WEBVTT - Waste time better

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:08.120
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:12.640
<v Speaker 2>Good Morning. This is Laura.

0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:17.479
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to

0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:22.520
<v Speaker 1>waste time better. We all have low energy time that

0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:26.880
<v Speaker 1>is hard to use well. If some wasted time is inevitable,

0:00:27.720 --> 0:00:29.840
<v Speaker 1>it might be wise to figure out how to waste

0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:34.520
<v Speaker 1>this time in ways that are at least mostly satisfying.

0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:39.720
<v Speaker 1>Longtime listeners have probably heard me talking about getting a

0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:44.080
<v Speaker 1>new iPhone a few months ago. None of my apps transferred,

0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:47.200
<v Speaker 1>and so I needed to make an active decision about

0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:51.200
<v Speaker 1>whether to put social media apps back on my phone.

0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.080
<v Speaker 1>I elected not to. I eventually wound up returning to

0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:59.000
<v Speaker 1>that site formerly known as Twitter x now because there's

0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:02.160
<v Speaker 1>just been so much moretter making news lately. I am

0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.760
<v Speaker 1>still off the other apps, though I wish I could

0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:06.200
<v Speaker 1>say that.

0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.480
<v Speaker 2>I have been incredibly productive with all the time I

0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:13.640
<v Speaker 2>have found, but unfortunately that is not the case. If anything,

0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:17.759
<v Speaker 2>my screen time tallies have gone up. I'm not looking

0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.560
<v Speaker 2>at photos on Instagram, but I'm looking at my own

0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:25.000
<v Speaker 2>old photos. I'm not looking at people's screeds on Facebook,

0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:27.120
<v Speaker 2>but I am reading the comments on posts at The

0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:30.959
<v Speaker 2>New York Times and on some well trafficked blogs. It

0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:33.920
<v Speaker 2>seems I have a pretty strong desire to scroll around,

0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:38.640
<v Speaker 2>and apparently I am agnostic about where I am doing

0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.080
<v Speaker 2>that scrolling. I am pretty sure most of us have

0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:46.360
<v Speaker 2>some inclination to waste time. I have seen thousands of

0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.600
<v Speaker 2>time logs over the years, and I have never seen

0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:54.120
<v Speaker 2>one where every single minute was devoted to something meaningful

0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.760
<v Speaker 2>or even enjoyable for the person or the people they

0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:02.360
<v Speaker 2>care about. Oh well, but given that this is the case,

0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:06.160
<v Speaker 2>the question is not necessarily how to stop wasting time,

0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:11.840
<v Speaker 2>It is how to waste time better. Of course, there

0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:13.760
<v Speaker 2>are a few things we can do to make sure

0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:17.360
<v Speaker 2>that there is only so much time to waste. Being

0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:20.880
<v Speaker 2>engaged in your job makes working hours feel better, so

0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:24.920
<v Speaker 2>might be worth doing an audit on that. Spending hours

0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.240
<v Speaker 2>with friends and family enjoying each other's company is definitely

0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:33.000
<v Speaker 2>not wasted time. Hobbies make down time feel a lot

0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:37.359
<v Speaker 2>more satisfying. But even though I love singing and running

0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:40.360
<v Speaker 2>and playing the piano, I am not going to spend

0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:43.320
<v Speaker 2>all my down time on these things. I'm just not,

0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:49.440
<v Speaker 2>so how can I spend low energy time better? This

0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.280
<v Speaker 2>is one reason I try to borrow a lot of

0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:55.440
<v Speaker 2>coffee table books from the library. Looking at someone's lovely

0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:57.919
<v Speaker 2>living room with a view of the ocean is a

0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:01.360
<v Speaker 2>lot like looking at Instagram. But I can't get sucked

0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:05.000
<v Speaker 2>into some other influencer's really horrible take on modern medicine

0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:09.440
<v Speaker 2>by accident. I subscribe to a lot of magazines to

0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.680
<v Speaker 2>at least try to limit the time spin online. I

0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.600
<v Speaker 2>will reread books I have read before, because well, if

0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:17.840
<v Speaker 2>I know what's going to happen, it's a little easier

0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:21.840
<v Speaker 2>on the brain. I go for meandering walks while listening

0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:26.840
<v Speaker 2>to music if that is an option. Even online time

0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:31.600
<v Speaker 2>probably can be improved. I'm a fan of closed communities

0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:35.320
<v Speaker 2>spots on the Internet where people have to pay to join,

0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.320
<v Speaker 2>or at least have to be approved to join. Having

0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:42.920
<v Speaker 2>to use real names is a huge plus. It means

0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:45.560
<v Speaker 2>people feel like they have a relationship with everyone else,

0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:50.960
<v Speaker 2>and there are real downsides to behaving badly. People will

0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.880
<v Speaker 2>know who you are. That is not the case with

0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.920
<v Speaker 2>a lot of places. If you approach time knowing you

0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.840
<v Speaker 2>will waste time, you can figure out ways to make

0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:05.440
<v Speaker 2>this downtime better. Indeed, I would recommend making a list

0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:08.960
<v Speaker 2>if you can choose how to spend your time, how

0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.840
<v Speaker 2>do you like to spend your time? What about time

0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:15.320
<v Speaker 2>that's sort of discretionary but not entirely, like downtime at

0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:19.440
<v Speaker 2>work or while watching children, or even while standing in line.

0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:24.040
<v Speaker 2>What can you do during those times? Make a list

0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:27.520
<v Speaker 2>of things that feel most meaningful or enjoyable that might

0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:33.200
<v Speaker 2>still be possible during these windows. Then train yourself to

0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:37.160
<v Speaker 2>do those things. First, If you are getting bored at

0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.560
<v Speaker 2>work but you aren't chained to your chair, go for

0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:42.680
<v Speaker 2>a walk. If you're puttering around the house waiting for

0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:46.479
<v Speaker 2>a kid to come home, listen to some music. If

0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:48.960
<v Speaker 2>you're planning to scroll while waiting in a TSA line

0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:53.279
<v Speaker 2>at the airport, log into that private group instead of

0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:58.360
<v Speaker 2>regular social media and read the threads there. Not all

0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:01.919
<v Speaker 2>time can be spent perfectly by any means, but given

0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:06.279
<v Speaker 2>that everyone wastes time, figuring out how to waste time

0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:09.039
<v Speaker 2>in ways that feel more enjoyable can be a big win.

0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:14.320
<v Speaker 2>It's worth putting some thought into it. In the meantime,

0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:19.840
<v Speaker 2>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:30.240
<v Speaker 2>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast.

0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:34.520
<v Speaker 2>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:44.280
<v Speaker 2>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:48.600
<v Speaker 2>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:52.680
<v Speaker 2>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

0:05:52.720 --> 0:06:04.159
<v Speaker 2>listen to your favorite shows.