1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to put more serendipity into 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 1: your life. This will help you find new ideas and 5 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: new opportunities. Serendipity will also help you stretch the experience 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: of time by making it more memorable. First, I want 7 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: to say that routines are great. It's also fun to 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: become a regular at place as you enjoy, which we'll 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: talk about in an upcoming episode. But when life becomes 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: too routine, that means you're doing the same things over 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: and over again. You can start to feel in a rut. 12 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: You need to introduce new material in order to get 13 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: things going. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to introduce 14 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: serendipity into life. The easiest way is to tweak your 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: routines just a bit. Here are five ideas. One, if 16 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: it's possible in your job work from somewhere different one 17 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: day a week. I thought it was so strange when 18 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: a few years ago some organizations made headlines by canceling 19 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: work from home arrangements. The idea is that there would 20 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: be more serendipity when people were in the office bumping 21 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: into co workers. I mean maybe, but if you're in 22 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: your cubicle five days a week, that's a lot of routine. 23 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: The best option might be three days in the office 24 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: and two in a coworking space, coffee shop, library, or 25 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: at home looking at something scenic from your back porch. 26 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: Two meet someone intriguing for a quick breakfast, lunch, or 27 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: coffee every other week and producer Brian Grazer's new book, 28 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: Face to Face, he calls these meetings curiosity conversations. Ones 29 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: you schedule just because you find the other person fascinating. 30 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: Research the person you're meeting with beforehand, and be sure 31 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: to share useful information and ask thoughtful questions. But you 32 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: don't need to go in with any particular agenda. These 33 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: conversations can lead to unexpected places, or maybe they won't. 34 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: But the good news with coffee is that you've wasted 35 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:21,639 Speaker 1: less than an hour. When you get in the habit 36 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: of meeting new people, you start looking for people to meet, 37 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: and that could open up lots of possibilities. Three take 38 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: the scenic route. No, you're not going to come up 39 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: with a new commute daily, but the goal is to 40 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: make time spent in transit not completely brainless. Mix it 41 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: up between driving, using public transit, biking, and car pooling. 42 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,359 Speaker 1: If driving is the only option, try taking slightly different 43 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: routes from time to time to make this seem more efficient. 44 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: Add in a stop once a week or so, a 45 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: new store, a park, a restaurant, a friend, place to 46 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: say hello. Four Say yes. Sometimes there's much to be 47 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: said for saying no to things we don't want to do. 48 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: But the reason to say no is that this opens 49 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: up space to say yes on occasion when things pique 50 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: our interest. If co workers invite you to a new 51 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: place for lunch, tag along. If you see an intriguing 52 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: workshopper webinar offered, do it occasionally. Be the sort of 53 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: person who decides to go to a jazz club on 54 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: a Monday night. It will definitely be memorable. Five. Expand 55 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: your inputs. I love to read things online, but one 56 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: of the problems with this is that search engines and 57 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: publications become very good at figuring out what you usually 58 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: click on. Then you see more of that. You have 59 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: to consciously fight this tendency to keep your reading material 60 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: more serendipitous. I subscribe to a number of print publications 61 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: because my actions don't influence that algorithm. While flipping through 62 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: the pages, I inevitably come across something like an article 63 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: on canned wine in the weekend Wall Street Journal that 64 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: would not have shown up on my social media feed. 65 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: It's not that anyone meeting article or trip to a 66 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: bar will result in something special, though. You never know. 67 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: I met my husband sixteen years ago because I stopped 68 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: by a second bar one night when a friend happened 69 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: to text to see if I was in the neighborhood. 70 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 1: It's just that new ideas often stem from crossing new 71 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: inputs with your existing knowledge and good habits. You don't 72 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: get the new inputs if you always do the same thing. 73 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: Introduce something random, though, and you never know what will happen. 74 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: Maybe nothing much, but maybe something great. In the meantime, 75 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 76 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: the most of our time. M M Hey everybody, I'd 77 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips, 78 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, 79 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the 80 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also 81 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i 82 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,720 Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out 83 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,480 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward 84 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of 85 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, 86 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 87 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.