WEBVTT - Be realistic about on-the-road productivity

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

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<v Speaker 2>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that plain time and travel time in

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<v Speaker 1>general can be hard to use well. Some people manage

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<v Speaker 1>to get.

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<v Speaker 2>A lot done, but if you are one of those

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<v Speaker 2>people who has a harder time with this, you might

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<v Speaker 2>be better off just accepting that and figuring out what

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<v Speaker 2>you can still do. I have been on a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of long plane flights over the last few months. It

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<v Speaker 2>has been a necessary part of getting to see some

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<v Speaker 2>amazing places like France and Portugal and Hawaii. I bring

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<v Speaker 2>my laptop and a list of things to do, and

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<v Speaker 2>often I do make it through some of these things.

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<v Speaker 2>But sometimes it is just hard. Sometimes flights are bumpy

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<v Speaker 2>and it is impossible to do anything except think about

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<v Speaker 2>the turbulence. Sometimes the person next to me is doing

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<v Speaker 2>distracting things. Sometimes I am tired, especially on long flights.

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<v Speaker 2>I believe in doing the best job we can today.

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<v Speaker 2>Conditions may not be perfect, but we can always do something.

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<v Speaker 2>I have written a lot of Before Breakfast episodes on planes.

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<v Speaker 2>But we can also decide that when something is not happening,

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<v Speaker 2>it is just not happening. Eventually you will be on

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<v Speaker 2>the ground and will be at your workspace where you

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<v Speaker 2>can't help but be productive. If it's incredibly painful to

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<v Speaker 2>work now, well how about watching something really good. I'll

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<v Speaker 2>admit I have watched the BBC Asia documentary offerings on

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<v Speaker 2>American airlines twice. They are fascinating. And some people are

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<v Speaker 2>much smarter about this. They go ahead and download whatever

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<v Speaker 2>series or movies they want to watch beforehand, so they

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<v Speaker 2>are not reliant on the airline's offerings. Or you can

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<v Speaker 2>plan out your reading. I've enjoyed saving some books I

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<v Speaker 2>know will be zippy for long plane flights. For instance,

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<v Speaker 2>I read Dave Berry's memoir Class Clown on the flight

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<v Speaker 2>to Portugal and it really made the time go faster.

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<v Speaker 2>I read a lot of mel Robin's book about her

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<v Speaker 2>Let Them Theory, on a flight to France and got

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<v Speaker 2>into that too. If you have magazines you particularly like reading,

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<v Speaker 2>you might save them up when they come and you

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<v Speaker 2>know you've got a long flight coming up, hide them

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<v Speaker 2>away and then make sure to put them in your

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<v Speaker 2>backpack or purse for the flight, Or if you don't

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<v Speaker 2>subscribe to one, let it be your airport treat, go

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<v Speaker 2>pick up a copy in a bookstore before your flight,

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<v Speaker 2>and reward yourself for being on a thin tube hurling

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<v Speaker 2>through the clouds by lingering over the pages. In the

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<v Speaker 2>recent Before Breakfast interview episode with travel entrepreneur Henley Vazquez,

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<v Speaker 2>she mentioned being honest about what sort of work she

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<v Speaker 2>could get done on planes. Big picture strategic thinking is

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<v Speaker 2>not happening when you are bouncing around as if someone

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<v Speaker 2>suspended your plane in a bowl of jello. But she

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<v Speaker 2>could get caught up on email and instant messages from

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<v Speaker 2>her team. That sort of work doesn't take as much concentration,

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<v Speaker 2>and it does need to get done at some point.

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<v Speaker 2>Doing it in the clouds buys you time.

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<v Speaker 1>On the ground for the good stuff. I keep hoping

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<v Speaker 1>someone will come up with a way to make air

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<v Speaker 1>travel either faster or much more pleasant. Maybe in the future,

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<v Speaker 1>some virtual reality version of travel will make me feel

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<v Speaker 1>like I'm just sitting at my desk even as I

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<v Speaker 1>am hurtling towards, say, Barcelona. But until that happens, it

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<v Speaker 1>might be worth being realistic about how you will feel

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<v Speaker 1>in the sky, or for that matter, on long bus

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<v Speaker 1>trips or the passenger in a car. Maybe you can

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<v Speaker 1>do some low focus work, and sometimes you might just

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<v Speaker 1>need to settle for enjoying some really good entertainment. I

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<v Speaker 1>am a fan of anything that makes it feel a

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<v Speaker 1>little less like you are counting the seconds or wishing

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

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

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