1
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,560
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

2
00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:17,120
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

3
00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:22,720
Speaker 1: tip is to treat this weekend like a vacation. If

4
00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:27,560
Speaker 1: you do, you may feel happier over the weekend and

5
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:33,880
Speaker 1: more refreshed when Monday morning rolls around. Today's tip, like

6
00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,480
Speaker 1: some other recent ones, comes from Cassie holmes book Happier Hour,

7
00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:44,080
Speaker 1: How to Beat Distraction, expand your time, and focus on

8
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:49,440
Speaker 1: what matters most. Holmes recounts that she and fellow researchers

9
00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:54,440
Speaker 1: Colin West and Sandford Devo used Gallup's US Daily Poll

10
00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,080
Speaker 1: data focusing on an item about how often you take

11
00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:04,080
Speaker 1: trips or vacations. Holmes explains, our analyzes show that those

12
00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:09,840
Speaker 1: who prioritize time for vacation enjoy more positive emotion and

13
00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,880
Speaker 1: less negative emotion in their daily lives, as well as

14
00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:21,120
Speaker 1: greater life satisfaction overall. Now, perhaps that sounds slightly obvious

15
00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,160
Speaker 1: and hard to do anything with. Having more vacation time

16
00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:31,040
Speaker 1: and trips would be great alas many folks have limited

17
00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: days off and limited funds for travel. But Holmes and

18
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,160
Speaker 1: her research colleagues decided to then explore a related topic.

19
00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,800
Speaker 1: They noted that many of us already have regular built

20
00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:50,520
Speaker 1: in time off are weekends every seven days, the majority

21
00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:54,400
Speaker 1: of people get two days off work. Now, it's not

22
00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,600
Speaker 1: quite the same as taking a Tuesday and Wednesday off

23
00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,240
Speaker 1: when everyone else is working, but it's not bad either.

24
00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,360
Speaker 1: So they set out to explore whether treating the weekend

25
00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:10,600
Speaker 1: like a vacation would have similar benefits. They designed an

26
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,280
Speaker 1: experiment and told some participants, treat this weekend like a

27
00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,160
Speaker 1: regular weekend. That is, to the extent possible, think in

28
00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,079
Speaker 1: ways and behave in ways you normally would on a weekend.

29
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,520
Speaker 1: They told other participants, treat this weekend like a vacation.

30
00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,120
Speaker 1: That is, to the extent possible, think in ways and

31
00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,200
Speaker 1: behave in ways as though you were on a vacation.

32
00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,359
Speaker 1: The next Monday, the vacationers were, in Holmes's words, happier,

33
00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:46,040
Speaker 1: less stressed, and more satisfied. Plus they'd been happier during

34
00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:51,080
Speaker 1: the weekend too. The vacationers spent less time on housework

35
00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,639
Speaker 1: and work and more time on some pleasurable activities, and

36
00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,520
Speaker 1: they were more present during the activities they engaged in.

37
00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:07,160
Speaker 1: Holmes concludes that mindset matters if you reframe weekend or

38
00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,400
Speaker 1: other time off as a vacation, you will behave differently

39
00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,880
Speaker 1: and get more out of this time. She advises, give

40
00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:20,400
Speaker 1: yourself a break during the breaks you already have. In

41
00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:25,440
Speaker 1: other words, you can get more vacation feelings even without

42
00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,840
Speaker 1: additional days off if you think of your weekend time

43
00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:35,200
Speaker 1: off differently. This has me thinking about ways people can

44
00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:39,160
Speaker 1: get more of the vacation feeling into their weekends. One

45
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,760
Speaker 1: simple way to get into a vacation mindset may be

46
00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,400
Speaker 1: to create a calendar item for Friday at five o'clock

47
00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,680
Speaker 1: or whenever it is that you get off work, reminding

48
00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:54,560
Speaker 1: yourself to enjoy your vacation. Just think of all the fun, relaxation,

49
00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,040
Speaker 1: and connection you can enjoy in the sixty four hours

50
00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:03,360
Speaker 1: of vacation. For Monday morning at nine am, if you'd

51
00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,960
Speaker 1: like some sort of fruity drink with an umbrella in it,

52
00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,680
Speaker 1: we'll go for it. But whether that is happening or not,

53
00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,040
Speaker 1: try to feel like you are embarking on a few

54
00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:21,640
Speaker 1: well deserved days off, because well you are. If you

55
00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,240
Speaker 1: try treating your weekend like a vacation, I'd love to

56
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,960
Speaker 1: hear how it goes. You can reach me at Laura

57
00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:34,159
Speaker 1: at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

58
00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:40,080
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

59
00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:49,800
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

60
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:54,000
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

61
00:04:54,040 --> 00:05:03,080
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

62
00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:07,880
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

63
00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,680
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

64
00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:12,640
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.