WEBVTT - Second Cup: Anything is good

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that there is no such thing as productivity debt.

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<v Speaker 1>Rather than viewing each day as a race to catch up,

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<v Speaker 1>why not view anything more than getting through the day

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<v Speaker 1>as a big win That can make getting things done

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more pleasant. Today's tip comes from a recent

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<v Speaker 1>conversation between Sarah Hart Hunger and Oliver Berkman. Sarah, who

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<v Speaker 1>co hosts my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds, is

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<v Speaker 1>also the host of a podcast called Best Laid Plans.

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<v Speaker 1>Oliver is the author of the book four Thousand Weeks

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<v Speaker 1>Time Management for Mortals. Oliver's book notes that we will

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<v Speaker 1>all die not having done the vast majority of the

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<v Speaker 1>things we could do. On some level, that sounds depressing,

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<v Speaker 1>but on another level it's pretty liberating. As he told

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah on Best Laid Plans, given our inevitable mortality and

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<v Speaker 1>the limit on what we can do, there is no

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<v Speaker 1>productivity debt. You don't wake up in debt, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you work hard all day maybe you will get to

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<v Speaker 1>zero instead. Given that we will never do all the

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<v Speaker 1>things we could do, why not view each day as

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<v Speaker 1>a zero baseline, and anything you get done beyond sitting

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<v Speaker 1>in bed eating potato chips is a big win. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to struggle to save yourself and to justify

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<v Speaker 1>your existence through what you do. You are here as

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<v Speaker 1>you are, and whatever progress if you make is great. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps that sounds like giving up, but the truth is

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<v Speaker 1>we often flounder around precisely because we feel like we

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<v Speaker 1>have so much to do and we are constantly behind.

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<v Speaker 1>We flit from thing to thing and stay connected when

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<v Speaker 1>focus would be better because we are so behind on

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<v Speaker 1>email and messages and whatever else. But if you accept

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<v Speaker 1>that getting any task done is a victory, all of

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<v Speaker 1>this becomes a lot less stressful. You see something you

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<v Speaker 1>feel it would be good to do, and you do it,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you do something else, and doing this you

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<v Speaker 1>wind up getting a lot done. It is still not

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<v Speaker 1>much compared with the void of the universe, but it

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<v Speaker 1>is never going to be much. At least it is something.

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<v Speaker 1>When I am having a day that doesn't feel particularly productive,

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<v Speaker 1>I try to adopt this mindset. Maybe I didn't come

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<v Speaker 1>up with the next perfect book idea, but there are

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<v Speaker 1>a great many books I could write, But won't because

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<v Speaker 1>I will shuffle off this mortal coil before I get

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<v Speaker 1>to them. Maybe I wrote a blog post in it

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<v Speaker 1>made someone smile, or some one listened to one of

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<v Speaker 1>the thousand Existing Before Breakfast episodes and had a slightly

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<v Speaker 1>happier day as a result. I don't have to justify

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<v Speaker 1>my existence, as no one has to justify their existence.

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<v Speaker 1>But if the baseline is zero, any little bit of

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<v Speaker 1>progress can be celebrated as a win. Maybe you can

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<v Speaker 1>tell yourself the same thing. You don't wake up in

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<v Speaker 1>productivity debt and need to work it off. You wake

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<v Speaker 1>up with a day in front of you that can

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<v Speaker 1>be filled with something. What you fill it with is

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<v Speaker 1>at least partially up to you. There should be no

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<v Speaker 1>pressure to bend the arc of the universe, because frankly,

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<v Speaker 1>no one is going to bend the arc of the universe.

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<v Speaker 1>Without that pressure, you can just do what you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to do or what you feel needs doing, and go

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<v Speaker 1>to bed satisfied that you made those choices. That sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like a much happier way to live in the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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

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<v Speaker 1>hear 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

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<v Speaker 1>four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an

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<v Speaker 1>email at before Breakfast podcast. At iHeartMedia dot com that

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<v Speaker 1>before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.