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 to take a good look at how
Speaker 1: you are spending your hours. While overall life satisfaction matters.
Speaker 1: It is hard to feel happy if you are not
Speaker 1: spending at least some hours in enjoyable ways, so it
Speaker 1: is worth getting this right. It is the human condition
Speaker 1: to wonder why we aren't happier. On paper, someone's life
Speaker 1: can look amazing, good job, a functional family, active kids,
Speaker 1: nice house, and yet day to day life can still
Speaker 1: feel like a slog. The alarm goes off too early.
Speaker 1: You spend hours in traffic and work days in dull meetings,
Speaker 1: You shuttle kids around, and then spend the later hours
Speaker 1: tidying up that beautiful house. None of this is particularly enjoyable,
Speaker 1: and so grumpiness ensues. Worse, you probably feel guilty about
Speaker 1: that grumpiness. The only solution to this is to realize
Speaker 1: that life is made up of hours. How we feel
Speaker 1: about life stems from whether we enjoy those hours. That
Speaker 1: doesn't get us out of our responsibilities, but it does
Speaker 1: suggest really thinking about how more minutes could be spent
Speaker 1: in more enjoyable ways. It is okay to start small.
Speaker 1: How about a hobby you genuinely enjoy for a few
Speaker 1: minutes instead of picking up the house at night. Even
Speaker 1: fifteen or twenty minutes of reading or puzzles or crafting
Speaker 1: can introduce a spot of pure fun into the schedule.
Speaker 1: Then you can get more creative. How about calling a
Speaker 1: friend during a kid's activity instead of scrolling through disturbing headlines.
Speaker 1: Maybe you can go on a little adventure during your
Speaker 1: lunch break. Maybe you can do real work sometimes during
Speaker 1: your work day, you know, the stuff that drew you
Speaker 1: to your job in the first place. Over time, you
Speaker 1: can make bigger changes. We now know that many jobs
Speaker 1: could be done at home. Commuting tends to make people miserable,
Speaker 1: so make sure you skip the commute at least a
Speaker 1: day or two a week if you can, and use
Speaker 1: that time for something that doesn't have you wishing the
Speaker 1: minutes away. Join a group that energizes you, a softball team,
Speaker 1: a book club, a Friday morning breakfast group, and commit
Speaker 1: to going every week. You'll have something to look forward to.
Speaker 1: Make space for things you like. When you find yourself
Speaker 1: wanting the clock to move faster, ask what you could
Speaker 1: do that would make you want to slow time down.
Speaker 1: If your kid loves those eternal swim meets on weekends, great,
Speaker 1: But if no one enjoys it, maybe it's time to
Speaker 1: let it go, or at least go at a long
Speaker 1: hike during the swim meet. It's okay if you only
Speaker 1: see some of the races. Life satisfaction does matter. We
Speaker 1: want the big things in life, the good job, the
Speaker 1: nice house, and so forth, but those things are not
Speaker 1: all that matter. Ours and how we spend them matter
Speaker 1: a lot too. So take a good look at your hours.
Speaker 1: See what you can change, see what you can savor.
Speaker 1: It might be more then you've imagined. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.