1 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:22,600 Speaker 1: tip is to make screen free time more tempting. It 4 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: is not enough to rely on willpower to put down 5 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: the screens. You want to make sure that the playing 6 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: field is fair. I know from talking with many people 7 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: about how they spend their time that lots of people 8 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: are appalled at how many hours they spend staring at screens. 9 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: There is the stuff we have to do, of course, 10 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 1: like answering your boss's email, but then there are copious 11 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: minutes spent on social media and headline scrolling. We might 12 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: spend evenings streaming various entertainment options. Now I will say 13 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: that there is nothing wrong with any of this, per se. 14 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: The question is more the balance. If you'd love to read, 15 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: or do hobbies or get together with friends, and you 16 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: feel like you never have the time, but the screen 17 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: time function on your phone claims you are on optional 18 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: stuff for hours daily, well that is a different matter. 19 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: What's going on is that screen based entertainment is designed 20 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: to be almost irresistibly alluring. Thousands of brilliant people have 21 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: devoted their professional lives to keeping you hooked, checking back 22 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 1: for the ninetieth time to see if all your friends 23 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: like that post, or starting the next episode. Sheer Willpower 24 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: alone is not going to combat all those brilliant people. Instead, 25 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: you need to make more strategic choices to level the 26 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: playing field, and that means making non screen entertainment more tempting. 27 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: So think about what you'd like to do. Do you 28 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: like to read, Then you need to make sure that 29 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: you always have a book you can't wait to read 30 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: with you. You want it to be ready to be 31 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: picked up whenever you have a spare moment. Buy that 32 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: new bestseller, Go to the library and get a stack 33 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: of two dozen books so you have one for any mood. 34 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: Maybe even some brainless stuff like pretty coffee table books. 35 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: If you are looking to replicate that scrolling sensation. Make 36 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: sure your fun is as accessible as possible. If you 37 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: like to do puzzles, commandeer a central table. No, maybe 38 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: not where you eat multiple meals a day, but not 39 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: somewhere far away where you are never going to go. 40 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: You want to see your fun frequently. Same with that 41 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: lego set or crafting supplies. If you have to go 42 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: hunt down your art supplies, you aren't going to use them, 43 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: so get over any worries about a little bit of clutter. 44 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: Better to keep them out and use them, then have 45 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: them nicely put away and have them stay nicely put away. 46 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: You should also think about actively filling your leisure time 47 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: with nonscreen stuff. There are a lot of hours during 48 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: the week, and so I promise that even people with 49 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,679 Speaker 1: jobs and families can make commitments with their leisure time. 50 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:38,119 Speaker 1: Join that book club or spiritual small group, start taking 51 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: piano or voice lessons, sign up for the softball league. 52 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: You can swap kid coverage with your partner or a 53 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: neighbor or a friend. Or you can find things you 54 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: can do alongside your kids, or at least at the 55 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: same time. Instead of scrolling while your kid is at 56 00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: a piano lesson, you take in martial arts class at 57 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: the studio next door. I have been thinking about this 58 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: with my kids as well. One reason we have decided 59 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: to get a really cool outdoor playset is that it 60 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: will be more competitive with screens than a more hoe 61 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: hum version. We park the bikes and pogo sticks right 62 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: outside on the porch so they are there for playing. 63 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: I mean, frankly, we almost trip over them on the 64 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: way in the door. But that is kind of the 65 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 1: point you come home from school and think, hey, nice day, 66 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: I could go ride my bike. I have told the 67 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: kids that if they want a particular book, I will 68 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: make sure that they get it. I try to buy 69 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: used books or get books from the library, but I 70 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: am also willing to buy them new. To me, it 71 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: is worth the money because a good book makes nonscreen 72 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: time a lot more attractive. Screen time fills a time 73 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: vacuum when we don't think about how we want to 74 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:08,039 Speaker 1: spend our time, we will spend it on whatever is easiest. 75 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: Since we have our phones with us twenty four to seven, 76 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: that tends to be social media and headline scrolling and 77 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: the like. When we make non screen entertainment more tempting, 78 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: though the playing field feels more level. We spend less 79 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: time online, not because we have suddenly gained huge amounts 80 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,480 Speaker 1: of willpower, but just because there is less amorphous time 81 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: that has to be filled with something. It really does 82 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: change the game. If you have taken active steps to 83 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: make screen free time more alluring, I'd love to hear 84 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: what you have done. You can reach me at Laura 85 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 86 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of 87 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:11,919 Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 88 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 89 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 90 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then 91 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an email at 92 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast 93 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much. 94 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:43,719 Speaker 1: Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast 95 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 96 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 97 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.