WEBVTT - Second Cup: Think 168 hours, not 24

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to think a hundred sixty eight hours,

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<v Speaker 1>not twenty four. When I first started writing about time

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<v Speaker 1>many years ago, I realized something. A lot of people

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<v Speaker 1>said the phrase seven, but no one multiplied it through.

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<v Speaker 1>I certainly hadn't. I had to get out a pen

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<v Speaker 1>and some paper to do the math. It turns out

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<v Speaker 1>there are a hundred sixty eight hours in a week.

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<v Speaker 1>This number is important for a few reasons. First, a

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<v Speaker 1>week is the cycle of life as we actually live it.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the smallest unit of time that offers a

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<v Speaker 1>representative picture of life. If I chose a random twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four hours of your life, it would look very different

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<v Speaker 1>if I chose a Tuesday or a Saturday. If I

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<v Speaker 1>choose a random a hundred sixty eight hours, though the

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<v Speaker 1>odds are much better that my next pick of a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred sixty eight hours would look at least reasonably similar. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>look can get A week shows us how much time

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<v Speaker 1>we have. Things that appear to consume a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>time don't in the context of a week. Regular listeners

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<v Speaker 1>of this podcast will hear me say this equation A

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<v Speaker 1>lot with a hundred sixty eight hours in a week.

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<v Speaker 1>If you work a regular full time job, so forty

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<v Speaker 1>hours per week and sleep eight hours a night, so

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<v Speaker 1>that's fifty six hours per week. That leaves seventy two

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<v Speaker 1>hours for other things. If you work fifty hours, you

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<v Speaker 1>still get sixty two hours. This might not be a

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<v Speaker 1>parent on a Tuesday when you're in the office from

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<v Speaker 1>eight am to seven pm, but those sixty two hours

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<v Speaker 1>show up when you plot out the whole week. But

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<v Speaker 1>it's not just about the math. I think the hundred

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<v Speaker 1>sixty eight hours number is important because it helps us

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<v Speaker 1>see that things don't have to happen daily, nor do

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<v Speaker 1>they have to happen at the same time every day

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<v Speaker 1>in order to count in our lives. I call this

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<v Speaker 1>belief that things have to happen every day at the

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<v Speaker 1>same time the twenty four hour trap. I see it

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<v Speaker 1>most often with wait for it, exercise. You may have

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<v Speaker 1>fallen into this trap yourself. People often tell me they

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<v Speaker 1>want to exercise more, and then they tuck themselves out

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<v Speaker 1>of it because there's not a perfect time every single day.

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<v Speaker 1>You know how these conversations go, Oh, I'd love to exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm not the kind of person who can just

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<v Speaker 1>leave for an hour every day at lunch. Or I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to exercise, but I have a family I want

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<v Speaker 1>to see. I can't go to the gym for an

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<v Speaker 1>hour every night after work. Or I'd love to exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>but I wake up early enough as it is. I

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<v Speaker 1>can't stomach the thought of waking up at five am

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<v Speaker 1>every day. So don't wake up at five am every day.

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<v Speaker 1>Stop looking for the perfect time every single day. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>look at the whole of the week and see where

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<v Speaker 1>you can fit it in. Maybe one morning you get

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<v Speaker 1>up early and exercise. If you're co parenting with someone,

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<v Speaker 1>you could trade off and each of you gets one

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<v Speaker 1>night off. You could go to the gym, then do

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<v Speaker 1>something on each of the two weekend days, and wow,

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<v Speaker 1>we've just exercised four times a week. It didn't happen

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<v Speaker 1>daily at the same time every day, but it didn't

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<v Speaker 1>have to. And funny thing, because I write about time management,

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<v Speaker 1>people often want to tell me about their great daily habits.

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<v Speaker 1>This is one of these occupational hazards I didn't foresee.

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<v Speaker 1>But I'm like, okay, great, tell me about your great

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<v Speaker 1>daily habit. And then I realized after a while that

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<v Speaker 1>the person does this awesome habit Monday through Thursday. But

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<v Speaker 1>that is not daily, that is four times a week.

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<v Speaker 1>So rather than fall into the twenty four hour trap,

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<v Speaker 1>look at the whole week. I find this is especially

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<v Speaker 1>helpful when it comes to issues of combining work and

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of life. People sometimes fret to me that

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<v Speaker 1>their balances out of whack because they had to stay

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<v Speaker 1>late at work, or maybe they travel frequently. So we

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<v Speaker 1>look at their timelogs and we find out let's say,

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<v Speaker 1>on average, they stay late past their kids bed time

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<v Speaker 1>at work two times per week, but that means their

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<v Speaker 1>home five nights a week. Five is greater than two.

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<v Speaker 1>So rather than look at the one night where it

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<v Speaker 1>appears work and family are pitted against each other, or

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<v Speaker 1>the two nights where it appears work and family are

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<v Speaker 1>pitted against each other, why not look at the whole week.

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<v Speaker 1>Then we see that we have space for both. People

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<v Speaker 1>often say to me, you know, there aren't enough hours

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<v Speaker 1>in the day, and I agree, but we don't live

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<v Speaker 1>our lives and dates. We live our lives in weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>and when we think of a hundred sixty hours, not

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four, we see that we can build the lives

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<v Speaker 1>we want in the time we've got in the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody got a tip

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<v Speaker 1>or a question. You can share them with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook or Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's be the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>email me at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart media dot

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<v Speaker 1>com for the email to spell those words out. I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to connecting and learning how you make the

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<v Speaker 1>most of your time.