WEBVTT - There is always downtime

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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 that there is always downtime. Sometimes we

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<v Speaker 1>can get caught up in just how busy we are,

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<v Speaker 1>but even a full and active life tends to leave

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<v Speaker 1>a reasonable amount of unstructured time. You just have to

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<v Speaker 1>be aware of it. These days, my family is deep

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<v Speaker 1>into fall activity season. I have five kids, four of

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<v Speaker 1>whom are old enough to have lots of interests in

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<v Speaker 1>their own social calendars, so we've got a reasonable amount

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<v Speaker 1>going on karate a Ninja Warrior class, rock climbing, parkour,

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<v Speaker 1>swim lessons, ice skating, fencing, tennis, boy Scouts, trumpet and

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<v Speaker 1>Alto sacks lessons, Science olympiad inquired the last. For both

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<v Speaker 1>a kid and for me, Perhaps one might use the

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<v Speaker 1>word over scheduled, but I wouldn't use that word. Even

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<v Speaker 1>with driving time, there turns out to be a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of unstructured hours in our lives. There are approximately thirty

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<v Speaker 1>two waking hours on Saturday and Sunday, for instance, on

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<v Speaker 1>a weekend with five kid activities taking two hours apiece

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<v Speaker 1>including driving time, plus two hours of church and a

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<v Speaker 1>five hour half day adventure somewhere. That still leaves fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>hours of unstructured time. And since my husband and I

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<v Speaker 1>split the activities and some of them run concurrently, it

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<v Speaker 1>turns out to be even more unstructured hours. The kids,

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<v Speaker 1>in particular wind up with almost too much unstructured time.

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<v Speaker 1>I say too much, since they often wind up on

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<v Speaker 1>their devices with the open hours. Yes, I do entertain

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<v Speaker 1>the fantasy that they will read great books and invent

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<v Speaker 1>wonderful games, and sometimes they certainly do, but even that

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<v Speaker 1>just takes a few hours, and then there are the screens.

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<v Speaker 1>Adults can wind up with a lot of unstructured time too,

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<v Speaker 1>even if it is not true leisure, because we've got

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<v Speaker 1>little kids around or chores to do, there tend to

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<v Speaker 1>be many hours that aren't dedicated to something in particular.

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<v Speaker 1>If you doubt me on this, try tracking your time

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<v Speaker 1>for a week and see how many hours seem somewhat

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<v Speaker 1>nebulous and hard to describe. Random puttering, random child care,

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<v Speaker 1>random quasi leisure. Now, there's nothing wrong with any of

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<v Speaker 1>this time. It can be perfectly fine and relaxing, but

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<v Speaker 1>it is almost universally there, and in reasonable quantities, even

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<v Speaker 1>in very busy lives. The reason to be aware of

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<v Speaker 1>this time is simply so this time can be noticed

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<v Speaker 1>and spent in ways that you would like. When we

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<v Speaker 1>do have a lot going on, it is easy to

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<v Speaker 1>focus on the next thing that has to happen. But

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<v Speaker 1>if the next thing doesn't have to happen for another

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<v Speaker 1>two hours or so, you could do something fun or

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<v Speaker 1>relaxing with that time. But if you are so focused

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<v Speaker 1>on the two hours passing and all you need to

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<v Speaker 1>do and getting to the next thing, then you won't

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<v Speaker 1>do anything fun and that would be a shame. Even

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<v Speaker 1>unstructured time is best spent mindfully, playing with the kids,

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<v Speaker 1>reading a book, watching a chosen TV show, walking around

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<v Speaker 1>outside going to find some sort of adventure. But when

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<v Speaker 1>we aren't aware that this time exists, because we tell

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves the story that we are overscheduled and it doesn't exist,

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<v Speaker 1>then we can't take advantage of it. Best to see

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what time looks like 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>Before Breakfast pod. That's b E the number four, then

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

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<v Speaker 1>email at for Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that

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<v Speaker 1>before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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

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

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