Put big dreams first

Start your week with career-advancing work

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 put big dreams first in your schedule.
If you leave speculative career building work to the end

(00:26):
of your to do list, well you probably won't get
to it. Do it first and it will get done.
Many people have some sort of big project on their
bucket lists, like writing a novel or a book, starting
a podcast, composing music. Maybe it's writing that white paper

(00:46):
that will establish you as a thought leader, or writing
a grant for a big research project that's a little
different from your usual fare. These things never have to happen. Indeed,
you could go through your life not doing them, and
so consequently, since there are no deadlines and no one
waiting on you to do these things, they are easy

(01:09):
to put off. That is doubly true, since they could
be challenging and uncertain. You could do all that work
and then have them not pan out. Of course, even
if we're busy, we do want to give a nod
to our ambitions. So what usually happens is that people
put these big speculative projects on their to do lists,

(01:31):
but then don't give them a time or give them
a bad time, like five pm on Friday. Let me
tell you, scheduling something that you do not have to
do for the end of day Friday means you won't
do it. Either you'll be tired, or all the things
you do need to do before the weekend won't be

(01:53):
done yet, and you'll still be cranking away on those,
and so week after week you'll shove your big speculative
project forward. Here's another idea. Put these big dreams on
your schedule. First, carve out a big chunk of time

(02:13):
Monday morning to tackle your speculative project. If it's the
sort of thing you think you need to work on daily,
then maybe eight am every day is a good time.
Here's why you'll be freshest. The emergencies have yet to arise,
and so you're more likely to actually do it. And

(02:36):
when you carve out time for things, you make progress,
and that progress itself is often motivational enough to nudge
you to find more time. Now. Of course, I know
you have a job and you have responsibilities. But if
you work on something speculative from say seven thirty to

(02:56):
nine thirty am on Monday morning, well I am, guessing
you're normal job responsibilities will still be waiting for you
at am, and because you are a responsible person, you
will do them. But in this world, you have also
done the thing you didn't have to do alongside your job,

(03:17):
rather than just doing your job. Same goes with carving
out time every day from say eight to nine am,
or if it needs to be earlier than normal work hours,
six to seven am, or get up early one day
a week, let's say Mondays from five thirty to seven
thirty am, and you'll still be putting two more solid
hours into your project each week than you were before.

(03:40):
Bit by bit, you will move it forward, and with
any luck, that forward motion will turn your big project
into something slightly less speculative. A major foundation likes your
initial pitch and asks for a full proposal. An agent
wants to see more pages in that book. That industry

(04:02):
website likes your think piece and wants more from you. Well,
great accountability. Now you will find time for this stuff
during normal hours, because well you've got that nudge. But
until that happens, you need to make this accountability yourself.
And the best way to have that happen is to

(04:23):
schedule this big stuff first. Put big dreams on the
calendar first, and the big dreams happen, leave them for
the time left over, and well there will be no
time left over. It is really as simple as that.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

(04:48):
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 Before Breakfast pod

(05:09):
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. Before Breakfast is

(05:31):
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.