WEBVTT - One way to battle burnout

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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 that the opposite of burnout is engagement.

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<v Speaker 1>When we are feeling tired, putting wonderful things into our

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<v Speaker 1>lives can be more effective than scaling back. Today's tip,

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<v Speaker 1>like some others this week, comes from my new book

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<v Speaker 1>Tranquility by Tuesday, Nine Ways to calm the chaos and

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<v Speaker 1>make time for what matters. This book shows how one

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<v Speaker 1>fifty people became more satisfied with their time as they

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<v Speaker 1>followed my nine favorite time management rules. I recently wrote

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<v Speaker 1>an essay for The New York Times about the phenomenon

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<v Speaker 1>of quiet quitting. Now. I know there are debates about

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<v Speaker 1>what exactly quiet quitting means, but I think one popular

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<v Speaker 1>definition is scaling back to do the bare minimum. At work,

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<v Speaker 1>surveys find that employee stress levels are at all time highs.

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<v Speaker 1>Higher proportions of people are reporting sheer physical exhaustion than

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<v Speaker 1>before the pandemic. When we are overwhelmed, it feels like

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<v Speaker 1>something has to go, and for some folks, excellence at

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<v Speaker 1>work is that thing. And maybe sometimes that is the

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<v Speaker 1>right call. But often when we feel exhausted. It's not

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<v Speaker 1>so much that we are physically tired. It's that our

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<v Speaker 1>minds need change. We need things in our lives that

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<v Speaker 1>we find energizing and that we can genuinely look forward to.

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<v Speaker 1>I have seen this in people stories over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>and I saw this with the Tranquility by Tuesday project too.

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<v Speaker 1>The people who participated in My Tranquility by Tuesday study

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<v Speaker 1>spoke at the beginning of feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. One

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<v Speaker 1>person wished for more hours in the day. Another spoke

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<v Speaker 1>of her work to do list as being never ending.

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<v Speaker 1>With those laments, it seems like the obvious solution would

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<v Speaker 1>be to scale back, but instead, most of the rules

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<v Speaker 1>I taught people were additive. I had people build in

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<v Speaker 1>regular physical activity to their lives. They made space for adventures.

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<v Speaker 1>They put hobbies into the crevices of time, and even

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<v Speaker 1>learn to take one night for you, committing to something

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<v Speaker 1>like acquire a softball league, a regular volunteering gig that

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<v Speaker 1>was separate from work and family responsibilities. Making a commitment,

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<v Speaker 1>They'd figure out the logistics and the child care and

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<v Speaker 1>go even when life was busy. The reason I had

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<v Speaker 1>people add all these things is because I know that

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<v Speaker 1>when we have energizing things in our lives and things

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<v Speaker 1>that we are genuinely looking forward to, that new energy

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<v Speaker 1>spills over into all our other responsibilities. We feel less

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<v Speaker 1>resentful of work and family matters. We know there is

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<v Speaker 1>a time when our spirits will be fed. And that

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<v Speaker 1>was true for the Tranquility by Tuesday participants. Over the

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<v Speaker 1>course of nine weeks, their time satisfaction scores rose significantly.

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<v Speaker 1>They became far happier with their leisure time, far from

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<v Speaker 1>needing to quiet quit or loudly quit. They also made

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<v Speaker 1>progress on their professional goals. So why not give it

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<v Speaker 1>a try If you are feeling like life is a slog,

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<v Speaker 1>figure out what you could build into your life that

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<v Speaker 1>you would genuinely look forward to. Maybe it's a regular

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<v Speaker 1>night out with friends, maybe it's playing tennis or volunteering somewhere,

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<v Speaker 1>but whatever it is, make it happen and then watch

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<v Speaker 1>yourself feel more alive for everything. It worked for the

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<v Speaker 1>people in the Tranquility by Tuesday study, and most likely

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<v Speaker 1>it will work for you as well. 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. Hey, everybody. I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear 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 the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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