1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: tip is that when you find yourself with a little 4 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: free time, consider taking a break to just relax. You 5 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: don't always have to do something. Sometimes it's nice to 6 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: just be. You may have noticed that some cities now 7 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: have tiny public spaces tucked in between buildings. These green 8 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: spots have just enough space for some trees, a little grass, 9 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: and a few park benches. Occasionally there's a swing set 10 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: or a fountain. It's not much, but what might have 11 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: been an empty lot or a parking area is activated 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: as a space for relaxing and soaking in the outdoors. 13 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: These pocket parks, as they are sometimes called, are refreshing 14 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: oases for city dwellers. They are places to sit outside 15 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: and read a book, sip your coffee, chat with a friend, 16 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 1: or relax. While any given pocket park is small, taken together, 17 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: they make an urban area feel more lush and inviting. 18 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: I think it's a useful metaphor for our schedules. We 19 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: have lots of buildings stuck in there, meetings, deadlines, bringing 20 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: the kids to soccer, going to that neighborhood hearing. But 21 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: perhaps we can envision tiny oases in between all of that. 22 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: The next time you find yourself with fifteen minutes between things, 23 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: think about pocket parks and consider taking a pocket pause, 24 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,559 Speaker 1: a little spot for relaxation. I like this idea because 25 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: no matter how busy you are, and no matter how 26 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: thoughtfully you plan, you will wind up with stretches of 27 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: time that are on spoken for. If a meeting cancels 28 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: and you have a whole hour that is suddenly free, 29 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: you may want to use it to make progress on 30 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: a big project. But when you have ten minutes between meetings, 31 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: or when you are ready twenty minutes before your friend 32 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: picks you up for the movies, those bits of time 33 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: can be harder to use. Some folks keep lists of 34 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: small tasks to cram into these moments, and I get it. 35 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: It's good to get things done and feel productive, but 36 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: I strongly recommend batching little tasks so they don't take 37 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: over your schedule. When you get a little pocket pause 38 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: in your day, you can just kick your feet up 39 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: and look out the window. You don't even need to 40 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: check email. You can just be I know this is 41 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: hard to imagine, but I think spending a few minutes 42 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: just relaxing has a few upsides. When we are busy, 43 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: this feels kind of extravagant, and that's not a bad thing. 44 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: Taking a pocket pause is the time equivalent of buying 45 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: yourself flowers. You are worth it. But just as a 46 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: handful of pocket parks can make an entire city seem green, 47 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: a handful of pocket pauses in the day can remind 48 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: you that you do have time. How busy can you 49 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,359 Speaker 1: be if you take five minutes, four times a day 50 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: to watch the clouds? If you truly are just relaxing, 51 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: those five minutes stretches are going to seem quite long. 52 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: You will start to feel like your schedule is spacious. Indeed, 53 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: if you take a pocket pause, I'd love to hear 54 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: how it goes. You could reach me at Laura at 55 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 56 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 57 00:03:54,680 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 58 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 59 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 60 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia for more podcasts from iHeartMedia, Please visit 61 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 62 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.