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You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Hey, listeners. We know you're all about making the most of your time. So why not turn your lunch break into a growth break with Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman. Every Tuesday, Ken sits down with top experts to explore the real questions that help you thrive at work and in life. Questions like, what are the 10 best foods for your memory? Or how can you ask for the raise you want and actually get it?
If you love thoughtful advice and smart strategies, check out Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning, this is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is about one upside of daily habits that are truly daily. You know that even if you do nothing else on any particular day,
you will have done your daily habits. If you choose these habits well, that can make for a reasonably productive day. So like everyone, I have days that feel frustrating. Sometimes this is because I lack energy to do anything of consequence. Sometimes it's because of other circumstances. There was one particular day recently that prompted this episode when I had a number of important conversations scheduled and all of them got canceled,
or didn't feature everyone they should have to make a decision, because of various illnesses and such things going around. Like I said, frustrating. But I do have a few things I do every single day, as steps toward long-term goals. I read a little bit in my year-long reading project. This year, it's all the works of Jane Austen. And I write a little bit in my year-long writing project. This year, I'm writing two lines of a sonnet each day.
So I will have 52 sonnets by New Year's. So even on a day when nothing else has happened, I know I will have read 10 pages of Jane Austen and written one seventh of a sonnet. It's not much, but it isn't nothing. I have made some progress on long-term things. The day isn't a total loss and much of life is mental anyway.
Whether you are productive or not is mostly a matter of whether you feel productive or not. In the grand scheme of things, it probably doesn't matter what any of us do. But when you feel a day hasn't been a total loss, you might be more inclined to make a little more progress on lots of things, or at least be in a more cheerful mood. So with that in mind, perhaps you'd like to start some sort of daily habit that could give you a baseline sense of accomplishment.
For something to become a successful daily habit, it needs to be pretty doable. It can't take much time, ideally just a few minutes. It has to be something you find reasonably enjoyable. And it can't be logistically complex, or you won't do it while you're traveling, or on weekends, or any other time when you might not be around your normal tools and environment, or have your usual schedule. But if you write a thank you note to someone every single day,
you know that even on a day that feels terrible, at least you wrote a thank you note. If you listen to 10 minutes of Bach's music every day, then even on a terrible day, you will have listened to 10 minutes of great music. And if you have listened to something amazing, how terrible can the day really be? So figure out what you could do as an everyday habit, and you will be able to find a bright side of even a dismal day.
Now, obviously, if the day is truly horrendous in certain ways, you might not be able to do your daily habit. But for most run-of-the-mill bad days, you will. And then, maybe, the day won't seem so bad. 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.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Hey, listeners. We know you're all about making the most of your time. So why not turn your lunch break into a growth break with Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman. Every Tuesday, Ken sits down with top experts to explore the real questions that help you thrive at work and in life.
Questions like, what are the 10 best foods for your memory? Or how can you ask for the raise you want and actually get it? If you love thoughtful advice and smart strategies...
Check out Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman, wherever you get your podcasts. This is Radhida Vloukia from A Really Good Cry. Apothecary is a leading health and wellness brand dedicated to harnessing the power of plant medicine, formulating clean, effective herbal remedies that target the root cause of health imbalances. Their tinctures are easy to take directly into your mouth or mix into a delicious functional mocktail.
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