WEBVTT - Second Cup: Should you make your bed? 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:06.400 Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:13.600 Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:17.880 Today's tip is about that age old question of whether 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.880 an orderly environment makes people more productive. Is it worth 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:24.119 it to make your bed in the morning, to clean 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:27.000 your desk before quitting time, to pick up the house 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:30.440 before bed. I know lots of people feel strongly about this, 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:32.519 but I think that this has more to do with 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:37.319 personality than whether there's an objectively correct answer. A few 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:40.640 years ago, like many people, I listened to Admiral William H. 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:44.320 Mccraven's commencement speech, telling graduates that if they want to 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.479 change the world, they should start by making their beds. 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.839 The idea is that how we do little things and 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.640 the order we create around us through these little victories 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:56.080 is what allows us to do big things in the 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:59.600 long run. Lots of people agree with the admiral. His 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:02.800 speech has been viewed more than ten million times. I'd 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.240 point out that his speech was actually more about various 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:08.200 other lessons he learned in his military service. But most 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:10.920 people are never going to face harsh combat conditions or 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:15.200 survive special forces training. Everyone, on the other hand, can 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:17.600 make his or her bed, which is why that's the 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:21.240 lesson that's often repeated from the speech. So is this 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.600 a wise idea? Is making your bed the first step 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:27.800 to conquering the world? I know it's a popular idea. 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.080 Magazines devote cover lines to the idea that you can 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:34.800 clear your clutter and change your life. Marie Condo's life 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:38.760 changing magic of tidying up became a cultural phenomenon with 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.199 its charge that life begins when you put your house 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:45.440 in order. But as someone who doesn't make her bed 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.680 every morning, or clean her desk most days, or particularly 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:50.520 care if the house is cluttered when I go to bed, 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:54.240 I have to say I'm not sure. I'm not sure 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.520 that spending time creating these signs of outward order is 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:01.640 the universal cute to success. Instead, I think that some 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:06.440 people are more bothered by untidiness than others. There are 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:10.120 neat types and there are let it go types. One 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.960 is not better than the other. There are successful and 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:18.560 unsuccessful people in both camps. However, since I focus on 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:20.560 the twenty four hours we all have in a day, 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:23.760 I do know this, If you can get yourself to 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.680 a place where you are slightly less bothered by a 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.800 lack of visual tidiness, you can save quite a bit 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:32.679 of time. Here's one way to find out what sort 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:36.000 of camp you fall in. Does it bother you to 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:39.760 have a high number of unread messages on your inbox icon? 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:43.480 I don't get worked up about deleting stuff, and if 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:45.680 I have no new messages that I haven't dealt with, 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:49.200 are only a handful. My icon generally says somewhere around 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:54.480 six six thirty messages. To me, six thirty messages basically 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:59.000 means zero. It doesn't bother me that it isn't actually zero. 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:01.200 But when I hell this to some people or they 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.320 see my phone, they say this would drive them crazy. 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.480 They say I should go through and delete all these 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:09.960 unread messages so it would say zero. But I fail 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.880 to see why this would not change my life in 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.560 any way if my icon six six thirty or it 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:20.120 says zero. Likewise, no one sees my bed during the day. 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.360 Sometimes I make it and sometimes I don't. I'm not 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.359 more productive on the days that I do make it. 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:27.880 I don't work near my bed where it would enter 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:30.839 my world view anyway. As for getting in that bed 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:32.880 at night, I can fall asleep. Whatever is going on 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.200 on the floor or whatever the bed looks like. I 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.480 just view it as irrelevant, But in my talks and 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.680 workshops on time management, I know that many people feel differently. 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.200 People's time logs will show thirty to sixty minutes cleaning 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:48.920 up the house before bed, So I ask, why is 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.720 there going to be an eleven pm home inspection? Is 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.240 someone coming around to give demerits for having toys on 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:58.160 the floor. Well, now there is no eleven pm home 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:01.600 inspection and no one is giving out to merits. In fact, 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:03.880 those toys are just going to come out again the 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.520 next morning and you will never get that hour back. 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:09.960 That might make rational sense, but people tell me they 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.520 simply cannot relax if their house is a mess. And similarly, 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.720 I'm sure that some people would feel incredibly distracted and 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:20.560 ill at ease by that sixty number on their inbox. 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:24.400 An unmade bed might make them worry that life is 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:28.120 falling apart. If that is you, well then you'll need 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.760 to spend time on it, or you can find someone 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.600 else who will, whether voluntarily or for pay. But there 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.560 might still be ways to save time. For instance, if 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:41.440 you really need a neatly made bed, don't have an 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:45.120 elaborate bed, one sheet, one comforter, and only as many 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:48.880 pillows as you and any bedmates need for sleeping. Arranging 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:52.719 a dozen throw pillows is the way of madness. Turn 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:56.600 the bed making process into a thirty second ordeal Max. 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:59.200 And if you really can't relax, if there's a mess 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:02.800 in the house, I suggest this clean one room, shut 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:06.400 the door, and sitting there freeze up all kinds of time. 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.880 Do you make your bet each day? Are you in 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:12.440 the neat camp or the let it go camp? You 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.240 can let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at I 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:19.000 heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:22.120 Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:31.440 our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:34.360 You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:38.680 Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:43.560 Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four then 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:47.040 Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:51.240 email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:53.800 That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:56.480 Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.400 Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.560 more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:12.000 Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:12.720 favorite shows.