WEBVTT - Notice your free 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.

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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 notice your free time. It is easy

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<v Speaker 1>to tell ourselves a story of having no time for ourselves,

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<v Speaker 1>but not as much as I want. Is a different

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<v Speaker 1>story from none. Best to notice the free time that

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<v Speaker 1>does exist and make the most of it. The other night,

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<v Speaker 1>I spent a delightful forty five minutes reading on my hammock.

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<v Speaker 1>My four year old was playing a video game with

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<v Speaker 1>my husband, and the older kids were all occupied. I

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<v Speaker 1>had done my work for the day and there were

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<v Speaker 1>no pressing chores, so I grabbed a book and went

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<v Speaker 1>out and enjoyed the early air. Because I track my time,

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<v Speaker 1>I put that lovely forty five minutes on my time log.

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<v Speaker 1>Doing so meant that, no matter what else happened that week,

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<v Speaker 1>I knew I was still the kind of person who

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<v Speaker 1>had time to read on the hammock. I could try

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<v Speaker 1>to tell myself that I'm harried and frenzied, starve for time,

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<v Speaker 1>But Laura, did you see that hammock entry. The reason

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<v Speaker 1>this matters is that I have seen a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people decide that they truly have no free time whatsoever.

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<v Speaker 2>And I get it. We are all working hard, we

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<v Speaker 2>are all working long, we all have other responsibilities too.

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<v Speaker 2>I am not saying anyone is living at the spa.

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<v Speaker 2>But the problem is that when the story is none,

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<v Speaker 2>we discount the leisure time that does exist. I once

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<v Speaker 2>had some one show me a time log with a

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<v Speaker 2>complaint about her lack of free time. The time log

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<v Speaker 2>showed several hours spent at the spa. This person put

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<v Speaker 2>a note next to this entry saying, this never happens. Oh,

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<v Speaker 2>come on, I'm sure it doesn't happen daily or even

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<v Speaker 2>all that frequently, But clearly it doesn't never happen either,

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<v Speaker 2>So why not celebrate that you did make time during

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<v Speaker 2>your busy life for some relaxation. When we tell ourselves

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<v Speaker 2>a story that we have no free time, we don't

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<v Speaker 2>enjoy the free time we have as much. We discount

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<v Speaker 2>it as too short, or too infrequent, or stolen from

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<v Speaker 2>something else. When we notice our free time, on the

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<v Speaker 2>other hand, we can look forward to it and savor it.

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<v Speaker 2>We can figure out how to carve out more such

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<v Speaker 2>intentional moments in our lives. So as you go about

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<v Speaker 2>your day, notice when you do have some discretionary time,

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<v Speaker 2>what do you do with it? Often we pick up

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<v Speaker 2>our foonds and scroll, but there are other options. Maybe

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<v Speaker 2>try tracking your time for a week and seeing when

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<v Speaker 2>leisure time does appear. It's probably not much, but thirty

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<v Speaker 2>minutes to read at night isn't nothing. An hour to

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<v Speaker 2>relax while everyone is occupied isn't nothing. Best to notice

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<v Speaker 2>and enjoy what we can in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 2>our times. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 2>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach.

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<v Speaker 1>Me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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