WEBVTT - You've already won the lottery

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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 having any time to manage is kind

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<v Speaker 1>of like receiving a windfall. When we approach it from

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<v Speaker 1>that mindset, we can move beyond a sense of time

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<v Speaker 1>scarcity and start to ask the more helpful time question

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<v Speaker 1>of what we'd like to do with it. Today's tip,

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<v Speaker 1>like some other recent ones, is from my new book,

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<v Speaker 1>Big Time, which will be published later this week. This

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<v Speaker 1>book is all about practical tips for falling in love

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<v Speaker 1>with your schedule. I know that time management as a

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<v Speaker 1>topic does not necessarily inspire universal affection. There is a

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<v Speaker 1>general sense that there is too much to do and

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<v Speaker 1>too little time to do it. In Why You'll Never

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<v Speaker 1>Finish your to do list is a popular topic for

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<v Speaker 1>productivity writers. Our metaphors do violence with time. We are

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<v Speaker 1>trying to beat the clock when we are not killing time.

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<v Speaker 1>I am also well aware that life often does not

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<v Speaker 1>go as planned, which might speak to the limitations of

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<v Speaker 1>trying to manage time rigidly. But there is another way

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<v Speaker 1>to look at time. Consider for a minute, how you

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<v Speaker 1>might feel if you are handed a winning lottery ticket.

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<v Speaker 1>You are not quite sure why this has happened. It's

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<v Speaker 1>not like you were a regular at the seven to

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<v Speaker 1>eleven buying tickets. One has simply been given to you,

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<v Speaker 1>and now improbably you have a pot of cash to man.

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<v Speaker 1>You could complain that you should have been given more money.

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<v Speaker 1>You could complain that now you have to pay taxes.

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<v Speaker 1>But I hope that your first reaction would be one

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<v Speaker 1>of hopeful possibility of all that you might be able

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<v Speaker 1>to do. I think there is a reasonable argument that

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<v Speaker 1>we should view time the same way. Longtime listeners know

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<v Speaker 1>that one of my random obsessions is the history of

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<v Speaker 1>the early Earth and of how life as we know

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<v Speaker 1>it came to be on this planet. Let's just say

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<v Speaker 1>that when you look at space all around us and

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<v Speaker 1>all that had to happen on our planet for life

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<v Speaker 1>to happen, it is kind of amazing. And then once

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<v Speaker 1>life came to be, it almost got wiped out several times.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, the end Permian extinction some two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty two million years ago caused approximately ninety percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the species on Earth to go extinct. Wow, somehow the

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<v Speaker 1>ancestors of the creatures that eventually became us, made it

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<v Speaker 1>through that and later through the asteroid that wiped out

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<v Speaker 1>the dinosaurs, or even if you are not into all

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<v Speaker 1>of that, considered that a slightly different set of historical

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<v Speaker 1>events might not have brought your parents together. And with that,

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<v Speaker 1>a slight change in the moment of your conception means

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<v Speaker 1>that you would not exist as you. None of us

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<v Speaker 1>has any business being here, and yet here you are,

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<v Speaker 1>and here I am too. In other words, with our existence,

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<v Speaker 1>we have already won the lottery. The fact that we

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<v Speaker 1>have time to manage at all is incredibly improbable, and

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<v Speaker 1>yet we do not only do we exist. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are listening to this show, there's a very good chance

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<v Speaker 1>that you were born into or have moved to, a

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<v Speaker 1>free and prosperous society, one that allows for incredible agency

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<v Speaker 1>over the day to day experience of our time. Like

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<v Speaker 1>any lottery winner, we could complain that the prize should

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<v Speaker 1>have been bigger. We could complain about the taxes, just

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<v Speaker 1>as people complain that some people have fewer constraints on

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<v Speaker 1>their time, and that we have to do some things

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<v Speaker 1>with our time. But so much is within our power

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<v Speaker 1>to direct. Most likely it's at least a few hours

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<v Speaker 1>a day, maybe more. Wow. I hope you will consider

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<v Speaker 1>this different mindset. I believe time is big enough for

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<v Speaker 1>what matters to us, and when we start from the

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<v Speaker 1>perspective that time is a completely improbable gift, we feel

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<v Speaker 1>empowered to make choices that help us build the lives

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<v Speaker 1>we want in the time that 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. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.