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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to think beyond bubble baths to come

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Speaker 1: up with some creative ways to build self care into

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Speaker 1: your life. We all need to fill our tanks, but

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Speaker 1: some treats can work better than others. Self care has

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Speaker 1: definitely become a hot topic over the past few years.

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Speaker 1: I looked up the definition, and while it used to

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Speaker 1: have a more medical connotation, such as a diabetic administering

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Speaker 1: his or her own insulin shots, it has decidedly broadened

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Speaker 1: from there. Now it tends to mean the practice of

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Speaker 1: taking an active role in protecting your own well being

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Speaker 1: and happiness, in particular during periods of stress. And it

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Speaker 1: could be a big thing like a weekend getaway during

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Speaker 1: a busy period at work, or it could be a

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Speaker 1: more normal thing like going to see a movie to

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Speaker 1: distract yourself while you're waiting for a decision on something.

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Speaker 1: Either way, the effect can be profound since most people

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Speaker 1: aren't going to take that weekend get away or even

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Speaker 1: do a day at the spa. Today's episode focuses on

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Speaker 1: some smaller self care ideas. One of my favorite is

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Speaker 1: reading a magazine. I'm talking a real print one. Reading

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Speaker 1: online is great, but if you're stressed about your inbox,

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Speaker 1: that can follow you right into your online reading. Magazines

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Speaker 1: tend to take an hour to flip through it most

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Speaker 1: and cover every interest under the sun. Most subscriptions run

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Speaker 1: about a dollar an issue, or your library might subscribe,

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Speaker 1: so you can load up on back issues. Either way,

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Speaker 1: this is a cheap bit of indulgence while you're there

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Speaker 1: at the library. Consider borrowing a handful of coffee table

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Speaker 1: books as another form of creative self care. H I

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Speaker 1: love looking through photos of amazing things interior design, landscaping,

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Speaker 1: art architecture. Buying these art books could be pricey, but

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Speaker 1: libraries often let you check out more books at a

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Speaker 1: time then you could possibly carry, so that's a great

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Speaker 1: way to indulge. Anything that is deliberately and pleasantly out

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Speaker 1: of the ordinary can be a form of self care.

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Speaker 1: Since I work from home, I generally make my own

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Speaker 1: coffee and lunches. Going to a coffee shop or a

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Speaker 1: restaurant is always going to be a special treat, so

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Speaker 1: I make sure to indulge in one of these treats.

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Speaker 1: If I've dealt with something unpleasant, like a big revision

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Speaker 1: or a long wait at a doctor's office. I'm a

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Speaker 1: big fan of self care playlists too. Favorite songs can

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Speaker 1: be a great soundtrack during difficult activities like a really

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Speaker 1: bumpy flight. Favorite podcast can serve this role too. When

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Speaker 1: I've got to do a lot of driving around, particularly

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Speaker 1: in bad traff I'll save a favorite podcast to listen

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Speaker 1: to so I can take control of my own happiness.

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Speaker 1: And here's an interesting idea. I honestly believe that certain

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Speaker 1: forms of work can become self care as well. We

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Speaker 1: all have parts of our jobs that we love. We

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Speaker 1: also all have parts well that that's why they pay

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Speaker 1: us and scheduled right. The fun work can become a

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Speaker 1: reward for doing other things, or you could do the

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Speaker 1: fun work first as a way to motivate yourself for

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Speaker 1: the day. I'll often write my blog posts shortly after

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Speaker 1: starting my work days. The post could warm me up

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Speaker 1: for writing other things, but since they're solely based on

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Speaker 1: my interests, this can also be a good way to

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Speaker 1: remind myself of why I love doing what I do.

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Speaker 1: In any case, take some time today to think back

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Speaker 1: over the past few days. What did you do that

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Speaker 1: made you feel happy and well taken care of. Make

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Speaker 1: a list of these treats. Make a star next to

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Speaker 1: any that are free or very cheap. You should try

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Speaker 1: to do these frequently. How can you build a creative

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Speaker 1: act of self care into the next twenty four hours?

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Speaker 1: How would that happen? I'd love to hear what you decide.

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Speaker 1: And hey, it could be a bubble bath. When we

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Speaker 1: renovated our master bathroom last year, we put in a

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Speaker 1: tub that's really supposed to be for my use and

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Speaker 1: I can't say I use it daily, but I've been

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Speaker 1: challenging myself to use it on weekend nights after the

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Speaker 1: little kids go to bed, or if the kids are

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Speaker 1: all watching a movie I don't care about. I guess

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Speaker 1: I'm a cliche, but it's still a fun one and

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Speaker 1: you might try it too. In the meantime. This is Laura.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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Speaker 1: before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then

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Speaker 1: Breakfast p O D. You can also shoot me an

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Speaker 1: email at before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that

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Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

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Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more

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Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,

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Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.