1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to keep a leisure log, that is 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: a record of how you spend your free time and 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: how you feel about it. This will help you notice 6 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: what you're doing with your leisure time and identifying moments 7 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: that you find especially fulfilling, and that in turn will 8 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: lead to more of these sublime moments. Even if we 9 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: don't get paid by the hour, most of us have 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: a reasonable sense of a work day's landscape. Evenings and weekends, 11 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: on the other hand, can feel unmoored from the passing 12 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: of time. If you come home from work at six 13 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: o'clock and go to bed at ten thirty, for instance, 14 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: that is four and a half hours. But if you 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: are like a lot of people, you have no idea 16 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: where all that time goes. Dinner, taking care of kids 17 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: that certainly accounts for some of it, as does tidying up, 18 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: but that generally doesn't account for all two hundred seventy minutes. 19 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: You likely have some leisure time in there, and on 20 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: weekends too. According to the most recent American Time Youth 21 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American women, 22 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: on average had just over five hours of leisure time 23 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:44,119 Speaker 1: per day, while men averaged almost six hours per day. Now, 24 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: that is averaging week days and weekends to gather, but 25 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: however you cut it, thirty five to forty two hours 26 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: a week is a lot of time. Even parents, including 27 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: those of young kids, have a few hours a day, 28 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: coming out generally to north of twenty hours per week. 29 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: So it is worth finding out where this time goes 30 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: so you can make the most of your leisure time 31 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: instead of frittering it away on things that aren't relaxing 32 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: or even particularly enjoyable. A time log can help you 33 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: do that. I have guided thousands of people through tracking 34 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: their time, and almost invariably, time tracking prompts people to 35 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,919 Speaker 1: realize that they have more leisure time than they thought. 36 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: Many people also realize that they could be using their 37 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: leisure time better. If you are interested in tracking all 38 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: your activities, you can go to my blog Laura Vanderkamp 39 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: dot com and enter your email to get a free 40 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: time makeover guide, which includes a template to track your 41 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: time for a week. But if that sounds like more detailed, 42 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: then you're truly interested in just try tracking your leisure. 43 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 1: Your leisure log can be a line on your planner 44 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: each day, a page in your bullet journal where you 45 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,920 Speaker 1: write an entry for each day, or calendar items in 46 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: your digital calendar, recording how you spend each chunk of leisure. 47 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: Write what you did with your leisure time and also 48 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: how you felt. This can be as simple as walked 49 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: with Holly left and enjoyed myself, or made risotto, relaxing 50 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,519 Speaker 1: love the smell of cooking onions. Perhaps during your leisure 51 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: time you felt absorbed in in a state of flow 52 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: while working on a sewing project, or maybe you were 53 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: transported by an engrossing book or movie. You might have 54 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: felt a sense of accomplishment after mastering a tricky phrase 55 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: on the piano or figuring out how to design a 56 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: treehouse for a tree with an inconveniently placed branch. Sometimes 57 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: people feel more like themselves when they pursue a leisure 58 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: activity just for them. When you keep a leisure log 59 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: and pay attention to how you're spending your time and 60 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: how different uses of leisure make you feel, you're able 61 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: to make choices about how to use your leisure time. Well, 62 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: if you know that scrolling Facebook leaves you feeling irritable, 63 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: you can do something else. If you know that watching 64 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: TV makes you feel lethargic, you can make a different choice. 65 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: Or maybe you can see that mindfully chosen TV, like 66 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: watching a favorite series with your partner, feels fun, but 67 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: channel surfing because you can't figure out what else to do, 68 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 1: feels like a waste of time. Knowledge is power, and 69 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 1: a leisure log equips you to make wise choices about 70 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,919 Speaker 1: how you spend your time. Yes, some people have a 71 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: lot more leisure time than others. Yes, we can sometimes 72 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: ponder why this is, and sometimes we need to make 73 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: changes when things feel inequitable. But all of us have 74 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: the power to make more of the leisure time we 75 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: do have. However many hours that may be. So keep 76 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,920 Speaker 1: track of your leisure time and how you feel about it. 77 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: You'll soon start enjoying it more and maybe even looking 78 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: for ways to make more of it. That is a 79 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: win all around. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks 80 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 81 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 82 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 83 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod 84 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p O D. 85 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at for Breakfast 86 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,039 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled 87 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look 88 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production 89 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,559 Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 90 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 91 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.