that Before Breakfast listeners are all productive and
efficient people. I also want you to enjoy life, and
many of my favorite time management tips are aimed at that.
Those tips will keep coming via email through late September.

(04:46):
In that time, you will also have a chance to
use my September Reset online portal to learn more about
each strategy and to answer questions about how you might
implement the strategy in your life. You will then be
able to refer a few days later on how each
strategy worked or anything you'd like to change in the future.

(05:07):
These answers will all be kept completely anonymous, I can
promise that, but I would love to use some of
them for my future content as I share how people
spend their time and the steps they take to spend
their time better. In other words, they might make future
Before Breakfast episodes. I am so excited about this new season.

(05:28):
I'm excited to think about new routines. For instance, I
will be thinking about my evening routine. Even though sometimes
we don't finish with activities until later in the evening,
it is still possible to have some downtime. I'm also
thinking through when the kids need to be in their rooms,
reading or working on homework. When do we all need
to be asleep in order to be well rested for

(05:50):
the next day. I have been writing down when everyone's
activities are meeting and how many drivers we will need
to get people where they are going. A big family
can sometimes be like a circus. But while a circus
has lots of moving parts, it is also quite orderly.
I know we will eventually figure it all out, and

(06:13):
so will you, So please join me for the September reset.
Just go to Laura vandercam dot com and enter your
email address and we'll get started together. I hope we
can make this September and the new season one of
our best yet. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

(06:41):
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

(07:03):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.