WEBVTT - Don't fill time

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

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

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<v Speaker 2>Today's tip is that you don't need to fill time.

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<v Speaker 3>If you've got a light hour, a light day, a

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<v Speaker 3>light week, or even longer, you don't necessarily need to

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<v Speaker 3>go looking for something to do. If you tend to

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<v Speaker 3>be a frenetic sort of person, just try sitting with

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<v Speaker 3>it and see what comes to you. I collect a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of literary quotes, and one that stood out for

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<v Speaker 3>me is from Edith Wharton's book Twilight's Sleep. She describes

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<v Speaker 3>a character's thoughts this way an hour, why there was

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<v Speaker 3>no way of measuring the length of an empty hour.

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<v Speaker 3>It stretched away into infinity, like the endless road in

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<v Speaker 3>a nightmare. It gaped before her like the slippery sides

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<v Speaker 3>of an abyss. Nervously, she began to wonder what she

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<v Speaker 3>could do to fill it. It is a little absurd

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<v Speaker 3>to be this terrified of open time, but lots of

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<v Speaker 3>us react that way, much as we complain about having

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<v Speaker 3>no free time whatsoever. People don't necessarily like open space.

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<v Speaker 3>They worry they won't be needed at work if they

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<v Speaker 3>don't look busy all the time they put her around

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<v Speaker 3>the house, or fill time with electronic entertainment. But I

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<v Speaker 3>have found that when you don't fill time with whatever

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<v Speaker 3>is right there in front of you, something exciting tends

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<v Speaker 3>to happen. Maybe you respond to a message you wouldn't

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<v Speaker 3>have read when you were swamped with something else. The

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<v Speaker 3>next thing you know, you've got a big new project

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<v Speaker 3>headed your way, or you read an article all the

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<v Speaker 3>way to the end and come up with some big

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<v Speaker 3>new idea. A colleague stops by and you actually chat

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<v Speaker 3>and come to some new conclusions that save you all

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<v Speaker 3>sorts of time and money. Now does that always happen? Nope,

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<v Speaker 3>not at all. Sometimes open time just feels like you

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<v Speaker 3>are sitting there. But I do think that open space

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<v Speaker 3>invites opportunity in a way a cluttered calendar can't, and

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<v Speaker 3>more opportunity tends to be a good thing. We may

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<v Speaker 3>as well take it when we can. I am often

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<v Speaker 3>giving advice on how to clear the clutter out of

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<v Speaker 3>a calendar. But sometimes a calendar naturally has less clutter

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<v Speaker 3>than other times. Maybe it's a slow season. Lots of

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<v Speaker 3>people experience that in summer. Maybe you're coming out of

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<v Speaker 3>a big project and the next one isn't starting for

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<v Speaker 3>a bit. No doubt you could fill this time, but

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<v Speaker 3>you don't have to. You could see what happens. You

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<v Speaker 3>could see what you come up with and what you

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<v Speaker 3>think about and how you'd like to spend your time.

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<v Speaker 3>You could see who you seek out to talk to.

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<v Speaker 3>You could see where those conversations go. Either way, just

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<v Speaker 3>because you are not busy doesn't mean you need to

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<v Speaker 3>change your criteria of whether something is good to take on.

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<v Speaker 3>If you wouldn't be excited about a meeting or a project,

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<v Speaker 3>if you were absolutely slammed with other things, then you

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<v Speaker 3>don't need to take it on just because you aren't slammed.

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<v Speaker 3>Don't fill time. I know this is hard, but if

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<v Speaker 3>you believe as I do, that open space invites opportunity

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<v Speaker 3>in a way that a cluttered calendar can't, then closing

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<v Speaker 3>off the possibility of something that is an eight or

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<v Speaker 3>nine or ten on a ten point scale just to

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<v Speaker 3>fill that time with a four or a five seems silly.

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<v Speaker 3>Life offers up all sorts of possibilities. Sometimes you just

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<v Speaker 3>need to be patient. In the meantime, this is Laura,

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<v Speaker 3>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 3>our time.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You

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<v Speaker 1>can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts.

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<v Speaker 1>At iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.