1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to crowdsource the answer. You are probably 4 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: not the first person in the history of humanity to 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: encounter whatever problem you are dealing with. In general, people 6 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: want to help, so ask for advice and you'll get 7 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: some good ideas. Whenever we encounter a problem, we can 8 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 1: try to rely on what we know, but we can 9 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 1: only know so much. And while sometimes we know what 10 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: we don't know, we can't possibly know what would never 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: occur to us. The good news is that in a 12 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: world of almost eight billion people, it is almost certain 13 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: that someone has encountered the same problem you are facing. Yes, 14 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: everyone is special, but we are not that out of 15 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: the mold. So, whether you are trying to figure out 16 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: what to get your teenage nephew for his birthday, how 17 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: to reconcile your love of late night reading with your 18 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: spouse's love of late night TV, or even when to 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: go into the office and when to work from home, 20 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: somebody has dealt with this before. Somebody has some hard 21 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: one wisdom. Why not take advantage of that. Your first 22 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: line of inquiry could be your friends, family, and neighbors. 23 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: The person in the house on your street built by 24 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: the same builder has probably faced many of the same issues. 25 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: Your work best friend, no doubt has ideas on when 26 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: it is wise to commute and when to work remotely. 27 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: In this day and age, though you don't have to 28 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: lean on just your immediate networks. The internet can be 29 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: a scary place, but it can also be aderful place 30 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: if you have a problem. All sorts of topics have 31 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: their own communities, and they can tell you what they 32 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: have learned. A quick approach is just to google your question. 33 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: Great gifts for teenage boys, best places to visit in Maui. 34 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: Once you've got some background, you can then turn to 35 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: your own digital networks or online communities. Make sure to 36 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: search through any web pages or past discussions to see 37 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: if someone has asked the exact same question. If so, awesome, 38 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: you will probably get some food for thought or some 39 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: avenues you can explore. If not, post your question. Your 40 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: Facebook friends and Twitter followers will have all sorts of 41 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: ideas on book recommendations for middle schoolers who are into fantasy, 42 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 1: and of course focused digital communities will have ideas to 43 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: your professional association can be a great resource if you're 44 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: looking to hire for your department. The math teacher blogosphere 45 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: on Twitter is, i'm told, an extraordinary place for all 46 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: things math education, like how to conceptualize division by fractions. 47 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,519 Speaker 1: Parents of twins and multiples have all sorts of tips 48 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: for each other, which you can access through digital networks 49 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: of parents in that same boat. Now, to be sure, 50 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: whether you search the Internet or ask your friends or networks, 51 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: you will get some helpful ideas and some less helpful ideas. 52 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: You can toss that which is obviously ridiculous, scroll on 53 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: past anything that makes you roll your eyes, sounds immoral, 54 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: or just plain crazy. The more complicated situation is for 55 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: ideas in the middle, where you are not sure if 56 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: they are good or not. I spent some time taking 57 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: allergy medicine based on crowdsourced answers about various medical complaints 58 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: I had. These weren't effective because turned out Dr Google 59 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: doesn't know everything, but people had other ideas that did 60 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: prove more fruitful. Your mileage may vary. You do always 61 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: have to do your own research, but if you don't 62 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: even know which direction to research in, things can be tough. 63 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,840 Speaker 1: The crowd can give you some leads so you can 64 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: know what is worth investigating. And then, of course, if 65 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: you get good answers, pay back the favor, report back 66 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: to your online communities with what worked and what didn't, 67 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: and be sure to answer others when they post their problems. 68 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: No one is really alone. We can learn from each 69 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: other in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, 70 00:04:55,839 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Yeah, hey, everybody, 71 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 72 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,039 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 73 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod 74 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D. 75 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 76 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast 77 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, 78 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is 79 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from 80 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 81 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.