WEBVTT - Second Cup: Scroll less, puzzle more

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of My Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to seek out effortful fun that can

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<v Speaker 1>keep your mind active. Scroll less, puzzle more. You'll feel

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<v Speaker 1>far more satisfied with your leisure time. This week, we've

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<v Speaker 1>been talking about ways to take care of our brains.

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<v Speaker 1>If we want to take our days from great to awesome,

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<v Speaker 1>being on top of our mental games can help a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>Our brains are the most important productivity tools we have

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<v Speaker 1>now and in the future too, so we want to

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<v Speaker 1>keep these tools as sharp as possible. That brings me

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<v Speaker 1>to today's tip. How we spend our scarce leisure time.

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<v Speaker 1>We are all busy these days between work and family,

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<v Speaker 1>and during this time of year, all the holiday madness,

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<v Speaker 1>we can start to feel like we have no free

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<v Speaker 1>time at all. However, as anyone who has tracked their

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<v Speaker 1>time knows, this isn't a accurate story. Everybody has some

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<v Speaker 1>free time, if not as much as we want. The

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<v Speaker 1>problem is that much of this time occurs when we

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<v Speaker 1>have limited energy, or it is unexpected or short in duration.

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<v Speaker 1>Our phones solve these constraints so well. While you are

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for a train to come, you can read headlines

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<v Speaker 1>or check in on what your former neighbor posted on Facebook.

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<v Speaker 1>If the train comes after two minutes, great, If it

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<v Speaker 1>comes after eight minutes, also fine. You could do the

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<v Speaker 1>same thing in either stretch of time and when it

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<v Speaker 1>gets interrupt did you just proceed to the next thing.

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<v Speaker 1>It is also very easy to keep scrolling or refreshing,

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<v Speaker 1>and so if we are tired at night, we often

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<v Speaker 1>pick up the phones or turn on the TV unthinkingly.

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<v Speaker 1>But none of this tends to engage our brains very much.

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<v Speaker 1>And while we need some downtime, there is a space

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<v Speaker 1>for leisure that makes us feel smarter rather than brainless.

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<v Speaker 1>So why not try scrolling less and puzzling a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more. Puzzles give our brains the chance to practice

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<v Speaker 1>problem solving. They help us think in new ways and

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<v Speaker 1>thus help us forge new mental connections. I'm talking any

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<v Speaker 1>sort of puzzle. If you've got leisure time and can

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<v Speaker 1>be off screens, try doing a jigsaw puzzle if you

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<v Speaker 1>want an easy sense of accomplishment. A puzzle can be

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<v Speaker 1>done in a night, or you could do a newspaper

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<v Speaker 1>crossword puzzle, or get a book of number puzzles, but

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<v Speaker 1>even if you are online, you could try various puzzles.

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<v Speaker 1>There are online jigsaw puzzles and online crossword puzzles. It

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<v Speaker 1>is as easy to open a puzzle app as to

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<v Speaker 1>open grabby headlines that are designed to make you feel

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<v Speaker 1>fearful and unhappy. You don't have to do the puzzles forever,

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<v Speaker 1>but you might try flipping the automatic habit of doing

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<v Speaker 1>something effortless. Tell yourself you are just going to do

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<v Speaker 1>something effortful for three minutes or so. Then you can

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<v Speaker 1>spend as much time on Twitter as you'd like. My

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<v Speaker 1>guess is much of the time you will stick with

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<v Speaker 1>the puzzles. They can be really fun. But even if not,

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<v Speaker 1>you will spend a few more minutes each day doing

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<v Speaker 1>something that helps your brain stay engaged. That's not a

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<v Speaker 1>bad thing. Our brains are like anything else. They stay

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<v Speaker 1>in better shape when we train them. Plus, much online

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<v Speaker 1>scrolling is so brainless we hardly even notice we are

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<v Speaker 1>doing it, so we stick with the story that we

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<v Speaker 1>have no free time, even if we spend hours perusing headlines.

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<v Speaker 1>It's hard to do a crossword puzzle, though, and not

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<v Speaker 1>notice that you are doing it, so that makes leisure

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<v Speaker 1>time expand in the mental accounting. Even if it is

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<v Speaker 1>the exact same amount of time, scroll less, puzzle more,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll feel more brainy and feel like you're spending your

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<v Speaker 1>time better. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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