WEBVTT - Add up the full time cost 

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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 to add up the full time cost.

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<v Speaker 1>We can forget all the small bits of time attached

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<v Speaker 1>to any project or activity, but seeing the true cost

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<v Speaker 1>can help us make better choices. Today's tip, like yesterday's,

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<v Speaker 1>comes from Ashley Willen's new book Time Smart. In this book,

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<v Speaker 1>she argues that people tend to undervalue their time compared

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<v Speaker 1>with money, but that we're often happier making time centric decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>One way that people undervalue their time is by not

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<v Speaker 1>considering all the time associated with any project or decision.

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<v Speaker 1>When people first look into speaking professionally, for instance, many

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<v Speaker 1>get quite excited by the pay rates associated with the job,

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<v Speaker 1>but of course, earning thousands of dollars for a one

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<v Speaker 1>hour speech doesn't actually translate into a rate of earning

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of dollars per hour. You often have to travel

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<v Speaker 1>to the speech. There's time getting to the airport and

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<v Speaker 1>time spent on the plane. Sometimes you have to stay overnight.

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<v Speaker 1>There's time spent packing and unpacking afterwards. There's the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that traveling takes a lot of energy. All of This

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<v Speaker 1>can be streamlined, of course, but it does lower the

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<v Speaker 1>per hour take. Likewise, Willen's notes that if someone wants

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<v Speaker 1>to have a meal with you to network, you're saying yes.

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<v Speaker 1>Is not just the sixty minutes of the meal, there's

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<v Speaker 1>also the time you'll spend getting too and from the

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<v Speaker 1>restaurant and finding parking. If you budget two hours total,

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<v Speaker 1>she says, you should ask yourself what am I not

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<v Speaker 1>doing with that time that I could be doing? And

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<v Speaker 1>what is the effect on the time around that meal?

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<v Speaker 1>Did you have to rush to complete tasks? Did it

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<v Speaker 1>increase you see your stress trying to make the appointment?

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<v Speaker 1>And did it affect your work afterward? These are all

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<v Speaker 1>good questions. Now, I am not saying that you shouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>go to networking lunches or dinners. You should. You just

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<v Speaker 1>want to be sure that you understand the full time cost. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I do think that a certain category of us have

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<v Speaker 1>an easier time making these calculations. In my case, I

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<v Speaker 1>am a working mom of five young kids. My husband

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<v Speaker 1>also works full time, and pre COVID, he traveled a

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<v Speaker 1>lot for work. So for many of my activities, I've

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<v Speaker 1>had to figure out the full time cost because I've

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<v Speaker 1>had to calculate the child care requirement. I know that

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<v Speaker 1>a sixty minute dinner isn't just a sixty minute dinner

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<v Speaker 1>because I'm booking the babysitter to show up forty minutes

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<v Speaker 1>beforehand and to stay forty minutes after. I've probably gone

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<v Speaker 1>to fewer things than I should have, precisely because I

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<v Speaker 1>am seeing the full time cost. But if you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have the babysitter meter, taking these things can be a

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<v Speaker 1>little harder to see, and that can affect decisions. So

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<v Speaker 1>when you're considering saying yes to something, be sure to

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<v Speaker 1>understand what it entails. That project isn't just two hours.

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<v Speaker 1>You'll spend at least another two hours negotiating the details

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<v Speaker 1>and setting up pre calls with the people involved. That

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<v Speaker 1>virtual coffee isn't just the twenty minutes. If you'll stop

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<v Speaker 1>deep work ten minutes before and cycle through headlines for

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<v Speaker 1>ten minutes afterwards, add up the full time cost, and

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<v Speaker 1>then ask what else you could do with that time.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe nothing much, but maybe something important and that is

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<v Speaker 1>worth knowing. In the meantime, This is Laura, Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. M

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

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<v Speaker 1>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 1>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four, then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast. At i heeart media dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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