WEBVTT - Pair a head task with a body task

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to pair a head task and a body task.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are trying to maximize your efficiency, this lets

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<v Speaker 1>you do mental and physical work at the same time.

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<v Speaker 1>Call it a nice form of multitasking. One of the

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<v Speaker 1>rare forms that actually works. Today's tip comes from Kristin,

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<v Speaker 1>known to her myriad blog readers as the Frugal Girl.

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<v Speaker 1>When I interviewed Kristin for this podcast a few months ago,

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<v Speaker 1>she described some of the productivity strategies she used to

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<v Speaker 1>make it through nursing school, all while maintaining an active

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<v Speaker 1>blog and parenting too. N One was to pair a

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<v Speaker 1>head task with a body task. Kristin explained that she

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<v Speaker 1>would listen to content about nursing while doing physical life

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<v Speaker 1>maintenance tasks. So, for instance, she might listen to a

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<v Speaker 1>chapter of an audio textbook or a nursing podcast while

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<v Speaker 1>folding clothes, prepping dinner, or cleaning. Pairing a head task

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<v Speaker 1>with a body task is a great idea if you

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<v Speaker 1>are a student who needs to get through a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of content, but it can work for other people too.

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<v Speaker 1>Lots of verbal experiences can be successfully paired with physical

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<v Speaker 1>experiences without really losing capacity for either. During a camera's

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<v Speaker 1>off conference call for work, for instance, you might be

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<v Speaker 1>able to fold clothes. You could chat with a friend

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<v Speaker 1>on the phone while going for a walk. You could

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<v Speaker 1>listen to a podcast while going for a run. You

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<v Speaker 1>could listen to an audiobook while reading your garden. In

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<v Speaker 1>deciding what tasks, to be sure that the physical task

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<v Speaker 1>is quiet if anyone will be able to hear you.

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<v Speaker 1>You probably don't want to be on a call with

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<v Speaker 1>a friend while putting away dishes, for instance, if there's

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<v Speaker 1>going to be a lot of clanging. You also want

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<v Speaker 1>to be sure the physical task has low to no

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<v Speaker 1>cognitive demands. If you are on an intense work call,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't want to suddenly look up and realize that

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<v Speaker 1>you have chopped way more onion than you meant to.

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<v Speaker 1>Even swapping out your summer and fall clothes has more

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<v Speaker 1>cognitive demand than might work for listening to, let's say

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<v Speaker 1>an audio version of a textbook. You don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>miss out on something that will be on a quiz

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<v Speaker 1>because you're deliberating over whether you will actually wear your

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<v Speaker 1>white jeans into the fall. In any case, it's well

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<v Speaker 1>known that most multitasking doesn't work. Trying to answer emails

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<v Speaker 1>while you are on a conference call means you are

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<v Speaker 1>not listening to that call. Now maybe that doesn't really matter,

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<v Speaker 1>but then why are you on the call in the

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<v Speaker 1>first place. Better to bow out and give your full

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<v Speaker 1>attention to the emails. As for texting while driving, this

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<v Speaker 1>can also result in things going very badly, But in

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<v Speaker 1>many cases, pairing a head task with a body task

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<v Speaker 1>has actual benefits. Some people listen better when their hands

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<v Speaker 1>are just occupied enough to keep them from fidgeting. Listening

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<v Speaker 1>to something interesting can make exercise more interesting, and if

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<v Speaker 1>it's something you have to listen to, that multitasking might

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<v Speaker 1>make it possible to exercise in a way that wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>be possible if that time wasn't available. So try to

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<v Speaker 1>pair head tasks with body tasks and you just might

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<v Speaker 1>find life feeling a little more efficient. After all, Kristen

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<v Speaker 1>finished nursing school with a four point zero, so that

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<v Speaker 1>is a pretty good testimonial for her method. I'd love

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<v Speaker 1>to hear your experiences if you pair head tasks and

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<v Speaker 1>body tasks. What are the particular tasks and pairing strategies

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<v Speaker 1>at work for you. You can reach me at Laura at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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