Make a to-love list

Plan out who needs a little extra attention and support

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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
tip is to make a to love list. Write down
the names of the people you'd like to offer a

(00:24):
little extra attention to in the upcoming week. This will
nudge you to reach out and to seek opportunities to connect.
Today's tip comes courtesy the New York Times Friendship Challenge,
as part of their series on strengthening your friendships. They
recommend creating what they call a to love list. Just

(00:47):
like a to do list includes all the tasks you
need to do, a to love list includes all the
people you would like to connect with. Just as with
a to do list, you probably want to make this
list regularly. You could do it as part of whatever
weekly or daily planning sessions you already do. Longtime listeners

(01:11):
know that I suggest making a three category weekly priority
list each Friday. One of those categories is relationships, and
the to love list is kind of a version of that.
What relationships do I want to help grow in the
next week or so. Now, obviously, your closest friends and

(01:33):
family members are probably perpetually on the list, But just
as I am guessing you don't put check email on
the to do list because you do it all the time.
You might think of the to love list as people
you want to show a little extra affection too, beyond
the ordinary, either because they really need it or because
you haven't in a while. So while you are hopefully

(01:55):
showing your love to all your children, maybe one is
disappointed at not getting a big part and it can't
play that kid can get a star next to his
name on the to love list. Or maybe you just
look through your wedding album and realized you haven't connected
with an old friend in more than a year. Time
to add them to the list as well as for

(02:18):
what this connection looks like, it might be helpful to
make a note of this on your to love list.
For a local friend, you might suggest getting together for
lunch or going for a walk. If you are connecting
because she's having a really rough week, maybe you decide
to drop cookies off at her house. A far flung
relative might get a phone call or card. An older

(02:40):
kid might get a special Starbucks run that's a perennial
favorite at my house, or you go visit them first
in the nightly lights off roundup see you get some
extra time together. As with so many things in our lives,
a little intentionality and planning about whom we want to
love this week can go a long way toward making

(03:03):
our hopes into reality. We may love people all the time,
but actually putting them on the too Love list allows
both them and us to feel it. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

(03:24):
the most of our time. 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

(03:48):
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
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