WEBVTT - Decide how time shifts

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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 decide how time shifts. Any big

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<v Speaker 1>disruption will change how we spend time, but if we're

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<v Speaker 1>not careful, those changes won't be made mindfully. Better to

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<v Speaker 1>think this through and make sure the time goes where

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<v Speaker 1>you wanted to go. Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics

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<v Speaker 1>here in the US released the annual American Time You Survey.

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<v Speaker 1>This survey, which asks thousands of Americans to talk through

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<v Speaker 1>how they spent yesterday four a m. To four am,

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<v Speaker 1>rolling over all the days of the year, is considered

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<v Speaker 1>one of the best time surveys out there since it

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<v Speaker 1>covers all days and doesn't ask about particular categories of time,

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<v Speaker 1>it is more accurate and less prune to people giving

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<v Speaker 1>socially desirable answers. Really, I exercise for two hours every

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<v Speaker 1>single day, I promise right, you will probably not be

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<v Speaker 1>surprised to hear that people spent their time differently than

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<v Speaker 1>in nine While the Bureau of Labor Statistics actually shut

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<v Speaker 1>down the survey from March to early May because of

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, there was still a lot of represented in

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<v Speaker 1>the survey. The proportion of people doing some work at

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<v Speaker 1>home on the day they were surveyed almost doubled. People

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<v Speaker 1>spent less time in restaurants. Parents spend more time doing

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<v Speaker 1>what we call secondary childcare, that is, watching kids while

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<v Speaker 1>doing something else like working, So big time shifts, including

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<v Speaker 1>this do zy. People spent twenty six fewer minutes traveling

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<v Speaker 1>around each day in than they did in nine. This

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<v Speaker 1>represents a lot less time spent commuting and running errands.

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<v Speaker 1>What I find interesting about this number is that in

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<v Speaker 1>the past many people have told me that they would

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<v Speaker 1>love to spend less time commuting or doing errands. Indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>they are not doing X, Y and z in their

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<v Speaker 1>lives because they are spending so much time commuting and

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<v Speaker 1>doing errands in A lot of that disappeared. When the

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<v Speaker 1>whole population spends twenty six fewer minutes per day on

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<v Speaker 1>something on average, that is a really significant finding. So

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<v Speaker 1>what did we do with all this found time? Well, interestingly,

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<v Speaker 1>we've spent nineteen more minutes watching television and ten more

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<v Speaker 1>it's using computers for leisure in games. In other words,

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<v Speaker 1>every single minute and more that Americans saved on travel

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<v Speaker 1>went right into screen time, so much for the idea

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<v Speaker 1>that we would do all sorts of productive things if

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<v Speaker 1>we spent less time in the car. Now I understand

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<v Speaker 1>why this shift happened. Screens are the easiest form of entertainment,

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<v Speaker 1>and so when extra time appeared, screen time gobbled up

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<v Speaker 1>those minutes. Spending extra time reading or exercising or volunteering

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<v Speaker 1>takes effort. When we don't think about how we'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to spend our time, it slides into things that are

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<v Speaker 1>more effortless. But this need not be inevitable for us

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<v Speaker 1>in individual cases. We just have to think about it.

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<v Speaker 1>So whenever you are facing a major shift in how

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<v Speaker 1>you spend your time, time, really think about how things

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<v Speaker 1>will shift and what you want to shift, and what

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<v Speaker 1>will happen if you don't think about it. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>a great many family schedules will change over the next

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks as children go back to school. Maybe kids

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<v Speaker 1>are starting new schools that start at different times or

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<v Speaker 1>require different transportation arrangements. People are going to need to

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<v Speaker 1>wake up at different times. This is probably complicated by

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<v Speaker 1>shifting adult schedules as people go to hybrid workplace formats

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<v Speaker 1>or go back to the office or maybe you've got

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<v Speaker 1>a different shift, like a child leaving to go to college,

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<v Speaker 1>or an adult child moving back home, or maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>are moving to a different house. All of these things

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<v Speaker 1>are going to change how you spend your time, so

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<v Speaker 1>make sure that you are not mindlessly spending more time

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<v Speaker 1>on something that you don't want to spend more time doing.

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<v Speaker 1>If time opens up, great, think about where you would

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<v Speaker 1>like it to go. If the normal slot for something

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<v Speaker 1>you do like disappears, think about where else you can

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<v Speaker 1>put it. But don't just bumble along. When we do.

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<v Speaker 1>All the time we save winds up going to things

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<v Speaker 1>that we probably don't care about all that much, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is hardly a win in the long run. In

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four then breakfast p O D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with

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

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

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