WEBVTT - Anything is good

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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 that there is no such thing as

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<v Speaker 1>productivity debt. Rather than viewing each day as a race

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<v Speaker 1>to catch up, why not view anything more than getting

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<v Speaker 1>through the day as a big win That can make

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<v Speaker 1>getting things done a lot more pleasant. Today's tip comes

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<v Speaker 1>from a recent conversation between Sarah Hart Hunger and Oliver Berkman. Sarah,

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<v Speaker 1>who co hosts my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds,

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<v Speaker 1>is also the host of a podcast called Best Laid Plans.

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<v Speaker 1>Oliver is the author of the book four Thousand Weeks

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<v Speaker 1>Time Management for Mortals. Oliver's book notes that we will

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<v Speaker 1>all die not having done the vast majority of the

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<v Speaker 1>things we could do. On some level, that sounds depressing,

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<v Speaker 1>but on another level it's pretty liberating. As he told

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah on Best Laid Plans, given our inevitable mortality and

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<v Speaker 1>the limit on what we can do, there is no

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<v Speaker 1>productivity debt. You don't wake up in debt, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you work hard all day maybe you will get to

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<v Speaker 1>zero instead. Given that we will never do all the

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<v Speaker 1>things we could do, why not view each day as

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<v Speaker 1>a zero baseline, and anything you get done beyond sitting

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<v Speaker 1>in bed eating potato chips is a big win. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to struggle to save yourself and to justify

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<v Speaker 1>your existence through what you do. You are here as

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<v Speaker 1>you are, and whatever progress you make is great. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps that sounds like giving up, but the truth is

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<v Speaker 1>we often flounder around precisely because we feel like we

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<v Speaker 1>have so much to do and we are constantly behind.

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<v Speaker 1>We flit from thing to thing and stay connected when

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<v Speaker 1>focus would be better because we are so behind on

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<v Speaker 1>email and messages and whatever else. But if you accept

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<v Speaker 1>that getting any task done is a victory, all of

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<v Speaker 1>this becomes a lot less stressful. You see something you

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<v Speaker 1>feel it would be good to do, and you do it,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you do something else, and doing this you

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<v Speaker 1>wind up getting a lot done. It is still not

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<v Speaker 1>much compared with the void of the universe, but it

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<v Speaker 1>is never going to be much. At least it is something.

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<v Speaker 1>When I am having a day that doesn't feel particularly productive,

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<v Speaker 1>I try to adopt this mindset. Maybe I didn't come

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<v Speaker 1>up with the next perfect book idea, but there are

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<v Speaker 1>a great many books I could write but won't because

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<v Speaker 1>I will shuffle off this mortal coil before I get

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<v Speaker 1>to them. Maybe I wrote a blog post in it

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<v Speaker 1>made someone smile, or someone listened to one of the

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<v Speaker 1>thousand Existing Before Breakfast episodes and had a slightly happier

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<v Speaker 1>day as result. I don't have to justify my existence,

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<v Speaker 1>as no one has to justify their existence. But if

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<v Speaker 1>the base line is zero, any little bit of progress

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<v Speaker 1>can be celebrated as a win. Maybe you can tell

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<v Speaker 1>yourself the same thing. You don't wake up in productivity

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<v Speaker 1>debt and need to work it off. You wake up

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<v Speaker 1>with a day in front of you that can be

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<v Speaker 1>filled with something. What you fill it with is at

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<v Speaker 1>least partially up to you. There should be no pressure

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<v Speaker 1>to bend the ark of the universe, because frankly, no

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<v Speaker 1>one is going to bend the arc of the universe.

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<v Speaker 1>Without that pressure, you can just do what you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to do or what you feel needs doing, and go

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<v Speaker 1>to bed satisfied that you made those choices. That sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like a much happier way to live. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit

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<v Speaker 1>the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows. Yea