This is an iHeart Podcast.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to think about what you want to see when you look back on this year.
Then do what you can now to bring that vision to life.
So when this episode first airs, it is the beginning of November.
A lot of the year has already happened.
I hope that many of your dreams and and plans for the year have become reality.
But the beginning of November is not, in fact, the end of the year.
There is still time to make memories you will be happy to recall on January 1st.
So imagine yourself on New Year's Day.
Maybe you are having a chill brunch with your roommates after a late night spent celebrating.
Maybe you and your family have a tradition of going for a hike on New Year's Day.
Maybe on New Year's Day you sleep in and then spend some time journaling by a fire with a cup of tea.
Or maybe your baby is screaming for you at 6 a.m. as she does every morning.
Little kids don't really get the idea of holidays.
I get it.
But whatever the context, you are almost sure to reflect on the year that just ended.
What memories do you want to have made?
What do you want to have accomplished?
What do you hope is better on January 1st of next year as compared to January 1st of this past year?
Perhaps you want to look back on a Christmas that is joyful for everyone in your family, even for you.
That might mean spending some time deciding which holiday experiences you'd like to get on the calendar and which festive recipes you would like to make.
It might involve a few hours of ordering thoughtful gifts now, so you avoid the stress of holiday shopping with the crowds.
You might also decide on things you are not doing, so you can leave time for what matters most to you and the people you care about.
Or maybe you want to get a new job this year.
It's not necessarily an easy time to be job seeking, But if you want to look back on getting a new job this year well, the only way that is going to happen is if you have some conversations and send out some feelers and resumes now.
So why not get to it?
You might want to look back on.
Finally, dealing with a project that you have been putting off writing a will toilet training a child who is perfectly content in diapers.
Replacing an atrocious light fixture in your kitchen.
It's time to get started.
You might have some ideas for self-improvement.
Maybe you want a consistent routine for your own bedtime and waking time.
Or maybe you want to get back into running so you can run a New Year's Day 5K.
It is not too late at all.
But you don't have endless time to burn.
So get going.
Now is good.
I've noticed that people tend to overestimate what they can do in an hour and underestimate what they can do in a year.
You can do a lot in a year.
And even though it is already November, you can still do a lot between now and January 1st.
The year you look back on is not etched in stone.
There is still room to sculpt it into what you want.
And I'd note that this exercise of thinking about what you want to look back on is useful as you set your goals for the next year too.
You can picture yourself about 14 months from now with some fantastic accomplishments that you are looking back on.
What are those?
When we think about what we want to look back on, we think about what could matter most.
Then, we can spend our time on those things as top priorities because...
Truly, they are.
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.
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Podcast Health Stuff we are tackling all the health questions that keep you up at night.
I'm Dr. Priyanka Wally, a double board certified physician.
And I'm Hari Kundabolu, a comedian and someone who once Googled, do I have scurvy at 3am?
And on our show we're talking about health in a different way, like our episode where we look at diabetes.
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How preventable is type 2?
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