Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is that fun at home doesn't have to
Speaker 1: be free. It is just as valid to use your
Speaker 1: entertainment budget for fun you will have at home as
Speaker 1: it is to use that cash for fun out in
Speaker 1: the world. So feel free to splurge on the fund
Speaker 1: that will make time at home I feel like time
Speaker 1: well spent. One of the time management rules in my
Speaker 1: new book Tranquility by Tuesday is effortful before effortless. That is,
Speaker 1: before you engage in effortless fun like watching TV or
Speaker 1: scrolling social media, enjoy some effortful fund first. Effortful fun
Speaker 1: might be reading, drawing, doing puzzles, knitting, baking, or some
Speaker 1: other hobby or pastime. Effortful fun, as the name suggests,
Speaker 1: is more active than relaxing in front of a screen.
Speaker 1: Effortful fun tends to be more rewarding, too, which is
Speaker 1: why I advocate prioritizing it. If you want to engage
Speaker 1: in effortful fun, you need to be ready. Your phone
Speaker 1: is always at hand, so if you don't want to
Speaker 1: spend all your leisure time scrolling you need to have
Speaker 1: another sort of fun that is equally accessible. My personal
Speaker 1: favorite forms of effortful fun are reading, playing the piano,
Speaker 1: working puzzles, and building lego kits. So that means I
Speaker 1: always need to have supplies for those activities. I need
Speaker 1: a book, I want to read, I need sheet music,
Speaker 1: a puzzle in progress, or a lego set. Thanks to
Speaker 1: the library, I don't always have to spend money on books,
Speaker 1: but I do spend money on sheet music and puzzles
Speaker 1: and legos, and I am okay with that. I am
Speaker 1: a reasonably frugal person, but I am willing to spend
Speaker 1: money on experiences, and sheep music, legos, and puzzles make
Speaker 1: possible experience as I enjoy. They make effortful fun look
Speaker 1: as enticing as effortless fun, so that makes them a
Speaker 1: good investment in my book. Now, maybe some folks already
Speaker 1: have that mindset, but I am guessing a lot of
Speaker 1: folks who listen to this podcast are frugal souls too.
Speaker 1: It can be challenging to spend money on stuff that
Speaker 1: you don't really need. We might worry that we are
Speaker 1: wasting the money too. That you might buy supplies for
Speaker 1: an at home experience and realize you won't use the
Speaker 1: supplies again. You won't do the same puzzle twice. Or
Speaker 1: maybe you thought you would enjoy hate decorating and you
Speaker 1: bought the supplies, but you decided it's not for you,
Speaker 1: And you might think that's a problem, But is it.
Speaker 1: When you go to a concert, you spend the money
Speaker 1: and then it is over. If you've spent an evening
Speaker 1: cake decorating and don't really want to do it again,
Speaker 1: that is no big deal either. Money for entertainment is
Speaker 1: money for entertainment. You had the experience, and you can
Speaker 1: pass on the supplies to someone else who would enjoy them.
Speaker 1: In the last few years, there's been a proliferation of
Speaker 1: remote classes and performances. Some of them are free, and
Speaker 1: some of them require a payment, especially if your geographic
Speaker 1: location or your family situation makes it harder for you
Speaker 1: to attend in person classes or performances. Remote options can
Speaker 1: be great. They are worth paying for. Indeed, aid making
Speaker 1: that investment can upgrade your leisure quite a bit. Buying
Speaker 1: an art book is as legitimate as paying for museum admission,
Speaker 1: particularly if the art book keeps you off Instagram. Buying
Speaker 1: a jewelry making book and supplies is as legitimate as
Speaker 1: taking a jewelry making class, especially if making jewelry keeps
Speaker 1: you from watching hours of reruns. Within the guardrails of
Speaker 1: your budget, buy what you need to have fun at home.
Speaker 1: There is nothing wrong with paying for entertainment that happens
Speaker 1: in your house. Of course, the one caveat is that,
Speaker 1: in addition to at home fun, you do want to
Speaker 1: have some fun that involves leaving your house. Don't just
Speaker 1: do a puzzle of the woods covered in snow if
Speaker 1: you can go for a walk in the snowy woods too.
Speaker 1: But wherever you are there is fun to be had.
Speaker 1: So generate ideas and acquire supplies so that even when
Speaker 1: you are home, you are ready to engage in effortful
Speaker 1: fun when leisure time comes your way. When I finished
Speaker 1: my autumn themed one thousand piece puzzle a few weeks ago,
Speaker 1: I thought about leaving it up and taking a pause.
Speaker 1: But then I remember that I really do enjoy doing puzzles,
Speaker 1: So I bought a holiday themed puzzle, and I have
Speaker 1: already found a few hours to work on it. Those
Speaker 1: are hours that I probably would have spent reading headlines
Speaker 1: or something else forgettable, But anxiety producing the puzzle is
Speaker 1: a far more relaxing choice. In the meantime, This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. M Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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