1
00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:14,920
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,360
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to not lose those minutes right before

4
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,640
Speaker 1: a phone call or meeting. These minutes are incredibly easy

5
00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,720
Speaker 1: to waste, but with a little thought, they don't need

6
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:33,800
Speaker 1: to be spent on things that don't matter. I know

7
00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,880
Speaker 1: many people are working from home at least occasionally these days,

8
00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,159
Speaker 1: and work from home days can wind up with various

9
00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,680
Speaker 1: virtual meetings scattered all over the calendar. You don't need

10
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,360
Speaker 1: to go anywhere, so you don't need to stop what

11
00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,000
Speaker 1: you're doing too long before the meeting, but you do

12
00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,120
Speaker 1: need to stop other things at some point in order

13
00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:58,800
Speaker 1: to start promptly. So in my case, an eleven o'clock

14
00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,280
Speaker 1: call on the calendar means that by ten fifty five

15
00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,960
Speaker 1: I have stopped doing much of Note. I pull up

16
00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,920
Speaker 1: the link and then fiddle around until it is the

17
00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,880
Speaker 1: right time to click in. Now, to be sure this

18
00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:17,319
Speaker 1: isn't a ton of fiddling. Wasting three or four minutes

19
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,399
Speaker 1: a few times a day is not going to be

20
00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,039
Speaker 1: the difference between a well lived life and one that

21
00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:29,759
Speaker 1: is squandered. Still, I do believe that even mere minutes

22
00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:35,280
Speaker 1: are worth honoring by using them. Well. That doesn't mean

23
00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,760
Speaker 1: doing more stuff just to do more stuff. It means

24
00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,280
Speaker 1: recognizing that small bits of time can allow for good

25
00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,680
Speaker 1: habits that over time add up. For instance, I have

26
00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,560
Speaker 1: been trying to do a few more abdominal strengthening exercises

27
00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,200
Speaker 1: after I realize some back pain I've been dealing with

28
00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,480
Speaker 1: probably stemmed from a weak core. It turns out that

29
00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,200
Speaker 1: a plank pose and some bicycle crunches only take two

30
00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,440
Speaker 1: to three minutes to do. That fits perfectly in the

31
00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,120
Speaker 1: time between when I have found the link and when

32
00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:15,040
Speaker 1: I click in. By tying these exercises to this specific

33
00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,320
Speaker 1: found time, I make them happen, and the more I

34
00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,680
Speaker 1: do them, the stronger I become. Now, of course, I

35
00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,280
Speaker 1: probably wouldn't be doing these crunches if I were in

36
00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,960
Speaker 1: a cubicle. But the good news is that exercise is

37
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,280
Speaker 1: far from the only thing you can do in these

38
00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,600
Speaker 1: chunks of time. Maybe it is consciously focusing on your

39
00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:41,040
Speaker 1: breathing for two minutes when you are concentrating and doing

40
00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:45,440
Speaker 1: nothing else. Two minutes can feel like quite a long time,

41
00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,320
Speaker 1: but this is an opportunity to warm up your discipline

42
00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,519
Speaker 1: and willpower. Before you begin your meeting, you could write

43
00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,040
Speaker 1: a few words in a journal. You can read a

44
00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,200
Speaker 1: poem if you've got a book of poetry on your desk.

45
00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,639
Speaker 1: You can look over your eating agenda again, or think

46
00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:03,680
Speaker 1: about the other people who will be in your meeting

47
00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,239
Speaker 1: and maybe think about one thing you admire about each

48
00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:11,639
Speaker 1: of them. Having those thoughts in mind will definitely put

49
00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,359
Speaker 1: you in a more constructive place for your tenth zoom

50
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:20,720
Speaker 1: call of the day. In person meetings require going somewhere,

51
00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,320
Speaker 1: but I have found that the same dynamic often plays

52
00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,800
Speaker 1: out at least for people who make a point of

53
00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,600
Speaker 1: being punctual. If you've got a meeting in a nearby

54
00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,480
Speaker 1: conference room at noon, you stop other work a few

55
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,760
Speaker 1: minutes before, But since it doesn't actually take ten minutes

56
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,240
Speaker 1: to walk to the conference room, and since you don't

57
00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,520
Speaker 1: want to arrive too early, you pause for a few minutes,

58
00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:49,280
Speaker 1: using this time for something else. For what likely another

59
00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,520
Speaker 1: glance at the inbox, But your inbox will always be there.

60
00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,760
Speaker 1: Consciously building other habits can let you use this time

61
00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,360
Speaker 1: to make ress on bigger things. It does add up,

62
00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,520
Speaker 1: so as you go about your day, make a point

63
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,600
Speaker 1: of not wasting those few minutes before a phone caller meeting.

64
00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,400
Speaker 1: Figure out what small action you can tie to this

65
00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:18,799
Speaker 1: time and that you can do repeatedly. This will allow

66
00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,080
Speaker 1: you to make the most of these little minutes rather

67
00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:26,360
Speaker 1: than seeing them slip through your hands like sand through

68
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:31,120
Speaker 1: an hour glass. No doubt your meetings already feel like that.

69
00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:36,520
Speaker 1: Sometimes no need to lose the minutes before them. Two.

70
00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:44,320
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

71
00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:53,919
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

72
00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,279
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

73
00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,919
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

74
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,360
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

75
00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,400
Speaker 1: That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

76
00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,080
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

77
00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,760
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is

78
00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,520
Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I

79
00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:27,640
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

80
00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,880
Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my

81
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,840
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

82
00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:36,960
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.