WEBVTT - Second Cup: Look out the window first

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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 when you have a little spot of

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<v Speaker 1>time open up, you don't need to spend all of

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<v Speaker 1>it checking email. Take a minute to look out the

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<v Speaker 1>window first, and you just might start feeling a little

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<v Speaker 1>differently about life. I am writing this episode on a

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<v Speaker 1>lovely fall day, when the colors out my office window

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<v Speaker 1>are brilliant and rich. There's a bright red maple staring

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<v Speaker 1>back at me, and the little yellow oak leaves scattered

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<v Speaker 1>on the bushes look like celebratory confetti. With scenery like this,

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<v Speaker 1>I do find myself looking up more than usual. I

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<v Speaker 1>know in a few weeks it will all be gray

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<v Speaker 1>and brown for winter, but even so, on any day,

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<v Speaker 1>looking at the sky and the trees can provide a

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<v Speaker 1>little mental lift, a soothing sense that whatever problems I'm

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with are transient against the slowly changing seasons. I

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<v Speaker 1>also realize that I don't avail myself of this opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>to look out on a calming scene nearly as much

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<v Speaker 1>as I could. When a spot of time appears in

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<v Speaker 1>my schedule, I do what I suspect. Many people do

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<v Speaker 1>check my inbox. Sometimes there's something I need to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with there, but often it's something that could have waited

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<v Speaker 1>for one minute while I looked out at the loveliness

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<v Speaker 1>for sixty seconds. If you'd like more tranquility in your life,

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<v Speaker 1>it might be worth trying to look out the window first.

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<v Speaker 1>In my new book, Tranquility by Tuesday, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>time management rules I explore is to do effortful fun

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<v Speaker 1>before effortless fun. When you've got the potential for leisure time,

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<v Speaker 1>do a few minutes of reading or hobbies or connecting

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<v Speaker 1>with friends before switching over to screen time. When people

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<v Speaker 1>made this one little habit switch, they were far more

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<v Speaker 1>likely to agree with the statement yesterday I didn't waste

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<v Speaker 1>time on things that weren't important to me. We don't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily think of leisure during the workday, though I am

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<v Speaker 1>pretty sure that traffic on many websites is higher during

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<v Speaker 1>the workday than afterwards. But in many cases, quick email

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<v Speaker 1>checks are the same sort of thing as checking social media,

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<v Speaker 1>if maybe even more insidious, because they look like work.

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<v Speaker 1>We want to see what's in there, even if all

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<v Speaker 1>we wind up doing with those moments of time is

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<v Speaker 1>deleting email newslets we can't remember subscribing to. It's often

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<v Speaker 1>just the sort of effortless activity that doesn't do much

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<v Speaker 1>beyond provide a quick hit of feeling like something has

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<v Speaker 1>been done. So here's an idea. Before you get to

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<v Speaker 1>all that deleting, take just one minute to look out

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<v Speaker 1>the window first. Yes, staring at the clouds can be

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<v Speaker 1>a form of effortful fun in our distracted world. If

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<v Speaker 1>you've got a window in your office, wonderful get to

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<v Speaker 1>know the world outside it. If you work at a

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<v Speaker 1>home office, you can curate this view, making it a

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<v Speaker 1>little more pleasant and intriguing over time. But even if

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<v Speaker 1>you are in an office park, there is probably something

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<v Speaker 1>of interest, a patch of sky, a tree, that sort

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<v Speaker 1>of thing. If you are working in a windowless cubicle,

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<v Speaker 1>just get up and walk to a window. Most buildings

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<v Speaker 1>are required to have them somewhere not too far away

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<v Speaker 1>from you. It will be good to stretch your legs

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<v Speaker 1>in addition to taking in the outside world. Again, this

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't have to take long, sixty seconds would be fine.

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<v Speaker 1>Then go delete email as much as you want. The

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<v Speaker 1>point is simply to change up the automatic flow of

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<v Speaker 1>activities and to build little spots for renewal into your day.

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<v Speaker 1>I just looked up to watch a handful of bright

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<v Speaker 1>yellow leaves float to the ground. The email deletion can

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<v Speaker 1>wait a few seconds. The falling leaves are a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more tranquil 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 the number four, then breakfast pod. You can

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

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out with

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<v Speaker 1>all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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