Second Cup: Day by day

A time for planning means you don't always need to be planning

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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 for times when life feels a bit overwhelming,
remember that you don't have to figure out forever. If

(00:28):
today is manageable and probably the next few days, you
are good. Save the logistical ruminations for times you have
set aside to ponder these things. I know that a
lot of my listeners are champion planners. We set long

(00:49):
term goals, we plan excellent vacations, and we get the
right hotels because we book ahead of time. We solve
logistical problems that would foil mere mortals. That is all fantastic.
I think it's a great way to go through life,
and champion planning allows us to have much bigger lives

(01:12):
than we would otherwise. However, if you are like me,
you may find yourself chewing on logistical planning problems a lot,
sometimes at all hours of the day and night. As
soon as I have figured out how I take one
business trip when my husband is also working and we

(01:33):
are suddenly dealing with a temporary childcare situation, I'm onto
the next trip. In pondering our outfits for family photos,
and how I will organize all the weekends in December
and so forth. The key is finding the right balance.
Today is going to be a great day, and so

(01:54):
I can enjoy this day as it is without spending
much of my mental inner pondering the future. This is
going to be a great weekend and I can look
forward to it without worrying so much about logistical problems
two weeks down the road. Now. I am not saying
don't plan. I am saying put planning at certain times

(02:20):
and then get out of planning mode at other times.
I actually think this is a great reason to set
a designated weekly planning time. I know that every Friday
I have carved out time to plan. Indeed, rule number
two in tranquility by Tuesday. My most recent time management

(02:41):
book is to plan on Friday. My primary focus is
the upcoming Monday to Sunday week with some attention focused
on confirming the immediately upcoming Saturday to Sunday weekend. However,
I can also take some time then to look up
ahead and see what's coming up and see if there

(03:03):
are problems that need to be solved. When you know
there is a designated time for this future thinking. You
don't have to spend all your time on future thinking.
If you find yourself wondering about an upcoming logistical difficulty,
you can simply tell yourself that there is a time

(03:24):
for thinking about that. Now is not that time. Now
is the time for thinking about other things. All of
this is easier said than done. Of course, those of
us who do often think in future tense can't exactly
turn off that function completely. But given that the future

(03:48):
is to some degree unknowable, it behooves us not to
obsess over it. I know I spend a lot of
time in early twenty twenty worrying about two week INDs
in May that we're going to be incredibly challenging to
pull off. Then, of course, the entire world was shut down,

(04:09):
and I didn't have to solve those problems. We had
other problems, but not those. So make sure you're good
for the next few days, and then make sure you
have a designated weekly planning time when you will think
about all future logistical issues. You'll be able to enjoy
the present and make sure you have a good future,

(04:33):
which is a win all around. In the meantime, this
is Laura, Thanks for listening and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear

(04:54):
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 that's b E the
number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia

(05:14):
dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look forward to
staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

(05:35):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.