WEBVTT - You don't have to read it 

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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 reading magazines or blogs or books,

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<v Speaker 1>it's probably not your job. If any form of undone

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<v Speaker 1>recreational reading sparks guilt for you, just abandon it. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to read it. I hear from a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people about how they use their time and how

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<v Speaker 1>they feel about their time. People with demanding careers and

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<v Speaker 1>personal lives sometimes report feeling behind because they have unread books,

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<v Speaker 1>unread magazines, and blog posts hanging over their heads. They

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<v Speaker 1>feel pressured to get caught up on their reading. The

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<v Speaker 1>stack of books and magazines by their beds, or the

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<v Speaker 1>newsletters in their inbox, the needs from their favorite blogs.

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<v Speaker 1>They become like nagging tasks on their to do lists.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know what, they really don't have to be.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a lot of things we have to do

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<v Speaker 1>in life, but pleasure reading is not one of them.

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<v Speaker 1>When you are reading something that is not for your job,

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<v Speaker 1>it is supposed to be fun, and that means if

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<v Speaker 1>you stop enjoying what you are reading, you should probably

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<v Speaker 1>stop reading. It turns out that unread magazines don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to be read, blogs don't have to be visited. Newsletters

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<v Speaker 1>can be deleted. Unopened books can be returned to the library,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you've never cracked them open. Magazines, blogs and

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<v Speaker 1>books are intended to be a source of pleasure or

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<v Speaker 1>a diversion. So if undone reading makes you feel guilty,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to find a way to remove it from

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<v Speaker 1>your personal list of expectations as soon as possible. Now

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<v Speaker 1>Here is a perspective that might help. There are close

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<v Speaker 1>to infinite amounts of content out there. You are only

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<v Speaker 1>one person with exactly twenty four hours a day, no more.

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<v Speaker 1>If you managed to read a book a week, which

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<v Speaker 1>is a lot, that is fifty books a year. If

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<v Speaker 1>you are going to live for forty more years, that

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<v Speaker 1>is only two thousand more books in your life. There

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<v Speaker 1>are generally more books than that, and even the smallest

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<v Speaker 1>of branch libraries. You are never going to get through

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<v Speaker 1>all of it, let alone all the blog posts, magazines,

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<v Speaker 1>or dare we say it, podcast episodes out there. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I know that is one thing to know rationally, that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't change that many people feel the weight of their

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<v Speaker 1>own unmet expectations. I mean, you really do like the Economist, Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>so do I You would, in theory like to read

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<v Speaker 1>it cover to cover, to say nothing of all the

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<v Speaker 1>amazing novels and helpful blog posts and yes, podcasts out there.

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<v Speaker 1>So that leaves the question, if you do feel guilty

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<v Speaker 1>when you see unconsumed material piling up, what should you do? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>if you have the space for physical things here, one

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<v Speaker 1>option is to just let it pile up and accept

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<v Speaker 1>that there will be a big pile there waiting for

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<v Speaker 1>you to glean the finest bits during a future time

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<v Speaker 1>when you might create a little more availability. Whenever we

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<v Speaker 1>go on vacation, my husband and I take a stack

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<v Speaker 1>of about a dozen issues of The Economist with us

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<v Speaker 1>and plow through them. You can then do a purge

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<v Speaker 1>every few months or so, dumping anything that is more

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<v Speaker 1>than a few months old. If there was a really

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<v Speaker 1>important article for your industry or that mentioned your company,

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<v Speaker 1>guess what somebody would have told you about it. You

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<v Speaker 1>might carve out a few hours on a ken to

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<v Speaker 1>peruse the unread pile and read anything you are particularly

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<v Speaker 1>drawn to. One story per issue should do it. If

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<v Speaker 1>nothing looks good on the cover, well into the recycling,

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<v Speaker 1>then it goes. Then you can also consider whether you

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<v Speaker 1>might be better off unsubscribing to things. If you don't

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<v Speaker 1>seem to read an email newsletter anymore, we'll go ahead

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<v Speaker 1>and get off the list. If a particular magazine never

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<v Speaker 1>quite catches your eye when it comes, or hit constitutes

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<v Speaker 1>most of the bulk in that unread pile, well maybe

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<v Speaker 1>better to let it go. If you find yourself continually

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<v Speaker 1>putting off starting a book, give it to someone else.

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<v Speaker 1>If you desperately need to read it in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm guessing you could get it back, or you could

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<v Speaker 1>buy it again. And much as I love book clubs,

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't really enjoy having to read books, co

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<v Speaker 1>find a bridge club or a running group, or a

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<v Speaker 1>book club where no one actually reads the book and

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<v Speaker 1>you just drink wine judgments. For me, few kids like homework,

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<v Speaker 1>and guess what, few adults do either. So when something

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<v Speaker 1>that is supposed to feel like pleasure starts feeling like

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<v Speaker 1>homework or even just a source of guilt, dispatch it.

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<v Speaker 1>Pleasure reading is supposed to be about pleasure, which means

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of it is to some degree interchangeable for

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<v Speaker 1>that purpose. After a while, the pleasure is the point,

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<v Speaker 1>not the content, of the particular article itself, you probably

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<v Speaker 1>won't know what you are missing, and you will be

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<v Speaker 1>just as happy reading some future magazine article that comes

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<v Speaker 1>in as you would be reading one in the pile,

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<v Speaker 1>a magazine spread featuring a gorgeous garden, or let's say,

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<v Speaker 1>an article about innovations in business class seats on planes.

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<v Speaker 1>Both can be interesting when you've got some downtime, so

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't really matter if you read one or the other.

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<v Speaker 1>Your favorite blogger will probably keep posting, and if you

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<v Speaker 1>find yourself with a little extra time some night, you

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<v Speaker 1>can go back through and read what you missed or not.

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<v Speaker 1>You are in charge of your time, so fill it

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<v Speaker 1>with experiences you value and enjoy. No need to feel

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<v Speaker 1>guilty about this. Expectations are infinite, but time is finite.

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<v Speaker 1>We are always choosing. That's just the way of the world,

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<v Speaker 1>not a reason to feel bad at all. 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 for Breakfast pod. That's b 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>heeart 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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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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