WEBVTT - Second Cup: Schedule a mental health morning

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to take a mental health morning. We

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<v Speaker 1>can all feel overwhelmed with our responsibilities from time to time,

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<v Speaker 1>and while taking a vacation is great, that can involve

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of time and effort and expense. Plus, if

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<v Speaker 1>you have small children, a vacation probably won't involve a

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<v Speaker 1>break from those responsibilities. It can be fun and lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other ways, but it won't exactly be a break.

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<v Speaker 1>So what can you do? I like this suggestion from

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast listener Melinda, who wrote in about what's been

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<v Speaker 1>working for her. She calls her solution a mental health morning.

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<v Speaker 1>About once per month, I take two hours of paid

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<v Speaker 1>time off in the morning to go to the gym.

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<v Speaker 1>She says. After working out, I take a long shower

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<v Speaker 1>are I have a toddler in an infant so this

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<v Speaker 1>is especially luxurious, And then I go to my favorite

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<v Speaker 1>coffee shop and read for thirty minutes. Then I go

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<v Speaker 1>to work. She says that this two hours of playing

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<v Speaker 1>hookey from life works better for me than taking a

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<v Speaker 1>mental health day, because I find when I take the

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<v Speaker 1>whole day off, I fill it with cleaning or running errands,

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<v Speaker 1>or doing whatever I would have found other time to

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<v Speaker 1>do anyway, because it had to be done. The other perk,

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<v Speaker 1>she says, is that by only using two hours per month,

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<v Speaker 1>I only end up using three days of vacation per year,

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<v Speaker 1>and that leaves enough PTO to take real vacations too.

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<v Speaker 1>She says that I find my productivity and creativity always

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<v Speaker 1>shoot up on the week I do this. A big

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<v Speaker 1>bonus is no mom guilt because I'm using time I

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<v Speaker 1>would have been at work anyway. I think this idea

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<v Speaker 1>of a mental health morning is great for people with

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<v Speaker 1>full lives. Sometimes taking a small break can have a

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<v Speaker 1>big impact. And while people with flexible jobs might be

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<v Speaker 1>able to just start late some mornings without it being

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<v Speaker 1>an issue, or take a long lunch after a big

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<v Speaker 1>project without anyone actually noticing, plenty of people's jobs do

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<v Speaker 1>involve reporting to a specific place at a specific time.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're doing that kind of job, then officially designating

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<v Speaker 1>a break is PTO can make sure that you honor

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<v Speaker 1>that commitment to yourself. If you have some paid time

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<v Speaker 1>off banked up, but no longer vacations on the horizon.

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<v Speaker 1>This might be a good way to use some of

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<v Speaker 1>that time off that you're entitled to. I also like

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<v Speaker 1>that Melinda took her mental health breaks in the morning.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you could certainly take a mental health afternoon

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<v Speaker 1>and use PTO to leave early. But sometimes the day

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<v Speaker 1>will start to seem so busy that you feel you

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<v Speaker 1>just can't slip out, and then the time is gone.

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<v Speaker 1>If you can't control what time you leave work, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you can control what time you show up. So that's

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<v Speaker 1>the argument for a mental health morning. And I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>surprised at all that Melinda finds herself more productive after

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<v Speaker 1>these breaks. No one's tank runs unempty. Taking time to

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<v Speaker 1>relax and to do something fun is how we can

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<v Speaker 1>all fill ourselves up. So today, consider if a small

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<v Speaker 1>break from normal life might make you feel recharged. And

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<v Speaker 1>if you've ever used a small amount of PTO to

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<v Speaker 1>take a break and do something fun, let me know.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, you can email me at Before Breakfast podcast

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<v Speaker 1>at I heart media dot com. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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