Upgrade your defaults

Make sure your habits are serving you

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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 improve your defaults. Much of what we
do in life is routine, which means that small changes

(00:25):
can make a big difference. Today's tip was inspired by
my recent September Reset project. During the month of September,
I had lots of people track their time and then
try using some of my favorite time management strategies in
their lives. They then reflected on the results. Some of

(00:48):
those strategies involved planning in new things like adventures and
evening intentions an open space. One of the challenges people
faced was overcoming the inertia of doing the same things
over and over again. And don't get me wrong, routines
can be great. They can make good choices automatic, but

(01:12):
some defaults aren't so positive. For instance, a lot of
people have the default that once they get their kids
in bed at night, or once they finish their chores,
they sit down and watch something. If it's a favorite
show that was planned for and anticipated, great, If it's
just screen time because that's the default, well does that

(01:35):
have to be the default? Maybe the default could be
twenty minutes of hobby time and then screens, or twenty
minutes of chatting or reading and then screens. Even if
one party definitely wants to zone out on the couch,
that doesn't mean everyone needs to. You might set your
default that you sit with your partner on the couch,

(01:57):
but you read with headphones in are there, but being
together doesn't require that your default be something that you
are not excited about. Or maybe your default is that
you lie in bed scrolling for a while before it's
time for sleep. That is an easy default, but maybe
something else relaxing could take its place. Could you lie

(02:21):
in bed and look at magazines or look at pretty
coffee table books ordered from the library. That's not so
different from looking at Instagram. But you will change your default,
and maybe over time you can start making your default
reading real books. In any case, whenever you find yourself

(02:42):
doing something automatically, you might note why is this a
positive default? Is it a default you are happy about,
or is it a default that you might be able
to upgrade with minor tweaks. Sometimes life forces a change
to our defaults. Maybe you move or get a new job,

(03:05):
or start working in the office instead of remotely. Maybe
your kids change schools, or you have a new childcare arrangement,
or they start playing different sports. In my case, I
kept getting bumped out of a particular social media app.
I really have no idea why, but maybe this was
a good thing. Perhaps I shouldn't reset my password and

(03:27):
take it as a sign to change my default of
scrolling there. When I am sitting at my youngest child's
room waiting for him to fall asleep, well that is
another default I'd like to change. But he will grow
up eventually. How about you? What are your defaults? Other
ways to upgrade them? I'd love to hear what you

(03:48):
come up with. You can always reach me at Laura
at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for and here's to making the most of our time.

(04:11):
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 is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

(04:33):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.