This is an I Heart podcast.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
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 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 those strategies involved planning in new things like adventures and evening intentions and 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 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 have to be the default?
Maybe the default could be 20 minutes of hobby time and then screens.
Or 20 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 but you read with headphones in.
You 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 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 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. 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 take it as a sign to change my default of scrolling there when I'm sitting in 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 come up with.
You can always reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com.
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 iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
She said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night.
Along the central Texas plains, teens are dying.
Suicides that don't make sense.
Strange accidents and brutal murders.
In what seems to be a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad.
Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people.
There are people out there that absolutely know what happened.
Listen to Paper Ghosts, The Texas Teen Murders, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time?
You get Desi Arnaz on the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama.
I'll take you on a journey to Desi's life, how he redefined American television and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines waiting for a face like ours on screen.
Listen to, Starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an iHeart Podcast.
