WEBVTT - Calculate how much time is left

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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 about a simple way to make ordinary

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<v Speaker 1>moments feel more meaningful. Calculate how many more times you

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<v Speaker 1>will do them. The answer maybe less than you think,

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<v Speaker 1>which can make every remaining action feel more important. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip comes from Cassie holmes new book Happier Hour, How

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<v Speaker 1>to beat distraction, expand your time, and focus on what

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<v Speaker 1>matters most. In this book, Cassie explains how the ways

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<v Speaker 1>people spend their time can affect their happiness. One fascinating

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<v Speaker 1>finding as people get older, they tend to find a

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<v Speaker 1>higher level of happiness in ordinary events. When you're young,

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<v Speaker 1>it is the fantastic experiences that move the needle. A

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<v Speaker 1>delectable dinner, a stunning concert, an amazing vacation. Older folks,

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<v Speaker 1>on the other hand, can get just as excited by

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<v Speaker 1>a walk with a friend. In Happier Hour, Cassie writes

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<v Speaker 1>that realizing their time is precious, people become more prone

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<v Speaker 1>to savor even the simplest of moments. This, of course

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<v Speaker 1>suggests a little mind trick for finding small movements more meaningful.

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<v Speaker 1>Consider how many times you have done an activity and

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<v Speaker 1>then calculate how many times you can expect it to

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<v Speaker 1>happen again. You can make yourself feel the equivalent of

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<v Speaker 1>older by reminding yourself that these still to happen number

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<v Speaker 1>might be quite small. So, for instance, Cassie did this

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<v Speaker 1>after once telling her young son to hurry up when

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<v Speaker 1>he had literally stopped to smell the roses as they

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<v Speaker 1>were walking to preschool. She walked her kid to school

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<v Speaker 1>almost every day, and so she adapted to it as

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<v Speaker 1>an everyday activity, but her son wouldn't be in preschool forever.

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<v Speaker 1>On the day she was trying to get him to

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<v Speaker 1>hurry up, she had already completed eight of her walks

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<v Speaker 1>with him to preschool. Knowing that allowed her to realize

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<v Speaker 1>how precious those last really were. Some people automatically start

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<v Speaker 1>to do this as they realize their kids are getting older.

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<v Speaker 1>My oldest child is already fifteen. Most likely we only

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<v Speaker 1>have three years or so before he decides to move

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<v Speaker 1>on to the next chapter of his life. As we

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<v Speaker 1>figure out how to spend Christmas break, we should really

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<v Speaker 1>only assume we get three more Christmas breaks where he

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<v Speaker 1>is automatically here. It does make the experience of planning

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas more poignant now. To be sure, I have a

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<v Speaker 1>two year old as well, so I am not going

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<v Speaker 1>to be an empty nester for a long time. But

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<v Speaker 1>as I am pretty sure this is my last baby,

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<v Speaker 1>I have definitely thought how close I am to the

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<v Speaker 1>end of so many things. With him. I have changed

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of diapers in my life. I have probably

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<v Speaker 1>changed the diapers I am going to change at least

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<v Speaker 1>until the grandkids stage. That doesn't make diaper changing more pleasant,

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<v Speaker 1>but it does make each one feel less like a

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<v Speaker 1>tedious and eternal sentence. And then there is rocking a

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<v Speaker 1>baby to bed. Sometimes I really would like to have

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<v Speaker 1>this be an easier process. But in another year or

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<v Speaker 1>two he will be a big boy in a big

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<v Speaker 1>boy bed, and my multidecade journey of putting babies to

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<v Speaker 1>bed we'll be over. Right now, I am truly almost done.

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<v Speaker 1>In any case, if there is something in your life

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<v Speaker 1>you do frequently and you'd like to imbue it with

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<v Speaker 1>a bit more meaning, you might try this trick from

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<v Speaker 1>happier hour, figure out how many times you've done it,

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<v Speaker 1>and figure out how many more times you have left.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no need to depress yourself as I contemplate

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<v Speaker 1>that the actuarial tables say, I probably have a mirror

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand weeks to go in my life. But it

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<v Speaker 1>does make individual moments matter more and that can make

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<v Speaker 1>time in general feel more expansive. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.