WEBVTT - Keep a leisure log

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to keep a leisure log, that is

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<v Speaker 1>a record of how you spend your free time and

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<v Speaker 1>how you feel about it. This will help you notice

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<v Speaker 1>what you're doing with your leisure time and identifying moments

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<v Speaker 1>that you find especially fulfilling, and that in turn will

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<v Speaker 1>lead to more of these sublime moments. Even if we

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<v Speaker 1>don't get paid by the hour, most of us have

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<v Speaker 1>a reasonable sense of a work day's landscape. Evenings and weekends,

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<v Speaker 1>on the other hand, can feel unmoored from the passing

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<v Speaker 1>of time. If you come home from work at six

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<v Speaker 1>o'clock and go to bed at ten thirty, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>that is four and a half hours. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>are like a lot of people, you have no idea

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<v Speaker 1>where all that time goes. Dinner, taking care of kids

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<v Speaker 1>that certainly accounts for some of it, as does tidying up,

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<v Speaker 1>but that generally doesn't account for all two hundred seventy minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>You likely have some leisure time in there, and on

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<v Speaker 1>weekends too. According to the most recent American Time Youth

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<v Speaker 1>Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American women,

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<v Speaker 1>on average had just over five hours of leisure time

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<v Speaker 1>per day, while men averaged almost six hours per day. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>that is averaging week days and weekends to gather, but

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<v Speaker 1>however you cut it, thirty five to forty two hours

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<v Speaker 1>a week is a lot of time. Even parents, including

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<v Speaker 1>those of young kids, have a few hours a day,

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<v Speaker 1>coming out generally to north of twenty hours per week.

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<v Speaker 1>So it is worth finding out where this time goes

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<v Speaker 1>so you can make the most of your leisure time

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<v Speaker 1>instead of frittering it away on things that aren't relaxing

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<v Speaker 1>or even particularly enjoyable. A time log can help you

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<v Speaker 1>do that. I have guided thousands of people through tracking

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<v Speaker 1>their time, and almost invariably, time tracking prompts people to

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<v Speaker 1>realize that they have more leisure time than they thought.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people also realize that they could be using their

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<v Speaker 1>leisure time better. If you are interested in tracking all

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<v Speaker 1>your activities, you can go to my blog Laura Vanderkamp

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<v Speaker 1>dot com and enter your email to get a free

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<v Speaker 1>time makeover guide, which includes a template to track your

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<v Speaker 1>time for a week. But if that sounds like more detailed,

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<v Speaker 1>then you're truly interested in just try tracking your leisure.

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<v Speaker 1>Your leisure log can be a line on your planner

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<v Speaker 1>each day, a page in your bullet journal where you

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<v Speaker 1>write an entry for each day, or calendar items in

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<v Speaker 1>your digital calendar, recording how you spend each chunk of leisure.

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<v Speaker 1>Write what you did with your leisure time and also

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<v Speaker 1>how you felt. This can be as simple as walked

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<v Speaker 1>with Holly left and enjoyed myself, or made risotto, relaxing

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<v Speaker 1>love the smell of cooking onions. Perhaps during your leisure

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<v Speaker 1>time you felt absorbed in in a state of flow

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<v Speaker 1>while working on a sewing project, or maybe you were

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<v Speaker 1>transported by an engrossing book or movie. You might have

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<v Speaker 1>felt a sense of accomplishment after mastering a tricky phrase

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<v Speaker 1>on the piano or figuring out how to design a

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<v Speaker 1>treehouse for a tree with an inconveniently placed branch. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>people feel more like themselves when they pursue a leisure

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<v Speaker 1>activity just for them. When you keep a leisure log

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<v Speaker 1>and pay attention to how you're spending your time and

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<v Speaker 1>how different uses of leisure make you feel, you're able

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<v Speaker 1>to make choices about how to use your leisure time. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>if you know that scrolling Facebook leaves you feeling irritable,

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<v Speaker 1>you can do something else. If you know that watching

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<v Speaker 1>TV makes you feel lethargic, you can make a different choice.

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<v Speaker 1>Or maybe you can see that mindfully chosen TV, like

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<v Speaker 1>watching a favorite series with your partner, feels fun, but

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<v Speaker 1>channel surfing because you can't figure out what else to do,

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<v Speaker 1>feels like a waste of time. Knowledge is power, and

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<v Speaker 1>a leisure log equips you to make wise choices about

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<v Speaker 1>how you spend your time. Yes, some people have a

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<v Speaker 1>lot more leisure time than others. Yes, we can sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>ponder why this is, and sometimes we need to make

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<v Speaker 1>changes when things feel inequitable. But all of us have

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<v Speaker 1>the power to make more of the leisure time we

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<v Speaker 1>do have. However many hours that may be. So keep

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<v Speaker 1>track of your leisure time and how you feel about it.

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<v Speaker 1>You'll soon start enjoying it more and maybe even looking

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<v Speaker 1>for ways to make more of it. That is a

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<v Speaker 1>win all around. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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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 p O D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at for Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, 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 I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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