1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: Today's tip is that reading magazines or blogs or books, 4 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: it's probably not your job. If any form of undone 5 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: recreational reading sparks guilt for you, just abandon it. You 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: don't have to read it. I hear from a lot 7 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: of people about how they use their time and how 8 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: they feel about their time. People with demanding careers and 9 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 1: personal lives sometimes report feeling behind because they have unread books, 10 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:51,879 Speaker 1: unread magazines, and blog posts hanging over their heads. They 11 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: feel pressured to get caught up on their reading. The 12 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: stack of books and magazines by their beds, or the 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: newsletters in their inbox, the needs from their favorite blogs. 14 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: They become like nagging tasks on their to do lists. 15 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: But you know what, they really don't have to be. 16 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: There are a lot of things we have to do 17 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:17,479 Speaker 1: in life, but pleasure reading is not one of them. 18 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: When you are reading something that is not for your job, 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: it is supposed to be fun, and that means if 20 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 1: you stop enjoying what you are reading, you should probably 21 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: stop reading. It turns out that unread magazines don't have 22 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: to be read, blogs don't have to be visited. Newsletters 23 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: can be deleted. Unopened books can be returned to the library, 24 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: even if you've never cracked them open. Magazines, blogs and 25 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: books are intended to be a source of pleasure or 26 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: a diversion. So if undone reading makes you feel guilty, 27 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: you need to find a way to remove it from 28 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: your personal list of expectations as soon as possible. Now 29 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: Here is a perspective that might help. There are close 30 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: to infinite amounts of content out there. You are only 31 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: one person with exactly twenty four hours a day, no more. 32 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: If you managed to read a book a week, which 33 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: is a lot, that is fifty books a year. If 34 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: you are going to live for forty more years, that 35 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: is only two thousand more books in your life. There 36 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: are generally more books than that, and even the smallest 37 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: of branch libraries. You are never going to get through 38 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: all of it, let alone all the blog posts, magazines, 39 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: or dare we say it, podcast episodes out there. Now, 40 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: I know that is one thing to know rationally, that 41 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: doesn't change that many people feel the weight of their 42 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: own unmet expectations. I mean, you really do like the Economist, Hey, 43 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,959 Speaker 1: so do I You would, in theory like to read 44 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: it cover to cover, to say nothing of all the 45 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,959 Speaker 1: amazing novels and helpful blog posts and yes, podcasts out there. 46 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: So that leaves the question, if you do feel guilty 47 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: when you see unconsumed material piling up, what should you do? Well, 48 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,839 Speaker 1: if you have the space for physical things here, one 49 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 1: option is to just let it pile up and accept 50 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: that there will be a big pile there waiting for 51 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: you to glean the finest bits during a future time 52 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: when you might create a little more availability. Whenever we 53 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: go on vacation, my husband and I take a stack 54 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: of about a dozen issues of The Economist with us 55 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: and plow through them. You can then do a purge 56 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: every few months or so, dumping anything that is more 57 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: than a few months old. If there was a really 58 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: important article for your industry or that mentioned your company, 59 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: guess what somebody would have told you about it. You 60 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: might carve out a few hours on a ken to 61 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: peruse the unread pile and read anything you are particularly 62 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: drawn to. One story per issue should do it. If 63 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: nothing looks good on the cover, well into the recycling, 64 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: then it goes. Then you can also consider whether you 65 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: might be better off unsubscribing to things. If you don't 66 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: seem to read an email newsletter anymore, we'll go ahead 67 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: and get off the list. If a particular magazine never 68 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: quite catches your eye when it comes, or hit constitutes 69 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: most of the bulk in that unread pile, well maybe 70 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: better to let it go. If you find yourself continually 71 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: putting off starting a book, give it to someone else. 72 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: If you desperately need to read it in the future. 73 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 1: I'm guessing you could get it back, or you could 74 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: buy it again. And much as I love book clubs, 75 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: if you don't really enjoy having to read books, co 76 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: find a bridge club or a running group, or a 77 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: book club where no one actually reads the book and 78 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: you just drink wine judgments. For me, few kids like homework, 79 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: and guess what, few adults do either. So when something 80 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: that is supposed to feel like pleasure starts feeling like 81 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: homework or even just a source of guilt, dispatch it. 82 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: Pleasure reading is supposed to be about pleasure, which means 83 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: a lot of it is to some degree interchangeable for 84 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: that purpose. After a while, the pleasure is the point, 85 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,799 Speaker 1: not the content, of the particular article itself, you probably 86 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: won't know what you are missing, and you will be 87 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: just as happy reading some future magazine article that comes 88 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: in as you would be reading one in the pile, 89 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: a magazine spread featuring a gorgeous garden, or let's say, 90 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 1: an article about innovations in business class seats on planes. 91 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: Both can be interesting when you've got some downtime, so 92 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: it doesn't really matter if you read one or the other. 93 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: Your favorite blogger will probably keep posting, and if you 94 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: find yourself with a little extra time some night, you 95 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: can go back through and read what you missed or not. 96 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: You are in charge of your time, so fill it 97 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: with experiences you value and enjoy. No need to feel 98 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:24,919 Speaker 1: guilty about this. Expectations are infinite, but time is finite. 99 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: We are always choosing. That's just the way of the world, 100 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: not a reason to feel bad at all. In the meantime, 101 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 102 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to 103 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 104 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, 105 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: and Instagram at before for Breakfast pod. That's b the 106 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also 107 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i 108 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out 109 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward 110 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of 111 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 112 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 113 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.