WEBVTT - Is it a hobby or a necessity?

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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 that it is best not to mistake a

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<v Speaker 1>hobby for a necessity. We need to spend some time

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<v Speaker 1>on certain things, but perhaps not as much time as

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<v Speaker 1>people sometimes spend. So I love reviewing people's time logs,

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<v Speaker 1>partly because I am fascinated by the diversity of human

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<v Speaker 1>experiences and how we spend our time. We all need

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<v Speaker 1>to do certain things, such as cooking, cleaning, and getting dressed,

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<v Speaker 1>but people spend wildly varying amounts of time on these things.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes there are practical reasons. It's probably going to take

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<v Speaker 1>more time to cook for an eight person family than

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<v Speaker 1>just for yourself. But even if we are looking at

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<v Speaker 1>people in similar situations, say the person who generally cooks

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<v Speaker 1>for a four person family without any major allergies, people

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<v Speaker 1>can spend very different amounts of time on this task.

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<v Speaker 1>One person spends about twenty minutes each night preparing dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>and another spends an hour. Both families are probably not starving,

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<v Speaker 1>and both families are probably not eating total junk, since

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<v Speaker 1>cooking at home tends to wind up being on the

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<v Speaker 1>healthier side. Feeding your household is a necessity, but spending

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<v Speaker 1>an hour cooking dinner each night when it is possible

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<v Speaker 1>to make reasonable meals in thirty minutes just might mean

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<v Speaker 1>that cooking has become a hobby, same with tidying. Keeping

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<v Speaker 1>a home clean and orderly is a necessity so you

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<v Speaker 1>don't live in chaos, but spending both weekend afternoons scrubbing

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<v Speaker 1>so the place is ready for a design magazine photoshoot

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<v Speaker 1>is probably a hobby. Getting dressed is a necessity, but

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<v Speaker 1>spending time being on top of the latest clothing trends

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<v Speaker 1>and making sure those clothing trends are in your closet

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<v Speaker 1>is a hobby. I'd add that sometimes work can become

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<v Speaker 1>something of a hobby too. Working past the point of

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<v Speaker 1>diminishing returns on things that are not due the next

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<v Speaker 1>day because someone thinks it looks good to be seen

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<v Speaker 1>working late means that after hours work has basically become

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<v Speaker 1>a hobby. Now, hobbies are great, whatever people's hobbies. There

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<v Speaker 1>is a lot to be said for spending time on

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<v Speaker 1>things we love and that bring joy to our lives.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you would not actively choose weeknight cooking or

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<v Speaker 1>after hours work as a hobby, then maybe it's time

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<v Speaker 1>to re examine how you are spending your time. Consider

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<v Speaker 1>whether you could spend less time on these activities. Is

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<v Speaker 1>the full amount of time you are spending on them

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<v Speaker 1>necessary or past a certain point? Is this crossing over

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<v Speaker 1>into hobby territory. If it is, that is good to

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<v Speaker 1>know so that you can scale back the amount of

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<v Speaker 1>time you are spending on these things when life gets busy.

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<v Speaker 1>A rotisserie chicken and a bag salad is great as dinner.

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<v Speaker 1>Angel hair pasa that cooks in less than fifteen minutes,

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<v Speaker 1>plus a jar of sauce also works. As for getting dressed,

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe it's time for a uniform of sorts, something classic

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<v Speaker 1>you can wear in various versions over and over again,

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<v Speaker 1>so you can get dressed in five minutes. If work

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<v Speaker 1>has become your hobby, try taking up a real hobby,

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<v Speaker 1>like signing up for guitar lessons one night a week

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<v Speaker 1>so you have a reason to leave work on time.

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<v Speaker 1>My guess, as the work will still get done. Time

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<v Speaker 1>tends to be reasonably elastic. This truth that time is

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<v Speaker 1>elastic shows up in time data all over the place.

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<v Speaker 1>I study historic time amuse patterns, and One of the

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<v Speaker 1>most interesting is how much less housework women do now

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<v Speaker 1>than they did in the past. Sometimes people think this

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<v Speaker 1>is because of labor saving devices, but looking at when

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<v Speaker 1>the trends happened, I think the more powerful explanation is

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<v Speaker 1>that more women started working for pay, and so they

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<v Speaker 1>weren't in their homes all day. They spent less time

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<v Speaker 1>on housework because they weren't there. But people didn't all

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<v Speaker 1>start living in filth. Indeed, women who don't work outside

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<v Speaker 1>the home now still spend less time on housework than

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<v Speaker 1>women did about fifty years ago. When standards change, they

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<v Speaker 1>change for everyone. It seems that some of the housework

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<v Speaker 1>of the nineteen fifties and sixties was as much a

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<v Speaker 1>hobby as anything else, filling time when the kids were

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<v Speaker 1>at school if there wasn't anything else going on. In

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<v Speaker 1>any case, when you recognize that some things are more

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<v Speaker 1>hobby than necessity, then you can simplify if you want

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<v Speaker 1>this open up time for other things, like hobbies you'd

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy more. Personally, I prefer doing my puzzles or reading

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<v Speaker 1>to cleaning, so that seems like a good trade off

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<v Speaker 1>to me. In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for

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

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks 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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