WEBVTT - Leave space for opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to leave space for opportunity. When we feel

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<v Speaker 1>overwhelmingly busy, we decide we don't have the capacity to

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<v Speaker 1>take on anything new, which tends to push exciting new

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities away. Better to have enough mental space to evaluate

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<v Speaker 1>everything on its own merits. For many parents, the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the school year feels incredibly busy. Each week there

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<v Speaker 1>might be some schedule change due to testing or end

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<v Speaker 1>of year field trips. There are concerts and recitals and banquets.

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<v Speaker 1>Keeping track of all of it can be challenging. There

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<v Speaker 1>is a marked increase in mental load, as we call it.

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<v Speaker 1>In my new book, Big Time, I wrote about some

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<v Speaker 1>interesting research from political scientists finding that when people have

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<v Speaker 1>a sense of carrying a heavy mental load, they are

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<v Speaker 1>less likely to participate in public life in general. I

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<v Speaker 1>would imagine this applies to other things as well. You

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<v Speaker 1>might not pitch that big new idea at work when

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<v Speaker 1>you are struggling to keep track of everything that is

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<v Speaker 1>going on. You might not reach out to get together

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<v Speaker 1>with a potential new friend you find fascinating because well,

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<v Speaker 1>who has time for that. A few busy weeks each

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<v Speaker 1>year are okay, that is not permanent. But in general,

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<v Speaker 1>in life, we don't want to walk around with a

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<v Speaker 1>story that we are so busy that there is no

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<v Speaker 1>time for anything new. In many cases, new adventures and

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities would be great ways to spend our time. So

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<v Speaker 1>we want to make sure our lives aren't so cluttered

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<v Speaker 1>with things we are less excited about that we don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to take on new things. So how do we

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<v Speaker 1>do that? Longtime listeners know that I am a big

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<v Speaker 1>fan of having a designated weekly planning time. It is

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<v Speaker 1>good to make sure you are on top of things,

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<v Speaker 1>which is the purpose of planning. But it is not

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<v Speaker 1>just that. When I know I have a regular time

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<v Speaker 1>for planning, I also know I don't have to spend

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of my time planning. As we are writing this,

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<v Speaker 1>I have just learned that an upcoming day about six

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<v Speaker 1>weeks in the future is going to be logistically complicated.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I could spend the next six weeks stewing about that,

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<v Speaker 1>or I could just make a note to figure that

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<v Speaker 1>out during my next weekly planning session. It is also

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<v Speaker 1>helpful to evaluate everything in your life with an eye

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<v Speaker 1>toward whether it's something you are excited about or something

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<v Speaker 1>you are not excited about. Now, I am not saying

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<v Speaker 1>you get out of the stuff you aren't excited about,

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<v Speaker 1>but you might be able to get out of some

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<v Speaker 1>of it. Certainly, over six to twelve months you could

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<v Speaker 1>probably offloat a lot. You also want to be protective

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<v Speaker 1>of your mental and temporal space. Don't cut your work

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<v Speaker 1>hours too short, even if you work flexibly. Perhaps maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you could pick up your kids at school every day,

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<v Speaker 1>but maybe you don't want to do this every day.

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<v Speaker 1>You might carpool or enlist some other help, or use

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<v Speaker 1>aftercare because some days you want to make sure your

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<v Speaker 1>workdays feel a little bit longer so you can have

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<v Speaker 1>that sense of spaciousness that allows you to ponder new possibilities.

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<v Speaker 1>It is in that space that you will send an

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<v Speaker 1>email to someone you haven't talked with in a while

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<v Speaker 1>wind up with a fruitful collaboration. It is in that

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<v Speaker 1>space that you will read to the end of an

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<v Speaker 1>article and have an idea that will lead to a breakthrough.

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<v Speaker 1>We can all be more efficient, but space is what

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<v Speaker 1>allows us to think and create, So don't sell this

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<v Speaker 1>space short. In your schedule. A busy season is one thing,

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<v Speaker 1>but when life feels overwhelmingly busy for the long haul,

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<v Speaker 1>that is a problem. But I am also guessing it

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<v Speaker 1>is something that over the long haul, you can do

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<v Speaker 1>something about. In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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