LanguaTalk

Before Breakfast

In each bite-sized, daily episode of Before Breakfast, host Laura Vanderkam shares a time management strategy or an answer to a listener’s schedule question. How can listeners make the most of their time, both at work and at home? The mission is to give listeners practical tools to feel less busy and get more done.

Strengthen the story

5 mins; August 14, 2024

Share a subscription

4 mins; August 13, 2024

Mediocre ideas can lead to good ones

5 mins; August 12, 2024

Make the rest fair

5 mins; August 11, 2024

Second Cup: Write your own operating manual

5 mins; August 10, 2024

Second Cup: In praise of book reports

4 mins; August 09, 2024

Buy a box of birthday cards

3 mins; August 08, 2024

Time solves many problems

3 mins; August 07, 2024

Be flexible on the details

3 mins; August 06, 2024

Waste time better

6 mins; August 05, 2024

Give plants as gifts

4 mins; August 04, 2024

Second Cup: It might not take that long

4 mins; August 03, 2024

Second Cup: Kindness cascades

5 mins; August 02, 2024

Make complete plans, even if they're tentative

6 mins; August 01, 2024

Make a wardrobe photo file

4 mins; July 31, 2024

Run into people

5 mins; July 30, 2024

Hand out SASEs

4 mins; July 29, 2024

Try 2-a-days

5 mins; July 28, 2024

Second Cup: Be generous with time

5 mins; July 27, 2024

Second Cup: Build in a little social time

5 mins; July 26, 2024

Capture travel memories on the way home

6 mins; July 25, 2024

Work side by side

5 mins; July 24, 2024

Friends don't always come in pairs

4 mins; July 23, 2024

If you can't get out of it, get into it

4 mins; July 22, 2024

Cultivate a Saturday vibe

5 mins; July 21, 2024

Second Cup: Give them what they won't give themselves

4 mins; July 20, 2024

Second Cup: Aim to wake before your alarm

5 mins; July 19, 2024

Make a to-love list

4 mins; July 18, 2024

Create occasions for sharing

4 mins; July 17, 2024

Make an offer

4 mins; July 16, 2024

You can go a long way in a weekend

3 mins; July 15, 2024

Magic happens in the mushy middle

5 mins; July 14, 2024

Second Cup: Revisit those New Year's resolutions

6 mins; July 13, 2024

Second Cup: Make time for a side hustle

6 mins; July 12, 2024

Useful, beautiful, inherited, hopeful

6 mins; July 11, 2024

How busy people can travel more

9 mins; July 10, 2024

Make time for your athletic dreams

7 mins; July 09, 2024

What stories does your home tell?

5 mins; July 08, 2024

Make silence meaningful

4 mins; July 07, 2024

Second Cup: Get out of a slump

5 mins; July 06, 2024

Second Cup: Commute with a friend

4 mins; July 05, 2024

Don't decide hungry

4 mins; July 04, 2024

Once is an emergency

4 mins; July 03, 2024

One tip for working with you

4 mins; July 02, 2024

Limit the stacks of stuff

5 mins; July 01, 2024

Old photos make for good scrolling

4 mins; June 30, 2024

Second Cup: Routines are like a rose garden

5 mins; June 29, 2024

Second Cup: Indulge in a vacation food

5 mins; June 28, 2024

How to make a work BFF

6 mins; June 27, 2024

Celebrate your work BFF

5 mins; June 26, 2024

You can pivot

4 mins; June 25, 2024

Make invitations specific

4 mins; June 24, 2024

Look for context friends

4 mins; June 23, 2024

Second Cup: Build in travel time, even on Zoom

5 mins; June 22, 2024

Second Cup: If you can't work, plan

6 mins; June 21, 2024

If you're disengaged, clean the office fridge

4 mins; June 20, 2024

Keep score (of the right things)

4 mins; June 19, 2024

Introduce new constraints

4 mins; June 18, 2024

Let your ideas ripen

5 mins; June 17, 2024

Ask for stories, not advice

4 mins; June 16, 2024

Second Cup: Make a good day (almost) perfect

5 mins; June 15, 2024

Second Cup: You can repeat it

5 mins; June 14, 2024

What question are you answering?

4 mins; June 13, 2024

Flexibility matters more than hours

6 mins; June 12, 2024

See what's nearby

4 mins; June 11, 2024

You need a busy basket

4 mins; June 10, 2024

Plan your travel portfolio

4 mins; June 09, 2024

Second Cup: How to maximize your vacation days

5 mins; June 08, 2024

Introducing: More Better with Stephanie & Melissa

1 min; June 08, 2024

Second Cup: Vacation plans vs. spontaneity

4 mins; June 07, 2024

Mentor for the moment

3 mins; June 06, 2024

Use this tip from French cooking to be more efficient

4 mins; June 05, 2024

Plan for depletion

4 mins; June 04, 2024

Ask about colleagues' vacation schedules

4 mins; June 03, 2024

What does it cost to be you?

5 mins; June 02, 2024

Second Cup: Keep one calendar

7 mins; June 01, 2024

Second Cup: Get it out of your head

6 mins; May 31, 2024

Clean for yourself

4 mins; May 30, 2024

Pack a day before

5 mins; May 29, 2024

Notice your free time

4 mins; May 28, 2024

Round early

5 mins; May 27, 2024

End your vacation on a high note

4 mins; May 26, 2024

Second Cup: Wait a minute

4 mins; May 25, 2024

Second Cup: Productivity doesn't always look productive

4 mins; May 24, 2024

Treat your network like a garden

6 mins; May 23, 2024

Smile at 10

4 mins; May 22, 2024

Remind yourself of your resolutions

4 mins; May 21, 2024

Go see someone

6 mins; May 20, 2024

Begin by thinking about the end

5 mins; May 19, 2024

Second Cup: Don't go for the least common denominator

5 mins; May 18, 2024

Second Cup: Something active, something creative

6 mins; May 17, 2024

Be a learn-it-all

5 mins; May 16, 2024

Enjoy your efficiency dividend

5 mins; May 15, 2024

Feedback is about the person giving it

5 mins; May 14, 2024

Meetings don't need spectators

5 mins; May 13, 2024

Keep your office supplies handy

5 mins; May 12, 2024

Second Cup: Plan it in, do it anyway

7 mins; May 11, 2024

Second Cup: Why we procrastinate

6 mins; May 10, 2024

Treat this weekend like a vacation

5 mins; May 09, 2024

Plan in a different place

5 mins; May 08, 2024

Click here to see more

Before Breakfast

Useful pages

Find a tutor

Languages