WEBVTT - Second Cup: Go screen-free for 24 hours

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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 try going screen free for twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four hours. We spend a lot of time on our

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<v Speaker 1>phones and devices, but consciously taking a break can be

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<v Speaker 1>eye opening and kind of well fun. Thanks to Apple's

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<v Speaker 1>screen time feature, I've realized over the past few months

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<v Speaker 1>that I've been spending an increasing number of hours per

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<v Speaker 1>day on my phone, often mindlessly. I texted my husband

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<v Speaker 1>and babysitter and a few friends, and that's all great,

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<v Speaker 1>But every time I pick up the phone to look

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<v Speaker 1>at my text, I wind up looking at other stuff too.

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<v Speaker 1>Random comments on an article Twitter, coronavirus headlines that I

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to be following. Even checking the time, or

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<v Speaker 1>the weather or my steps winds up triggering a cycle

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<v Speaker 1>of looking through social media feeds. Looking at the phone

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<v Speaker 1>also becomes my default for when I'm feeding my baby,

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<v Speaker 1>and that adds hours too. The baby feeding time is

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<v Speaker 1>what it is, but the rest of the time is

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<v Speaker 1>harder to justify. It doesn't work to ignore the phone,

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<v Speaker 1>so instead I've been trying to leave my phone elsewhere

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<v Speaker 1>for periods of time when it's okay. For instance, when

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<v Speaker 1>I went for a walk recently with my parents and

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<v Speaker 1>my kids, I couldn't really imagine that anyone else would

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<v Speaker 1>desperately need to reach me, so I left the phone.

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<v Speaker 1>On a recent beach vacation, I would leave the phone

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<v Speaker 1>at the house. When I was with my family on

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<v Speaker 1>the sand, I couldn't pick up the phone in a

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<v Speaker 1>moment of boredom, and so I looked at the waves

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<v Speaker 1>and it felt more relaxing. Of course, the phone is

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly useful, as is my laptop, but given that we're

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<v Speaker 1>all going places less frequently these days, this might be

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<v Speaker 1>a great time to try not using it for a while.

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<v Speaker 1>What would happen if you park the phone somewhere in

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<v Speaker 1>your house and go screen free for a few hours

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<v Speaker 1>or even a full Today's challenge is to give it

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<v Speaker 1>a try, maybe over this weekend. Maybe take a quick

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<v Speaker 1>look in the morning to deal with anything. Then turn

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<v Speaker 1>the phone off or put it somewhere to charge. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>turn on your work laptop. Tell anyone who often reaches

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<v Speaker 1>you by phone that you'll be off for a bit,

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<v Speaker 1>just so they're not concerned. Then see how it goes.

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<v Speaker 1>There are definitely moments of boredom, but when there's no

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<v Speaker 1>easy way out, you figure out something else to do.

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<v Speaker 1>I stare at the sky more, and it's hard to

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<v Speaker 1>tell yourself that you have no time when you're staring

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<v Speaker 1>at the clouds. Truth is, though, just about any time

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<v Speaker 1>I'm reading headlines and feeling like I don't have time,

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<v Speaker 1>I could have been looking at the clouds, I always

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<v Speaker 1>had the time. I generally just try to go screen

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<v Speaker 1>free for a few hours, which I think is better

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<v Speaker 1>than nothing. You can check in mid day if you'd

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<v Speaker 1>like to, or go to the evening and then check

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<v Speaker 1>in if you're brave, twenty four hours. It's definitely doable

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<v Speaker 1>over a weekend, as long as you're not trying to

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<v Speaker 1>coordinate complicated plans. Plenty of people already tone out for

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<v Speaker 1>religious reasons, and they seem to do just fine. I

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<v Speaker 1>know some people take occasional week long completely off screen vacations,

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<v Speaker 1>but that's never been practical for me since I'm often

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<v Speaker 1>texting to coordinate with family members. But this doesn't have

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<v Speaker 1>to be all or nothing. Just try being off for

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<v Speaker 1>a bit and see what happens. If the world doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>fall apart, and it generally doesn't then try again. You

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<v Speaker 1>just might enjoy it. If you try going screen free

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<v Speaker 1>for a day or a few days, or at least

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<v Speaker 1>a few hours, let me know how it goes. You

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<v Speaker 1>can reach me once you're back on at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeart media dot com. 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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