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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to get the confetti out of your schedule.
By being strategic, you might get longer stretches of time for things in your schedule, rather than small chunks of time that are hard to use well.
Many years ago in Brigid Schulte's book Overwhelmed, she coined the term time confetti to describe the little chunks of time that are scattered around so many schedules.
A few minutes while you're waiting for a meeting to start.
A few minutes before you need to go pick somebody up from basketball practice.
Now, Schulte was pretty negative about all this, but I do believe this time confetti can be used.
For instance, it is quite possible to read in 10-15 minute chunks.
You can do a quick strength workout in 10-15 minute chunks.
You can call a friend in 10-15 minute chunks.
I often work on my puzzles in 10-15 minute chunks.
I know this requires some planning ahead, which can be hard.
I think it's worth it, but I do know it is hard.
That said, with just a little bit more intention, it might be possible to minimize the existence of time confetti not get rid of it, but have less of it and have longer chunks of time for leisure or deeper work.
For instance, as you are doing your weekly planning and figuring out your professional and personal priorities for the next week, Look to see what is already on your schedule.
Are there little meetings stuck in the middle of otherwise open chunks of time?
Can these be moved?
Or do they really have to happen?
Reach out and see what the person wants to meet about.
Maybe it's a quick question.
That could be answered right then.
Or maybe you see meetings with 30 minutes of chunks of time between them.
While too much back-to-back stuff can be rough, you might prefer to have two meetings back-to-back and then have two hours open for other things than a different schedule configuration.
You might also be more strategic in your personal life.
The other night I decided that, with a little help from my teenagers, I didn't need to come home after dropping the 11-year-old off at something at 710 and before picking him up at 825.
I would only have gotten about 30 minutes at home and I would have had to spend an extra 40 minutes in the car.
By sitting in the lobby of his class.
I could work for 45 minutes and read a magazine for 30 minutes, enjoying this longer stretch of time.
Whether it's a carpool, putting activities close together or hiring someone to help, you might get yourself longer stretches of reasonably available space.
On weekends, I also try to be mindful of preserving open blocks of time.
I've generally tried to put my kids' activities in the morning or in the evening, so the afternoons can be open for adventures if we want, rather than driving people places with small chunks of time in between.
This doesn't always work, but if you are quick to sign up for things when schedules open, you can often get the times you want.
Some time.
Confetti is inevitable, so it's worth making a list of activities you can do in small chunks of time that don't feel like a waste.
But you might also be able to compress things or move things around to minimize the amount of confetti in your schedule.
It is worth giving it a try.
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, you can reach me at Laura at LauraVanderkam.com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media.
For more podcasts from iHeart Media, please visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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