1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: tip is to pair a head task and a body task. 4 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 1: If you are trying to maximize your efficiency, this lets 5 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: you do mental and physical work at the same time. 6 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: Call it a nice form of multitasking. One of the 7 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: rare forms that actually works. Today's tip comes from Kristin, 8 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: known to her myriad blog readers as the Frugal Girl. 9 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: When I interviewed Kristin for this podcast a few months ago, 10 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: she described some of the productivity strategies she used to 11 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: make it through nursing school, all while maintaining an active 12 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: blog and parenting too. N One was to pair a 13 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: head task with a body task. Kristin explained that she 14 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: would listen to content about nursing while doing physical life 15 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: maintenance tasks. So, for instance, she might listen to a 16 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: chapter of an audio textbook or a nursing podcast while 17 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: folding clothes, prepping dinner, or cleaning. Pairing a head task 18 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: with a body task is a great idea if you 19 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: are a student who needs to get through a lot 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: of content, but it can work for other people too. 21 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,759 Speaker 1: Lots of verbal experiences can be successfully paired with physical 22 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: experiences without really losing capacity for either. During a camera's 23 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: off conference call for work, for instance, you might be 24 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: able to fold clothes. You could chat with a friend 25 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: on the phone while going for a walk. You could 26 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: listen to a podcast while going for a run. You 27 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: could listen to an audiobook while reading your garden. In 28 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: deciding what tasks, to be sure that the physical task 29 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: is quiet if anyone will be able to hear you. 30 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: You probably don't want to be on a call with 31 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: a friend while putting away dishes, for instance, if there's 32 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: going to be a lot of clanging. You also want 33 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 1: to be sure the physical task has low to no 34 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: cognitive demands. If you are on an intense work call, 35 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: you don't want to suddenly look up and realize that 36 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: you have chopped way more onion than you meant to. 37 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: Even swapping out your summer and fall clothes has more 38 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: cognitive demand than might work for listening to, let's say 39 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: an audio version of a textbook. You don't want to 40 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: miss out on something that will be on a quiz 41 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: because you're deliberating over whether you will actually wear your 42 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,679 Speaker 1: white jeans into the fall. In any case, it's well 43 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: known that most multitasking doesn't work. Trying to answer emails 44 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,639 Speaker 1: while you are on a conference call means you are 45 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: not listening to that call. Now maybe that doesn't really matter, 46 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: but then why are you on the call in the 47 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:05,119 Speaker 1: first place. Better to bow out and give your full 48 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: attention to the emails. As for texting while driving, this 49 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: can also result in things going very badly, But in 50 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: many cases, pairing a head task with a body task 51 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: has actual benefits. Some people listen better when their hands 52 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: are just occupied enough to keep them from fidgeting. Listening 53 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: to something interesting can make exercise more interesting, and if 54 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: it's something you have to listen to, that multitasking might 55 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: make it possible to exercise in a way that wouldn't 56 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: be possible if that time wasn't available. So try to 57 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: pair head tasks with body tasks and you just might 58 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: find life feeling a little more efficient. After all, Kristen 59 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: finished nursing school with a four point zero, so that 60 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: is a pretty good testimonial for her method. I'd love 61 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: to hear your experiences if you pair head tasks and 62 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: body tasks. What are the particular tasks and pairing strategies 63 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: at work for you. You can reach me at Laura at 64 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 65 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 66 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 67 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:37,840 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 68 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 69 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 70 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 71 00:04:55,640 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.