WEBVTT - Zoom out

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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 to zoom out. When we look at time

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<v Speaker 1>from a broader perspective, we tend to see that frenzied

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<v Speaker 1>moments are balanced by more relaxed moments, and that time

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<v Speaker 1>is big enough to contain a great many things. I

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<v Speaker 1>know that a lot of people feel starved for time

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<v Speaker 1>these days, but I find that this is often because

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<v Speaker 1>we view time from a limited perspective. In my recent book,

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<v Speaker 1>Big Time, I write that this is because we are

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<v Speaker 1>looking only at the hours on say a busy Tuesday.

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<v Speaker 1>One reason that tracking a whole week is often surprising

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<v Speaker 1>for people is that they haven't even considered the time

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<v Speaker 1>on weekends or later in the evening, which can add

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<v Speaker 1>up even for busy people, and even during busy stretches,

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<v Speaker 1>there is often some downtime. When we zoom out looking

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<v Speaker 1>at times Big Time, we see this. I was reminded

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<v Speaker 1>of this on a recent weekend that, among other things,

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<v Speaker 1>featured my kid's jazz band performance, a driver's license test,

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<v Speaker 1>a mery mother's day brunch, two Parker classes, two tennis lessons,

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<v Speaker 1>a birthday party, a church lock in, a confirmation expo,

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<v Speaker 1>prom Scouts, and a Derby themed library fundraiser that I

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<v Speaker 1>went to. This is kind of a lot of stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>and yet there was downtime too. I managed to finish

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<v Speaker 1>the puzzle I was working on. I read at least

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<v Speaker 1>an hour in a new book. I watched The six

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<v Speaker 1>Ers when game seven of their series on TV. If

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to tell a story of running around like

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<v Speaker 1>a chicken with its head cut off, I suppose that

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<v Speaker 1>I could, but that would be a very limited way

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<v Speaker 1>of looking at the weekend. Sitting on the couch for

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<v Speaker 1>two hours watching TV is not frenzied. Running around finishing

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<v Speaker 1>a one thousand piece puzzle is not frenzied. Lying in

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<v Speaker 1>bed reading isn't either. Because I have been thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>time like this for a while, I know to zoom

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<v Speaker 1>out and to try to few things holistically whenever I

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<v Speaker 1>am looking at a busy stretch. I've also been tracking

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<v Speaker 1>my time for over a decade now, so I know

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<v Speaker 1>that even if a week or a weekend contains a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of things, it will also contain several slower entries

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<v Speaker 1>on my timelog. Zooming out gives me a more accurate

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<v Speaker 1>picture of time, one that is generally not as frenzied

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<v Speaker 1>as the given moments that I might be prone to remember.

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<v Speaker 1>But I know a lot of people haven't tracked their time,

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<v Speaker 1>or aren't in the habit of looking at a whole

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<v Speaker 1>week or a longer stretch. So if you are staring

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<v Speaker 1>down a busy time, and I know may often is

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<v Speaker 1>for people as school aged kids, it might help to

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<v Speaker 1>zoom out. Looking at big time gives us a more

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<v Speaker 1>accurate representation. Perhaps this week has many activities, but there

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<v Speaker 1>may be weeks in July with fewer of them. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>this weekend has a lot going on, but there will

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<v Speaker 1>be summer weekends when things have quieted down. For me.

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<v Speaker 1>Weeks when both my choirs are practicing tend to have

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of choir commitments, obviously, but that only happens

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<v Speaker 1>about twenty six weeks a year. Half the year there's

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<v Speaker 1>only one choir, or for about three months there are

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<v Speaker 1>no choirs. That is a very different perspective. Life is

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<v Speaker 1>not just this one day a week, one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>sixty eight hours is a better perspective than a day,

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<v Speaker 1>and I generally like to plan life in weeks, but

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<v Speaker 1>even one week is not all there is. A month

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<v Speaker 1>or a year might be a better perspective. Whenever time

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<v Speaker 1>is feeling crunched, zooming out can help us see that

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<v Speaker 1>downtime still happens. When we have a more accurate vision

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<v Speaker 1>of time, we can make wiser choices than always see

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<v Speaker 1>or a few crunched moments in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Bread. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.