Record what makes each day special

How to make life more memorable

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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 record what makes each day special.
One of the most common observations I've heard from people
about this spring's long season of social distancing is that

(00:26):
life started to feel like the movie Groundhog Day. The
main character lives the same day over and over again.
Without the usual markers of time, days can merge into
each other, each indistinguishable from the last. Quarantines are obviously
extreme examples of this, but even during normal times, people

(00:47):
can get caught up in the daily grind. Tuesday's commute
is indistinguishable from Thursday's commute, and you have to look
at the calendar as you wonder is it Friday yet?
But today is not Groundhog Day. Each day can be
its own little jewel. Noticing and writing down what makes
each day distinctive helps us value all our days during

(01:10):
disjointed or normal times. In April, our Jewish friends celebrated
Passover at the Statar. The youngest person traditionally asks why
is this night different from all other nights? The response
focuses on features of the meal that commemorate the deliverance
of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Now, of course,
Passover is a major holiday, and so of course this

(01:33):
night is different from other nights. But as I wrote
in my book Off the Clock, I believe this is
a worthy question for ordinary days too. What distinguishes this
day today from all other days of my life? Even
if you happen to be sheltering in place? What distinguishes
this day from all other days of sheltering in place?

(01:54):
We can think of all kinds of distinctions. Today is
different because we made s'mores around the firepit. Today is
different because Uncle Rob had a virtual birthday party and
every family on the call had made their own chocolate cake,
which is Uncle Rob's favorite. Today is different because I
rearranged the furniture in the guest room so it's more
conducive to my working from home. Today is different because

(02:18):
we hiked a new trail. Today is different because I
colored my own hair for the first time. Today is
different because I figured out how to edit a video.
Today is different because we received our first vegetable delivery
from a local farm. Today is different because the kids
taught the dog to shake hands. Today is different because

(02:38):
the lilacs started blooming. These are not life changing differences,
but there are enough to make the days special and
distinct and worthy of notice if we choose to notice them.
So set a time each day to record what makes
each day special. Maybe as part of your dinner routine
you could ask your family to share the day's gems,

(03:00):
or at bedtime you can jot down these distinctions in
a journal. Notice them, celebrate them. Because though all time passes,
when life is ultimately short, it's a miserable bargain to
wish time away. Each morning we wake up to new possibilities,
it behooves us to value each day we are given.

(03:24):
And by the way, there's a sneaky little upside to
recording what makes each day special. Once you know you'll
need to write something down, you realize that you can
engineer special things into your life. You can set an
intention for something worth remembering. You see nothing particularly promising
on the calendar, so you elect to cook a new dish,

(03:46):
go for a walk by the lake, or FaceTime a
relative you haven't talked with in a while. Or maybe
today will be different because it's the day you start
recording what makes each day special. And just like that,
today is different from all other days, just as you intended.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

(04:08):
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

(04:28):
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

(04:51):
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. H m
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