What do you want to see on your time log?

Ask how you would like to have spent your time to make this vision come true

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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 consider what you would like to see
in a time log for the coming week. When you

(00:23):
know how you hope to have spent your time, you
are more likely to actually do the things you want
to have done. Longtime listeners know that I often host
a time tracking challenge in January. This year is no exception.
Thousands of us will track our time together for a

(00:44):
week from January twelfth to January nineteenth. If you would
like to sign up, just go to Laura vandercam dot
com and enter your email address to get a time
log and daily motivational emails from me. Knowing where the
time goes can help us spend time better. Now, if

(01:06):
you do the time tracking challenge, I imagine you would
want to figure out how to make the most of
the opportunity. One of the biggest benefits is accountability. When
you know you're going to write down how you spend
your time, you may be more likely to make choices
with your time that you are proud of. But this
doesn't even have to be an in the moment, good

(01:28):
versus bad angel or devil kind of thing? Do I
want to read? Or do I want a doom scroll
for the next hour? What do I want to write
on my log? I think that, But before you even
start tracking, you can ask what you would like to
see on your time log at the end of the week.
By asking what you would like to see, you can

(01:49):
make plans and choices that increase the amount of time
spent on those things. So, for instance, if you would
like to know that you spent some time connecting with
your partner, you might propose that the two of you
bundle up and go for an evening walk on Tuesday
when you are both home, instead of just collapsing in

(02:09):
front of the TV. If you want to spend more
of your work hours investing in your relationships with colleagues,
you might reach out to a few about grabbing lunch
or coffee over the next week. Of course, these intentions
might also then inform your choices during the week. If
you know you want to see connection with your colleagues

(02:32):
and somebody suggests happy hour, you know that you would
be well served by arranging your life to make it happen.
You reach out to your spouse to see if they
can cover daycare pickup and you offered to do it
on another night to make up for it. Perhaps knowing
what you'd like to see on your time log will
even help you get creative. If a friend wants to

(02:55):
get together on Saturday morning and you are planning to
get groceries, then maybe you will try grocery delivery for
the first time, or you'll suggest your friend go grocery
shopping with you, call it a shop and schmooze. Either way,
knowing what you wanted to have in your log can
help ensure you get it there. I know lots of

(03:19):
people want to spend less time on things they don't
want to do, and I get that keeping track of
your time next week or any week might help you
see some possibilities for being more efficient. But just as important,
we should ask what we want to spend more time doing.
We should ask what we want to see reflected in

(03:40):
our time, because that empowers us to plan these things
in or to make choices that increase these activities in
the moment. In fact, even if you don't track your time,
it can be helpful to ask yourself a version of
this question, what do I want to have done this
week or what experiences would I be happy to look

(04:03):
back on today. When you involve your remembering self in
making decisions about how to spend your time, you are
more likely to spend your time in ways your remembering
self will be happy with. I would love to hear
how you would like to say you have spent your time.
You can email me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

(04:29):
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for
listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

(04:50):
you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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