WEBVTT - All time matters

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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 all time matters. Even bits of time

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<v Speaker 1>are important. And when handled mindfully, bits of time can

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<v Speaker 1>add up to bits of joy. This week, we are

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<v Speaker 1>celebrating the 2000th episode of Before Breakfast. The show began

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<v Speaker 1>in March of 2019, and there has been a new

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<v Speaker 1>episode every weekday morning since then. If you're looking at

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<v Speaker 1>a podcast counter, the number might be higher, but that's

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<v Speaker 1>because we run repeat Second Cup episodes on the weekends.

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<v Speaker 1>Counting just the new episodes, we hit 2000 on Wednesday

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<v Speaker 1>of this week. So, happy 2000th to the show. One

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<v Speaker 1>big reason Before Breakfast has lasted for 2,000 episodes is

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<v Speaker 1>that the episodes are short. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday,

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<v Speaker 1>the episodes tend to run somewhere around five or six minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>When we launched the show seven and a half years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>we wanted to try something different from the normal hour-long

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<v Speaker 1>interview format. Even my interviews are pretty short, running about

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<v Speaker 1>25 minutes apiece. Some of this is because I know

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<v Speaker 1>my listeners are busy people. I am not sure exactly

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<v Speaker 1>who is listening to those multi-hour podcasts out there. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously someone is, because many of those are quite popular shows.

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<v Speaker 1>But I also truly believe that small bits of time

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<v Speaker 1>are valuable too. You can do a lot in short bits.

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<v Speaker 1>This matters because some discussion of time management has, well,

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<v Speaker 1>disparaged small bits of time. Bridget Schulte's best-selling book, Overwhelmed,

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<v Speaker 1>which came out more than 15 years ago now, labeled

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<v Speaker 1>these bits of time as time confetti. The name stuck

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<v Speaker 1>and has entered common parlance. The general thought is that

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<v Speaker 1>these bits of time are pretty much useless. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you can listen to an episode of Before Breakfast in

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<v Speaker 1>one chunk of time confetti, then perhaps they're not totally

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<v Speaker 1>useless after all. And indeed, many people discover that by

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<v Speaker 1>consciously using their time confetti, they can add a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more joy to their life. We tend to just pick

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<v Speaker 1>up the phone, but in five minutes you can read

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<v Speaker 1>a few pages in an e-book, or perhaps an entire poem.

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<v Speaker 1>The other night when I had a puzzle going, I

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<v Speaker 1>put in a handful of pieces, between 9.32 p.m. and

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<v Speaker 1>9.41 p.m. when I had to deal with a kid thing.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the puzzle was a better use of my

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<v Speaker 1>confetti than scrolling. In five minutes, you could go for

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<v Speaker 1>a quick walk outside and boost your energy and feel refreshed.

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<v Speaker 1>In five minutes or less, you could text a friend

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<v Speaker 1>and set up a time to get together. You could

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<v Speaker 1>send a flirty text to your partner. You could do

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<v Speaker 1>a Duolingo lesson. I've practiced music for my choirs in

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<v Speaker 1>five minutes before a phone call starts. Now, you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to fit productive things into these bits of time

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<v Speaker 1>with air quotes around the word productive there. You can

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<v Speaker 1>just look out the window at the fall landscape. You

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<v Speaker 1>can breathe deeply or enjoy a really good cup of

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<v Speaker 1>tea or coffee. You can write in a journal or doodle. And,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, you can listen to an episode of Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast and get a tip that might take your day

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<v Speaker 1>from great to awesome. When we write off these bits

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<v Speaker 1>of time as unusable, we wind up doom-scrolling with them. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>that's not actually unusable. That is using this time for

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<v Speaker 1>stuff that we probably don't want to do. Whereas when

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<v Speaker 1>we are intentional with this time, because we believe that

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<v Speaker 1>all time matters, then we can use bits of time

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<v Speaker 1>for bits of joy. I am, fundamentally, a time optimist.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to write off any moments. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>listening to this show, I'm guessing you feel similarly. Adopt

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<v Speaker 1>the mindset that all time matters. And suddenly, all time

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<v Speaker 1>is full of possibility. That is a much more positive

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<v Speaker 1>way to go through life. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening. And here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you.