WEBVTT - Learn from wasted time 

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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>Over the next few weeks, I'll be doing a few

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<v Speaker 1>episodes on how to make your schedule and your life

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<v Speaker 1>a little more resilient. Life can definitely be tough sometimes,

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<v Speaker 1>but what matters most is how you pick yourself back

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<v Speaker 1>up and move forward. Today's tip is about how to

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<v Speaker 1>learn from wasted time, because when we learn useful lessons

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<v Speaker 1>from wasted time, well it isn't really a waste of time. First,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to put a definition out there. I have

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<v Speaker 1>seen a number of books and articles lately waxing eloquent

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<v Speaker 1>about wasted time. Usually the person has decided to label

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<v Speaker 1>anything that is not work or are leading to a

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<v Speaker 1>big personal goal, such as running a marathon, as wasted time.

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<v Speaker 1>This allows the person to argue against something of a

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<v Speaker 1>straw man that the world wants all time to be work,

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<v Speaker 1>and by spending time staring at the clouds, our author

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<v Speaker 1>is fighting the powers that be. I beg to differ.

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<v Speaker 1>Staring at the clouds is not wasted time. Hanging out

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<v Speaker 1>all night with friends and family is definitely not wasted time.

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<v Speaker 1>Puttering around with a hobby you enjoy is not wasted time.

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<v Speaker 1>These things are all fun, and fun is awesome. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>I would argue that time is wasted when it turns

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<v Speaker 1>out to be neither meaningful nor enjoyable for you or

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<v Speaker 1>the people you care about. By that definition, puttering around

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<v Speaker 1>with a hobby is not wasted time. But sitting in

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<v Speaker 1>a meeting that didn't actually need to happen, Now that

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<v Speaker 1>is a waste. Commuting on a day when there was

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<v Speaker 1>no reason not to work from home, well that might

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<v Speaker 1>be a waste too. Sending a hot email that then

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<v Speaker 1>requires an hour of follow up emails to walk back

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<v Speaker 1>definitely wasted time. Looking for the shoes you misplaced that

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<v Speaker 1>can burn minutes too. Alas, these are all fairly common

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<v Speaker 1>ways to waste time, so I will also put this

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<v Speaker 1>out there. We all waste time. I waste time quite

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of time. In fact, you probably waste time too.

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<v Speaker 1>I have seen thousands of time lugs over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>and I have yet to see one where every single

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<v Speaker 1>minute was devoted to a professional or personal priority. When

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<v Speaker 1>people track their time, they are sometimes dismayed by this.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people don't even want to track their time because

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<v Speaker 1>they figured they might be wasting time. Best not to

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<v Speaker 1>let that be known. But you know what this is shortsighted.

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<v Speaker 1>It is human nature to spend at least some time

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<v Speaker 1>on things that are neither meaningful nor enjoyable for us

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<v Speaker 1>or the people we care about, and beyond that, once

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<v Speaker 1>time is gone, it is gone. The best way to

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<v Speaker 1>redeem wasted time is to figure out what we can

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<v Speaker 1>learn from it. So I would recommend tracking your time,

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<v Speaker 1>ideally for a week. Write down what you're doing as

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<v Speaker 1>often as you remember, in as much detail as you

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<v Speaker 1>think will be helpful for you. Then look at the record.

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<v Speaker 1>Note the times when you felt disappointed in how the

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<v Speaker 1>time was spent, or angry or bored. What was going on?

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<v Speaker 1>Why did you feel that way? I have thought about

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<v Speaker 1>this in my own life. I am more likely to

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<v Speaker 1>spend long chunks of time grolling around online when I

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<v Speaker 1>don't have anything else I actively want to do when

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<v Speaker 1>leisure time appears, so I try to always have a

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<v Speaker 1>good e book available on my phone and a puzzle

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<v Speaker 1>I'm working on to nudge me off my screens too.

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<v Speaker 1>As for work days, I'm less likely to wind up

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<v Speaker 1>on unnecessarily long or unfocused calls. If I'm clear on

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<v Speaker 1>getting agendas beforehand. When I am excited about big projects,

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<v Speaker 1>I spend less time on unfocused email checks. Make sure

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<v Speaker 1>you've got work in your work days that you want

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<v Speaker 1>to do. Of course, there are always big projects that

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<v Speaker 1>don't lead to anything either. I've been involved in several

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<v Speaker 1>things over the years that have taken weeks, sometimes months,

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<v Speaker 1>and not hand out. Maybe you have to people start

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<v Speaker 1>businesses that they eventually need to shut down, or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you spend long nights on a project for a client

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<v Speaker 1>that they don't wind up using. When we know time

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<v Speaker 1>is finite, this can hurt. I would suggest never making

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<v Speaker 1>a sacrifice that you will regret should things go differently.

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<v Speaker 1>But try this for wasted time. Once the time is spent,

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<v Speaker 1>think through how you can recast this time. What skills

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<v Speaker 1>did you practice, what lessons did you learn? This can

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<v Speaker 1>make you more resilient. For instance, I have several novels

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<v Speaker 1>in a drawer that will never go anywhere. I have

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<v Speaker 1>written books that were published but that very few people read.

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<v Speaker 1>All of these I have taken to viewing as the

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<v Speaker 1>equivalent of writing practice. They weren't the performances I hoped

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<v Speaker 1>to have, but every hour of writing practice improves my

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<v Speaker 1>craft for the books that people have wound up reading.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe a failed project introduced you to someone that you

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<v Speaker 1>love having in your life now. Maybe it taught you

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<v Speaker 1>what you don't like in a way you couldn't help noticing.

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<v Speaker 1>That helps you figure out your real passions. When you

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<v Speaker 1>learn from wasted time, it isn't wasted time. It's like

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<v Speaker 1>reading a book or getting a degree. Since the time

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<v Speaker 1>is gone, we're best off using these lessons as a

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<v Speaker 1>guide to spending time better in the future. This is

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<v Speaker 1>how we make our lives more resilient. So what have

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<v Speaker 1>you learned from wasted time? I'd love to hear about it.

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four then breakfast p o D.

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

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.