Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to notice and embrace one on one time with the people you care about. Special occasions are great, but there might be moments in everyday life that can be special as well. Longtime readers and listeners know that I've often tried to do mommy days with my kids. I have a lot of kids, and it can be really fun to spend a day with just one of them,
doing what the kid wants to do. I know a lot of people try to do something similar, especially over the summer, when more flexible schedules make that possible. But it is not always possible, and even if it is, it is probably not wise to pin all your hopes for a relationship on a particular day. Instead, I think it's also wise to notice and embrace one on one movements that just happen in the course of life, even if they aren't planned. They do happen, and they can
be meaningful too. For instance, there are plenty of times when, out of necessity, a parent is just with one kid. Maybe you are taking a teen to an orthodonist appointment in the middle of a school day. Maybe you are driving a kid to a swim meet on the other side of town. Maybe one kid is out of friends and you only have the other at home and you
need to run an errand. With a mindset of noticing and embracing one on one time, you can pay more attention to these instances and try to make them meaningful. For instance, maybe you offer to take your kid out for ice cream before bringing her back to school after an appointment. Maybe you ask your kid to be the DJ for your car as a way to get the AirPods out of their ears and get them talking. Maybe you offer to stop somewhere that your kid enjoys after
your errands. These things aren't in lieu of one on one days, which I think are great. They are just in addition, but they all make deposits into your relationship bank account. Noticing and embracing one on one time is relevant for other relationships too. If you are sharing a cab to a meeting with a colleague, actually talk with each other about work, about your lives, or your shared interests.
Make the most of this time for relationship building. If you're taking your elderly mother to a doctor's appointment, you can spend the time in the waiting room chatting and sharing memories. Let it be meaningful time for connection, not just an interruption to your work. I hear from many people who want to fit in more focused time for relationships,
and that can be great. But you may be able to get more time for connection without adding anything to your schedule by simply noticing and being present for the one on one time you are already spending with your loved ones. Keep your eyes open, be present, and you just might find that you are already making progress on this front. 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 Laura vandercam dot 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.