WEBVTT - Don't go adrift

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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 to avoid time black holes. It is easy to.

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<v Speaker 2>Drift from intentions, but knowing what you intend to do

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<v Speaker 2>and whether what you are doing matches up with that

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<v Speaker 2>can help you make the most of your time.

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<v Speaker 1>When people track their time, they sometimes discover that they

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<v Speaker 1>lose a lot of time to drifting or puttering, pottering

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<v Speaker 1>or zoning out, as some people describe it. The moment

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<v Speaker 1>comes to record how they spent the last few hours,

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<v Speaker 1>and they realize that some of the time wasn't spent

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<v Speaker 1>on anything they can particularly remember. Maybe some time was

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<v Speaker 1>spent scroll the Internet or wandering around the house tidying

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<v Speaker 1>or opening and closing emails and calendar items. You can

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<v Speaker 1>probably identify your own personal black holes of time, but

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<v Speaker 1>time is precious.

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<v Speaker 2>It pays to be intentional about how you want to

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<v Speaker 2>use a chunk of time, and to notice and course

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<v Speaker 2>correct if you find yourself drifting away from that purpose.

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<v Speaker 2>If you sat down to write a blog post, or

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<v Speaker 2>plan the agenda for your department meeting, or write a

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<v Speaker 2>lesson plan, notice if you find yourself doing something totally unrelated,

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<v Speaker 2>then you can stop and redirect. Of course, your intention

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<v Speaker 2>for your time won't always be to do work. We

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<v Speaker 2>can drift from intended leisure or relationship time too. If

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<v Speaker 2>you plan to spend time with your partner and realize

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<v Speaker 2>you are actually on your phone doing nothing of consequence,

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<v Speaker 2>you can notice that you've drifted and put your phone away.

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<v Speaker 2>If you plan to play with your kids but realize

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<v Speaker 2>that you have actually drifted to tidying, you can stop

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<v Speaker 2>tidying and refocus on the kids. Whatever you have intended

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<v Speaker 2>to do with your time, be sure that you are

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<v Speaker 2>actually doing that if you find that easier in theory

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<v Speaker 2>than in practice, I can offer some strategies that may help. First,

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<v Speaker 2>and this is always the first step, track your time

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<v Speaker 2>for a week or so. Seeing in black and white

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<v Speaker 2>what you actually do with your time is incredibly powerful

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<v Speaker 2>for building self awareness. It may also help to verbalize

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<v Speaker 2>to yourself how you are going to spend the chunk

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<v Speaker 2>of time that is about to start. I am going

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<v Speaker 2>to do laundry now, I am editing this document, I

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<v Speaker 2>am about to connect with my partner. Set an explicit

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<v Speaker 2>intention for the time. When you happen to notice what

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<v Speaker 2>time it is. Because you walk past a clock or

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<v Speaker 2>hear a chime, or look at your watch or phone,

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<v Speaker 2>Recall what you've been doing for the last half hour

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<v Speaker 2>and what you intended to be doing. If you wandered

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<v Speaker 2>away from your intentions, return to what you meant to

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<v Speaker 2>be doing with a period of time. It can also

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<v Speaker 2>be helpful to have a name for when your behavior

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<v Speaker 2>diverges from your intentions. Sometime trackers refer to this as

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<v Speaker 2>being a drift or zoned out, puttering, or entering a

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<v Speaker 2>black hole. Then develop pocket phrases to remind yourself not

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<v Speaker 2>to diverge from your intentions. You might say, don't go adrift,

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<v Speaker 2>or something along those lines. Note how it feels to

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<v Speaker 2>return to what.

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<v Speaker 1>You plan to do. Note also how satisfying it is

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<v Speaker 1>to know how you spend your time. If you are

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<v Speaker 1>tracking your time, you'll be able to record it more effectively.

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<v Speaker 1>If we want to make the most of our time,

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<v Speaker 1>we need to be intentional about where the time is going.

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<v Speaker 1>That means noticing when you go adrift so you can

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<v Speaker 1>get back on course 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. Hey, everybody. I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an email at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartRadio.

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