Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to make the most of the time you
Speaker 1: spend waiting in the kitchen. Some of us wind up
Speaker 1: spending a lot of time in our kitchens for one
Speaker 1: reason or another. Rather than just losing this time, we
Speaker 1: may as well repurpose it for something more meaningful. So
Speaker 1: I personally find myself standing around in my kitchen a lot.
Speaker 1: Some of this is while I am cooking a meal,
Speaker 1: heating water to boil rice, or waiting to get the
Speaker 1: kid's pizza out of the oven. My kids' school schedules
Speaker 1: this past year has meant that I spend a lot
Speaker 1: of time in the morning talking with various kids while
Speaker 1: they eat their breakfasts, and I also spend a few
Speaker 1: minutes in between breakfast shifts waiting for the next kid
Speaker 1: to show up in the kitchen. If you also find
Speaker 1: yourself spending a lot of time waiting in your kitchen,
Speaker 1: you may have noticed what it is easiest to do.
Speaker 1: Spend this time scrolling around on your phone or perhaps
Speaker 1: mindlessly watching TV. And while there is nothing wrong with that,
Speaker 1: as the saying goes. A watched pot never boils. Rather
Speaker 1: than waiting and watching, better to do something more interesting
Speaker 1: while you wait. Personally, my favorite idea is to have
Speaker 1: a little designated kitchen reading. I have certain blogs that
Speaker 1: I always read in the morning in between kid shifts.
Speaker 1: During a longer shift, I sometimes read my ten pages
Speaker 1: of Jane Austen as part of this year's Year Life
Speaker 1: Reading project. You too, might try to come up with
Speaker 1: something specific that you read while you are waiting in
Speaker 1: the kitchen. Maybe it is poetry. Most poems are reasonably short,
Speaker 1: so you could get through one or two while you
Speaker 1: are waiting to make your coffee. If you have got
Speaker 1: ambitions to read something big, like the whole Bible, I
Speaker 1: would point out that it is subdivided into short chapters
Speaker 1: and often even shorter sections of a few verses. You
Speaker 1: could definitely read that over a year or two of
Speaker 1: daily minutes waiting for water to boil. Of course, you
Speaker 1: could go lowbrow too. Why not get a few magazine
Speaker 1: subscriptions and specifically keep them in the kitchen. You can
Speaker 1: read a short article during those last three minutes before
Speaker 1: the cookies might be done. You can do actual kitchen
Speaker 1: as well those of us who have worked in restaurants
Speaker 1: know that it is often wise to use some downtime
Speaker 1: to prep for the inevitable lunch or dinner rush. You
Speaker 1: could cut up tonight's veggies while waiting for your coffee
Speaker 1: to perkolate. You could move tomorrow's meat to the fridge
Speaker 1: so it can thaw. You can empty the dishwasher or
Speaker 1: move the recycling outside. You could also survey what is
Speaker 1: in the pantry or the fridge so your next shopping
Speaker 1: list better reflects reality. Most of us are trying to
Speaker 1: be more active these days, and strength and stability training
Speaker 1: always seem hard to squeeze in. But if you have
Speaker 1: got a few minutes in the kitchen, maybe you can
Speaker 1: do a few squats or a few pushups, stretch or
Speaker 1: do a yoga pose. You could meditate, breathe deeply, or prey.
Speaker 1: A lot of people ruggle to make time for relationships
Speaker 1: with friends and family outside their household. If that is you,
Speaker 1: you could use waiting time to send a quick text
Speaker 1: to a loved one or friend. I personally find it
Speaker 1: satisfying to suddenly schedule a lunch or a walk that
Speaker 1: I am now looking forward to, just because I was
Speaker 1: bored in the kitchen and decided to reach out to someone.
Speaker 1: When you do something meaningful while you are waiting, you
Speaker 1: will be less impatient and you will claim a little
Speaker 1: extra time for something important to you. When we are
Speaker 1: positive and mindful about even small chunks of time, we
Speaker 1: shape how we fill our days and how we feel
Speaker 1: about them in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
Speaker 2: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
Speaker 2: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before
Speaker 2: Breakfast Pod. That's b the number four then Breakfast pod.
Speaker 2: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 2: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 2: out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much.
Speaker 2: Should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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