Second Cup: Time is what you make of it

Make the most of the time you can control

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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 that time is what you make of it.
When you know how you are spending your time, now,

(00:25):
you can take steps to spend more time on what
you want and less on what you don't. Longtime listeners
know that I host regular time tracking challenges. If you
follow my blog Laura vandercam dot com, you can see
how I am spending my time this week, all one

(00:46):
hundred and sixty eight hours starting Monday morning to Sunday.
If you'd like, you can track along with me. I
know some people find it more motivating to do something
when others are doing it too. If you have never
tracked your time before, I encourage you to try it.
And if you have tried before, why not try again.

(01:10):
Life isn't static, and September is always a time of change.
New schedules require new strategies or at least recommitting to
the old ones. All you have to do is check
in three to four times per day and write down
what you did since the last check in. You can

(01:32):
use a spreadsheet like I do, or a time tracking
app or just write things down in a little notebook.
Just go with whatever is easiest for you and whatever
you think you will stick with. As you are doing this,
you can start reflecting on your time. One of the
things I see most clearly in every time log is

(01:54):
how much control I have over my time. Now. Granted,
I work for myself, so it makes sense that the
work hours will reflect some of that autonomy. But even
when it comes to the time I am spending with
my family and dealing with the schedules and needs of
five kids, there is choice. If I want to do

(02:16):
something fun in the evening, I can make a plan
and rally some of the younger kids to do it.
If I want to create some adventure on the weekend,
I have the power to make that come to be.
Even during constrained time, like when I am sitting with
a kid at an activity, I could be bored and

(02:37):
staring at my phone, or I could have been proactive
and gotten something fascinating from the library. Then I could
spend an hour reading that. During low energy times at night,
I can putter around the house, or I can think
about what might be rejuvenating, like sitting on the hammock

(02:57):
outside and looking at the stars or taking a bubble bath,
or doing a puzzle, or choose some combination of those things.
Time is what we make of it. Even within the
very real limits of life as it is, we have
the power to shift a lot. If a time log

(03:20):
shows that life is all work and family responsibilities, that
can be a nudge to text a friend and schedule
a get together. If life feels like all chores, that
can be a nudge to schedule in an hour of
reading and simply do that first on the weekend before
cleaning anything up at work. A day could be nothing

(03:43):
but emails and boring meetings that should have been emails.
Or maybe there can be a twenty minute coffee with
that young person that you are thrilled to Mentor we
can build the lives we want in the time that
we've got. So why not see where your time is
going now so you can figure out what to celebrate

(04:05):
and what to change. This week is a good week
to track, but any week is a good week to track.
Time is what we make of it, and I promise
that it is possible to make something really cool in
the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's

(04:27):
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. That's b the

(04:49):
number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com
that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.

(05:09):
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