WEBVTT - Wait 5 before you take 5

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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 that while real breaks are wonderful and rejuvenating things,

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<v Speaker 1>when you feel the first urge to take a break,

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<v Speaker 1>consider whether you can work just a little bit longer.

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<v Speaker 1>First five more minutes here and there can add up

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<v Speaker 1>and make a real difference in your productivity. When you

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<v Speaker 1>are feeling stuck or bored or overwhelmed by a work task,

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<v Speaker 1>it is tempting to go get another cup of coffee,

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<v Speaker 1>or go to the restroom, or wander around the halls

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<v Speaker 1>at work, or move the laundry to the dryer. If

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<v Speaker 1>you are working from home, and it is possible that

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<v Speaker 1>you do need a break sometime soon. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>give in to the urge to take a break right

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<v Speaker 1>away at the first moment your attention wanders, you may

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<v Speaker 1>be undermining your productivity. You might not be at a

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<v Speaker 1>good stopping point. You might also be trying to do

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<v Speaker 1>something easy to avoid something hard. Taking a break right

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<v Speaker 1>then will mean time away from your desk and then

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<v Speaker 1>time to get back focused and fully on track. So

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<v Speaker 1>before you stop, consider if maybe you can push through

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<v Speaker 1>to a good stopping point or through the tough work

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<v Speaker 1>and then stop. Just wait five before you take five,

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<v Speaker 1>and your brakes will help your productivity rather than undermine it.

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<v Speaker 1>Because here's the thing, well timed rejuvenating breaks can make

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<v Speaker 1>your workday more productive and more satisfying. I suggest that

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<v Speaker 1>people take a real break mid morning for lunch, and

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<v Speaker 1>then mid afternoon. Ideally, you think about what you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to do and consciously build in those rejuvenating activities during

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<v Speaker 1>that time. Often people tell me that they don't really

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<v Speaker 1>take breaks, but if you look at how you are

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<v Speaker 1>spending their days, they are in fact taking breaks all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. They're working on a project, but then get

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<v Speaker 1>a little bored and decide to check email. They read

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<v Speaker 1>two non urgent work emails and see a breaking news

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<v Speaker 1>headline and click over to read that, and wind up

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<v Speaker 1>spending ten minutes or more reading the news before realizing

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<v Speaker 1>it's time to get back to work. It didn't register

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<v Speaker 1>as a break, and it wasn't all that rejuvenating, but

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<v Speaker 1>it was time away from work, so it was a break.

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<v Speaker 1>Those fake breaks can add up over the course of

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<v Speaker 1>a day, since none of those emails actually needed to

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<v Speaker 1>be dealt with. Anytime soon, This was all a waste

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<v Speaker 1>of time. Time really better to push through that boredom

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<v Speaker 1>to a natural stopping point, or to the time when

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<v Speaker 1>you agreed to meet a colleague for coffee and then

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy this real break. Now again, it may be the

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<v Speaker 1>case that you are tired, or hungry, or need the bathroom,

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<v Speaker 1>but all of those things can generally wait at least

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<v Speaker 1>a minute or two. So when you start feeling the

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<v Speaker 1>need to leave what you are doing, check in and

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<v Speaker 1>see if this is truly what you need or whether

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<v Speaker 1>with a few more minutes you could really get something done.

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<v Speaker 1>I love breaks, but I want them to be worthwhile.

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<v Speaker 1>If you wait five before you take five, that is

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<v Speaker 1>more likely to be the case. In the meantime, this

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

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.