WEBVTT - Plan it in, do it anyway

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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 a phrase I repeat to myself all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. Plan it in, do it anyway. I find

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<v Speaker 1>I make much better use of my time when I

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<v Speaker 1>think beyond how I feel right now, A better question

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<v Speaker 1>when I think about how I spend my time looking back?

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<v Speaker 1>Will I be happy I did this? Will I be

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<v Speaker 1>happy with this memory? If so, my experiencing self just

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<v Speaker 1>needs to get on board. That phrase experiencing self comes

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<v Speaker 1>from psychologist Daniel Kahneman's work. This Nobel Prize winning researcher

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<v Speaker 1>noted that the self really has multiple identities. There's what

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<v Speaker 1>we're going through right at this instant, the moment when

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<v Speaker 1>you're listening to me tell you about this topic. But

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<v Speaker 1>much of our internal lives actually involved the remembering self,

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<v Speaker 1>the keeper of our memories. You think back to your

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<v Speaker 1>life and the story of what brought you to this moment.

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<v Speaker 1>I actually like to think about this in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>three selves, the experiencing self and the remembering self, but

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<v Speaker 1>also the anticipating self. Another big chunk of our interior

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<v Speaker 1>monologues consists of our plans, hopes, and anxieties about the future.

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<v Speaker 1>You might be commuting on a rainy day, but you're

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about that sunny beach vacation you have planned for August.

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<v Speaker 1>Our brains have an amazing ability to time travel backwards

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<v Speaker 1>and forwards. Here's why this matters as we think about

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<v Speaker 1>how we spend our time. The present is actually an

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly ephemeral moment. In his book The Principles of Psychology,

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<v Speaker 1>William James writes, where is it this present? It has

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<v Speaker 1>melted in our grasp, fled ere, we could touch it,

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<v Speaker 1>gone in the instant of becoming. Back in William James's day,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a lot of strange experimental inquiry into the

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<v Speaker 1>exact length of the present. Our senses can't distinguish between

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<v Speaker 1>things that happen less than about a half second apart,

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<v Speaker 1>and working memory is a maximum of about twelve seconds.

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<v Speaker 1>So the length of the present must be somewhere in there,

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<v Speaker 1>or at least that's what I gather from reading about

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<v Speaker 1>these various experiments. So the present is fleeting. Almost all

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<v Speaker 1>of life is lived by the anticipating and remembering selves.

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<v Speaker 1>We can anticipate for years, we can remember for decades.

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<v Speaker 1>The challenge is that the present, the moment occupied by

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<v Speaker 1>the experiencing self, has a disproportionate effect on our actions,

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<v Speaker 1>and frankly, the experiencing self is a little bit lazy.

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<v Speaker 1>The remembering self will be thrilled to have gone on

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<v Speaker 1>that early morning trail run so she can see the

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<v Speaker 1>gorgeous sun rise over that nearby lake. The experiencing self, well,

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<v Speaker 1>she's comfortable in bed, hitting snooze until the sun is

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<v Speaker 1>high in the sky. The anticipating self thought it would

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<v Speaker 1>be fun to go to an art museum on a

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<v Speaker 1>Friday night when admission is free and there's a bar

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<v Speaker 1>and music, and the remembering self will fondly recall the

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<v Speaker 1>masterpieces and chatting with new friends in line for a cocktail.

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<v Speaker 1>But the experiencing self is tired after work. The experiencing

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<v Speaker 1>self is the one who will have to brave the

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<v Speaker 1>cold and the rain and the Friday night traffic. The

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<v Speaker 1>experiencing self is not happy about this split of labor,

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<v Speaker 1>so she rebels She ignores what the anticipating and remembering

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<v Speaker 1>self want, and justifies this tantrum by pointing out that

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<v Speaker 1>the museum will still be there next Friday, so she's

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<v Speaker 1>just going to watch Netflix instead, immediate pleasure wins out

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<v Speaker 1>over the more effortful sort. One of the best ways

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<v Speaker 1>I've heard this phenomenon described is in philosopher Robert Gruden's

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<v Speaker 1>book Time and the Art of Living. He says, we

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<v Speaker 1>pamper the present like a spoiled child. We indulge its

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<v Speaker 1>whim to scroll through Instagram instead of living a life

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<v Speaker 1>worth taking pictures about. So how do we keep the

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<v Speaker 1>experiencing selves tyranny and check It isn't easy. People are

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<v Speaker 1>bad at considering their future selves in general, which is

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<v Speaker 1>why so few people invest properly for retirement. But that's

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<v Speaker 1>where my mantra comes in. Whenever I find myself listening

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<v Speaker 1>too much to the experiencing self, I repeat my phrase,

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<v Speaker 1>plan it in do it anyway. If my anticipating self

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<v Speaker 1>really wanted to do something, my remembering self will probably

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<v Speaker 1>be glad that I did it. I may be tired,

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<v Speaker 1>but guess what, I'll always be tired, and we draw

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<v Speaker 1>energy from meaningful things. Furthermore, all time passes, whether I

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<v Speaker 1>do anything today or not. Eventually today will be gone,

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<v Speaker 1>Tomorrow will be gone too. Time can be filled with

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<v Speaker 1>what amounts to nothing, or it can be filled with

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<v Speaker 1>something more meaningful. So if you'd like to have time

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<v Speaker 1>feel richer and more meaningful, plan in exciting things the

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<v Speaker 1>many adventures we've talked about in previous episodes, and some

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<v Speaker 1>bigger adventures too. And then when you get to the

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<v Speaker 1>moment and you are wavering because your couch seems inviting,

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<v Speaker 1>repeat this phrase. Plan it in do it anyway You're

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<v Speaker 1>remembering self will thank you. In fact, if you want

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<v Speaker 1>to encourage this mindset in the future, take a moment

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<v Speaker 1>right now to thank your past experiencing self for having

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<v Speaker 1>done something difficult that you can now smile upon. I

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<v Speaker 1>just spent some time looking through photos I took a

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks ago of my kids at a botanical garden.

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<v Speaker 1>They did not want to turn off their video games

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<v Speaker 1>and get in the car. My experiencing self did not

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy that battle. But all that is in the past. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>What is left are these images of sunshine and flowers

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<v Speaker 1>and children in a moment of childhood that will be

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<v Speaker 1>gone before I know it. So what will you decide

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<v Speaker 1>to do anyway today? Feel free to let me know

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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