Reclaim Lost Time for What Matters Most #50

Discover a unique approach to time management specifically designed for dog lovers. The Pupadoro Process—a creative adaptation of the traditional PomodoroⓇ Technique—combines focused work intervals with dedicated dog interaction breaks, promoting both productivity and pet bonding.

The episode delves into two primary strategies: systematic time tracking and the Pupadoro Process. Mary Debono emphasizes the importance of understanding current time usage patterns through detailed tracking, highlighting how small changes can lead to significant improvements in living a more fulfilled, interesting life. 

She provides practical implementation tips, including the use of 15-minute increment tracking and the identification of time-wasting activities.

The innovative Pupadoro Process transforms traditional work breaks into meaningful moments with your dog, whether through short training sessions, hands-on Debono Moves, or simple playtime. This approach not only enhances productivity but also strengthens the human-animal bond and promotes better physical and mental well-being for both you and your dog. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Track your time in 15-minute increments to identify where your day really goes
2. Implement the Pupador Process: focused work periods followed by dog-centered breaks
3. Make sleep and dog time "non-negotiables" in your schedule
4. Use physical calendars for better time visualization and commitment
5. Transform mindless scrolling time into meaningful dog interaction
6. Integrate dog-specific activities into regular work breaks
7. Use connected breathing during breaks to enhance the human-animal bond

Resources:

Grab your FREE video training to help your dog. 🐕 https://www.marydebono.com/lovedog 💥

Join our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DogHealthAndVitality

Get Mary’s bestselling, award-winning book, “Grow Young with Your Dog,” for a super low price at: https://tinyurl.com/growyoungwithyourdog. Demonstration videos are included at no extra cost. ⬅️⬅️⬅️

All information is for general educational purposes ONLY and doesn't constitute medical or veterinary advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider if you or your dog are unwell or injured.

About the Host:

Mary Debono is a pioneer in animal and human wellness, blending her expertise as an international clinician, best-selling author, and certified Feldenkrais Method® practitioner. With over three decades of experience, Mary developed Debono Moves, a groundbreaking approach that enhances the movement, well-being, and connection of animals and their human companions.

Mary's innovative approach draws from the Feldenkrais Method®, tailored specifically for the canine world. Her methods have helped dogs and humans:

• Improve athletic ability and performance
• Enhance confidence and reduce anxiety
• Reduce physical limitations and discomfort
• Deepen the canine-human bond

Mary's best-selling, award-winning book, "Grow Young with Your Dog,”  offers a unique opportunity to experience the benefits of Feldenkrais® while learning her signature hands-on work for dogs. This approach has helped dogs and their people move with ease and confidence. Visit https://www.marydebono.com/you-and-your-dog.

TRANSCRIPT:

Would you like a way to get a little extra time in your day or maybe a lot of extra time in your day? Well, stay tuned because I have some easy to implement tips that I think can help you get more juice out of your day in case we're meeting for the first time. My name is Mary Debono and this is the Easier Movement, Happier Dogs podcast. So yeah, you know, we probably all wish there were more hours in the day, right?

It's like, ah, we, we all get 24 hours but for some reason it seems like we can't get everything done that we want to get done. Maybe we want to have more time to spend with our dogs, more time learning, you know, really developing our skills as dog trainers. Maybe we want to learn hands on work to help our dogs feel better in body and mind. And that's what I specialize in, by the way, is this, you know, teaching people how they can help their dogs, whether they're senior dogs that are developing, you know, stiffness and things like that, or a younger dog maybe recovering from an injury or an any age dog that has maybe anxiety or they just want to help their dog perform optimally, like happy, as athletic and healthy as possible in body and mind.

So let's get back to this idea of how can we give you a little extra time. Sounds impossible, right? But there's a saying, what gets measured gets managed, right? So that means that when you start to track things, when you kind of like look at metrics, you become more aware of how you're, in this case, how you're using your time. Because let's face it, there are so many times throughout the day where we're just on autopilot, right?

We're just doing our stuff the way we've always done it. Or maybe we've gotten into that terrible habit that we seem to, a lot of us seem to have of picking up our darn phone constantly. Because it's, it's designed to draw your attention, it's designed to kind of, you know, tempt you, if you will, right? And, and maybe you're not someone who just constantly picks up their phone, but maybe there's other things you're doing that are not actually helping you in the long run.

So let's think about this. So I like to think about non negotiables that you kind of like make a point of saying, for example, sleep. I love sleep. Sleep is so important for you. It helps you be happier and healthier and be able to, to be a better partner for your dog. So you want to make sure that you get to bed on time, right? And that then you get up at a reasonable hour, that you've had plenty of sleep, that you feel really good.

And of course we know that if you keep a consistent sleep schedule throughout the week, meaning how you get up on Monday is how you get up on Sunday, but I'll leave that up to you. But that's, that's often recommended. So you go to bed and get up at approximately the same time if your schedule allows it. So that's a non negotiable. But another non negotiable might be putting time in your calendar to, you know, spend time with your dog, to like putting it down, like actually writing it down, whether you have a physical calendar.

I love physical calendars, by the way. I also have online, tons of online stuff, but I like the physical thing. There's something about writing it down and like drawing that line through it. Like between this and this time, this is what I'm going to do. And it doesn't mean you have to stay stuck to that. But, but I find it's a really good thing to do. And then when I talked about what gets measured, gets managed, it's this, this idea of keeping like a bit of a diary, like a time tracker so that you can start to get a sense of how am I spending my time.

So what's nice to do and that you could find templates online or you could make up one, but you know, you just have all the hours from when you get up to when you go to bed, maybe in 15 minute increments. And you just, you know, briefly write, you know, what you're doing, you're working on this work project or you know, you're going grocery shopping or you're, you know, doing, training your dog or studying something that's going to improve your life or your dog's life.

And then it's also very, very important to write down those times when you're mindlessly scrolling on your phone or on your desktop or iPad. And you could even, I like to like highlight that, right, have a little marker and highlight that if you're doing it, you know, on paper. And you might want to then add up all those times that it really wasn't contributing to your well being or your dog's well being.

And so, so that's one thing. That's what I'm going to say. That's one thing. I really encourage you for at least a full week, better even a month or more to some people, just do it all the time. They kind of track their time. And it doesn't mean you have to be compulsive about it, but you start to get an idea of where your time is going. So Dr.

Moshe Feldenkrais, the man who developed the Feldenkrais method, it's like a form of movement education, if you will, for humans. And I'm a Feldenkrais practitioner and his work has strongly informed my work with animals. He would always say, you know, you have to know what you're doing to be able to do what you want. Which means you have to have an awareness of what you're doing currently to be able to change it.

And that's how it is with time. You have to have an awareness of where your time is going, how are you spending it, how are you spending your time? Really get clear on that. And again, tracking it physically can be really, really helpful. Another little quick time thing I'm going to share with you is something that I call the poro process. You might have heard of the pomodoro technique.

Pomodoro technique was. Oh, and I can't think of the man's name, believe he was Italian who developed this kind of like a productivity tool. And the reason I called it the Pomodoro technique is pomodoro means, I understand it means tomato in Italian. And he had this kitchen timer that was in the shape of a tomato, right look like a tomato, plastic timer. And he would set that and he, he would usually recommend you go into like work in increments of like 25 minutes or two 25 minute blocks.

Then you take a break. So he had very specific things and you can decide how long the blocks would be of what you're doing. But you know, he would say, you work for this amount of time and then you take like a five minute break or after a few of those blocks you take a 10 minute break, something like that. Well, I've tweaked that a little bit by saying, I call it the Papadoro process.

And I actually started this at the very beginning of the pandemic is when I started telling people about this. I'm like, you know, what if you're working from home now, because many people were working from home during the pandemic and some people still are, so. Or they bring their dog to work with them or whatever. What I like to think about is you, you, you decide on an amount of time that you're doing a project, right?

You're working on something for 25 minutes. Then your five minute break is spent adoring your pup. Hence puppodoro. Okay, it's kind of a little play on words, but when I say adoring, it's maybe you, maybe you simply pet your dog, do a quick game of, you know, of a fetch or you do some of my work, the De Bono moves. I find that that's really helpful. Maybe you go into some connected breathing for just a few minutes, helps you calm down, helps your dog calm down, deepens that bond between you.

All kinds of neuroscience behind it, you know, or you do another one of my hands on processes with your dog or whatever it is you decide to do. You know, just maybe you dance, you put on some music and you dance around, jump around with your dog and have some fun. Whatever it is, it should be some. Could be something that is enhancing your life and your dog's life.

So those are two little, little tips for you this week. So I hope you enjoyed them again. Remember, notice where your time is going and you'll be surprised, right, that you might be able to pull out extra time in your day, right, when you start saying, do I really need to spend 30 minutes on Instagram, you know, looking at everybody else, comparing my life to everybody else? I don't think so.

What have I spent that time instead? Doing something with my dog or doing something that's going to improve my movement and comfort and well being so I can play more effectively with my dog, go on longer walks and hikes and run and do all the fun things right and feel really good about it. Which leads me to tell you this. I will be opening up very soon a Feldenkrais movement series for you.

This isn't for your dog, but it will improve your help your dog too, because it'll improve how you move. And it's all about how you can sit in an effortless, balanced way. Many of us sit, whether we're working behind a desk, driving our car or doing any number of things right. So you want to be able to sit in a really comfortable, healthy way. And the lessons, we call them movement lessons, not exercises.

But they're, they're very gentle movement exercises, if you will. But what they do is they just help you all over. They help improve your. So I'm kind of having a focus on sitting, but the lessons won't be done sitting for the most part. There's one that will be for sure, but there's other ones that will be done in different positions on the floor. So anyway, I will post a link to information for that in the description of wherever you're listening or watching this.

But let's get back to what we were saying, track your time, and then start playing around with the Papadoro process. Okay? Remember, do some work. Have some fun with your dog. All right. Thank you so much for joining me. I love sharing these little tips and tricks with you, and I look forward to talking to you again soon. Bye for now.