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 to three.
I maintain that anything you do three times a week is a habit.
So, if you want to have something be a regular part of your life, just see if you can squeeze it in three times a week.
You might be surprised at what you can do.
Today's tip, like a few others recently, comes from my new book, Tranquility by Tuesday, Nine Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters.
In this book, I explore what happened when 150 people learned nine of my favorite time management rules over nine weeks.
One Tranquility by Tuesday rule, rule number four, to be exact, was that three times a week is a habit.
We can argue over how regularly anything needs to happen to be part of your identity, but three times a week is fairly regular.
It isn't daily, but most things don't need to be.
Indeed, I found that many people who claim to have daily habits often don't.
They do things Monday through Friday, which is five times a week.
Not daily. If the person skips Fridays or holidays or vacations, we wind up a lot closer to three than to seven.
In any case, aiming for three times a week can be liberating.
We might not be able to find space for things daily and particularly at the same time every single day, but we don't need to.
Three spots over the course of the 168 hours in a week can be enough.
So for instance, let's say you used to play an instrument, and you would like to get back to it.
You could lament that you can't play the piano for an hour every day like you did during your most serious studies.
But why is that the accepted standard?
Could you find 20 minutes, three times a week to play a low cost electronic keyboard?
Perhaps you could. That is just one total hour out of 168.
It seems doable. Or maybe you'd like to do some creative writing.
You don't have hours to hold yourself up in a garret.
But could you write for 20 to 30 minutes, three times a week?
It's just 60 to 90 minutes total.
Skip a show or two, and you're there.
Or maybe you fantasize about regular family meals.
You wanna be the kind of family that eats together.
But between work and kid schedules, there is no 6 PM pot roast being unveiled on its platter Monday through Friday.
So what? Maybe you all eat pancakes together on Saturday morning and Sunday dinner together before the week begins.
Just find one other time that works.
Maybe a late Tuesday dinner if that's a day when the activities are over early.
And just like that, you are a family that eats together.
Just get to three. I know I have found that this mindset is incredibly helpful, as I try to make space for things in my life.
Once upon a time, I ran every day.
That is no longer happening in this season of my life.
But I can definitely run three times a week.
And that means I am still a runner.
Our family meals happen as they can, but they do generally happen three times a week.
We are a family that eats together.
I practice the piano three times a week.
I blog at least three times per week.
None of this needs to be daily to count, but because it is regular, it can be a part of who I am.
What would you like to have be a regular part of your life?
You might not need to wait for some future time when life will calm down.
Life isn't going to calm down next week, it might not calm down next year.
But if you survey your life, you might already be doing what you desire once a week or so.
Just get to three. That is doable.
And when you do it, your life will feel better.
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 from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at beforebreakfastpod.
That's B -E, the number four, then breakfast, P -O -D.
You can also shoot me an email at beforebreakfastpodcast, at iheartmedia .com.
That before breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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