Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to use a smaller bowl. By literally
Speaker 1: or metaphorically reducing container size, you're able to make sure
Speaker 1: you have the right amount of something you don't want
Speaker 1: to consume too much of. When people are trying to
Speaker 1: eat healthier diets, they often hear the classic advice to
Speaker 1: use a smaller bowl or plate. This is supported by
Speaker 1: some research and is particularly helpful for foods we'd like
Speaker 1: to eat in moderation but prove sometimes challenging, you know,
Speaker 1: things like buttered popcorn or ice cream. When you have
Speaker 1: a bigger bowl or plate, or the original container from
Speaker 1: the store, you can keep eating without noticing just how
Speaker 1: much you consumed, because you keep on eating mindlessly until
Speaker 1: the food is gone. If you've ever had a bag
Speaker 1: of chips or a jar of Eminem's on your desk,
Speaker 1: or jumbo bucket of popcorn at the movies, you probably
Speaker 1: know what I mean. It feels like these can be
Speaker 1: gone in no time. But if you start with a
Speaker 1: smaller bowl, once you've eaten everything in it, the empty
Speaker 1: bowl itself is a cue that it's time to evaluate.
Speaker 1: You could certainly choose to get more popcorn or ice
Speaker 1: cream if you'd like to, but it also feels reasonable
Speaker 1: to stop because you've finished what you have in front
Speaker 1: of you, so you make a choice. You can use
Speaker 1: a smaller bowl, so to speak, to manage your time too.
Speaker 1: How designate a fairly small chunk of time for activities
Speaker 1: that aren't worth more time you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Social media and online shopping in particular, are the time
Speaker 1: equivalents of a giant bucket of popcorn. They aren't particularly gratifying,
Speaker 1: but they are absorbing and hard to stop. So, just
Speaker 1: as with using a smaller bowl for the popcorn, you
Speaker 1: can set a timer and scroll for twenty minutes. Then
Speaker 1: when the timer goes off, just like when the bowl
Speaker 1: of chips or popcorn is empty, you know it's time
Speaker 1: to make a decision, and probably you'll move on. You
Speaker 1: can also use a smaller bowl for activities that are
Speaker 1: necessary but can expand to consume all available space. For example, email.
Speaker 1: We'll talk more about email in a later episode this week,
Speaker 1: but you could decide that you'll process email while your
Speaker 1: kids are doing gymnastics and you are working in your
Speaker 1: parked car. Then when gymnastics class is done, you will
Speaker 1: be done. When there's a limited amount of time available,
Speaker 1: you'll work at a pace that lets you finish the task,
Speaker 1: or at least do what actually has to get done.
Speaker 1: When you don't build in a time limit. On the
Speaker 1: other hand, you can look up and realize that you've
Speaker 1: spent hours dealing with your inbox, and that feels about
Speaker 1: as good as when you realize you've eaten a whole
Speaker 1: pint of Ben and Jerry's. Well, possibly even worse, because
Speaker 1: ice cream is delicious, email is emphatically not so. Today,
Speaker 1: try identifying which activities deserve a smaller bowl in your life.
Speaker 1: What would you like to spend less time on. How
Speaker 1: can you put in a stopping point so you can
Speaker 1: evaluate whether you want to do more. Figure this out
Speaker 1: and you'll spend time better and probably be happier too.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b The number four then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. I