WEBVTT - Second Cup: Make screen-free fun more tempting

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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 make screen free time more tempting. It

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<v Speaker 1>is not enough to rely on willpower to put down

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<v Speaker 1>the screens. You want to make sure that the playing

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<v Speaker 1>field is fair. I know from talking with many people

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<v Speaker 1>about how they spend their time that lots of people

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<v Speaker 1>are appalled at how many hours they spend staring at screens.

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<v Speaker 1>There is the stuff we have to do, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>like answering your boss's email, but then there are copious

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<v Speaker 1>minutes spent on social media and headline scrolling. We might

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<v Speaker 1>spend evenings streaming various entertainment options. Now I will say

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<v Speaker 1>that there is nothing wrong with any of this, per se.

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<v Speaker 1>The question is more the balance. If you'd love to read,

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<v Speaker 1>or do hobbies or get together with friends, and you

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<v Speaker 1>feel like you never have the time, but the screen

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<v Speaker 1>time function on your phone claims you are on optional

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<v Speaker 1>stuff for hours daily, well that is a different matter.

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<v Speaker 1>What's going on is that screen based entertainment is designed

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<v Speaker 1>to be almost irresistibly alluring. Thousands of brilliant people have

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<v Speaker 1>devoted their professional lives to keeping you hooked, checking back

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<v Speaker 1>for the ninetieth time to see if all your friends

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<v Speaker 1>like that post, or starting the next episode. Sheer Willpower

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<v Speaker 1>alone is not going to combat all those brilliant people. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to make more strategic choices to level the

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<v Speaker 1>playing field, and that means making non screen entertainment more tempting.

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<v Speaker 1>So think about what you'd like to do. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>like to read, Then you need to make sure that

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<v Speaker 1>you always have a book you can't wait to read

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<v Speaker 1>with you. You want it to be ready to be

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<v Speaker 1>picked up whenever you have a spare moment. Buy that

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<v Speaker 1>new bestseller, Go to the library and get a stack

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<v Speaker 1>of two dozen books so you have one for any mood.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe even some brainless stuff like pretty coffee table books.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are looking to replicate that scrolling sensation. Make

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<v Speaker 1>sure your fun is as accessible as possible. If you

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<v Speaker 1>like to do puzzles, commandeer a central table. No, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>not where you eat multiple meals a day, but not

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere far away where you are never going to go.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to see your fun frequently. Same with that

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<v Speaker 1>lego set or crafting supplies. If you have to go

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<v Speaker 1>hunt down your art supplies, you aren't going to use them,

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<v Speaker 1>so get over any worries about a little bit of clutter.

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<v Speaker 1>Better to keep them out and use them, then have

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<v Speaker 1>them nicely put away and have them stay nicely put away.

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<v Speaker 1>You should also think about actively filling your leisure time

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<v Speaker 1>with nonscreen stuff. There are a lot of hours during

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<v Speaker 1>the week, and so I promise that even people with

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<v Speaker 1>jobs and families can make commitments with their leisure time.

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<v Speaker 1>Join that book club or spiritual small group, start taking

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<v Speaker 1>piano or voice lessons, sign up for the softball league.

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<v Speaker 1>You can swap kid coverage with your partner or a

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<v Speaker 1>neighbor or a friend. Or you can find things you

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<v Speaker 1>can do alongside your kids, or at least at the

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<v Speaker 1>same time. Instead of scrolling while your kid is at

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<v Speaker 1>a piano lesson, you take in martial arts class at

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<v Speaker 1>the studio next door. I have been thinking about this

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<v Speaker 1>with my kids as well. One reason we have decided

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<v Speaker 1>to get a really cool outdoor playset is that it

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<v Speaker 1>will be more competitive with screens than a more hoe

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<v Speaker 1>hum version. We park the bikes and pogo sticks right

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<v Speaker 1>outside on the porch so they are there for playing.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, frankly, we almost trip over them on the

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<v Speaker 1>way in the door. But that is kind of the

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<v Speaker 1>point you come home from school and think, hey, nice day,

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<v Speaker 1>I could go ride my bike. I have told the

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<v Speaker 1>kids that if they want a particular book, I will

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<v Speaker 1>make sure that they get it. I try to buy

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<v Speaker 1>used books or get books from the library, but I

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<v Speaker 1>am also willing to buy them new. To me, it

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<v Speaker 1>is worth the money because a good book makes nonscreen

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<v Speaker 1>time a lot more attractive. Screen time fills a time

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<v Speaker 1>vacuum when we don't think about how we want to

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<v Speaker 1>spend our time, we will spend it on whatever is easiest.

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<v Speaker 1>Since we have our phones with us twenty four to seven,

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<v Speaker 1>that tends to be social media and headline scrolling and

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<v Speaker 1>the like. When we make non screen entertainment more tempting,

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<v Speaker 1>though the playing field feels more level. We spend less

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<v Speaker 1>time online, not because we have suddenly gained huge amounts

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<v Speaker 1>of willpower, but just because there is less amorphous time

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<v Speaker 1>that has to be filled with something. It really does

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<v Speaker 1>change the game. If you have taken active steps to

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<v Speaker 1>make screen free time more alluring, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>what you have done. You can reach me at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>at Laura vandercam dot com. 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>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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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 podcast 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. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

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