Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to remember that a little inefficiency is okay.
Speaker 1: If you are like a lot Before Breakfast listeners, you
Speaker 1: subscribe to this podcast to get ideas about efficiency efficiently.
Speaker 1: You spend five minutes listening to the podcast while simultaneously
Speaker 1: getting dressed, commuting, or packing lunches, and then you have
Speaker 1: a concrete idea for a way to make the most
Speaker 1: of your time. And I am right there with you.
Speaker 1: I love efficiency and intentionality about time use. I love
Speaker 1: to do things in less time. When I lived New
Speaker 1: York City, I always used to walk a certain route
Speaker 1: to the subway because I had to wait for one
Speaker 1: less light. I am quite annoyed that my current coffee
Speaker 1: maker requires that you pour the water in slowly or
Speaker 1: else the coffee pot drips. I want to pour faster.
Speaker 1: But here is a key realization. It is most important
Speaker 1: to be efficient and effective about the big things. Are
Speaker 1: you in a job or otherwise spending your time in
Speaker 1: a way that uses your talents and let's you make
Speaker 1: a difference in the world. Have you built good relationships
Speaker 1: with friends and family. Are you taking care of your health?
Speaker 1: If so, great, you are spending your time well. And
Speaker 1: if you are intentional about your time in the big
Speaker 1: important ways, then you truly don't need to obsess about
Speaker 1: every second. A little inefficiency is okay. Indeed, sometimes you
Speaker 1: can just embrace it. Take driving around in the car.
Speaker 1: I have noticed that in this era of remote work,
Speaker 1: some people have become obsessed with minimizing time in the car.
Speaker 1: Folks who don't need to drive kids to school every
Speaker 1: day can truly start to be grudge trips out of
Speaker 1: the house. Next thing you know, they are figuring out
Speaker 1: how to batch all errands on a particular side of town,
Speaker 1: timed to the exact moment when Ways says traffic will
Speaker 1: be lightest. And if it gives you joy to strategize
Speaker 1: how to make it to your dry cleaner and the
Speaker 1: container store and the place where you get your sunglasses
Speaker 1: repaired on one run while only making right turns, then
Speaker 1: go for it. But you will spend a lot of
Speaker 1: mental effort doing that. And to what end? If you
Speaker 1: have planned your work week well and have strategized where
Speaker 1: you will fit in your most important priorities and have
Speaker 1: them all on the calendar, then well, maybe you can
Speaker 1: make two trips. It will be okay. The same goes
Speaker 1: with daily chores like cooking. Would it be more efficient
Speaker 1: to cook a month's worth of cast roles and one
Speaker 1: fell swoop and simply thaw one for dinner each night. Probably,
Speaker 1: But cooking can be fun, and it can be nice
Speaker 1: to make a meal inspired by local produce at the
Speaker 1: farmer's market, or a recipe you saw in the newspaper,
Speaker 1: or what you're in the mood for, not what you
Speaker 1: decided in a flurry of meal prep weeks ago. If
Speaker 1: you spent thirty minutes yesterday going to the dry cleaner
Speaker 1: in the post office, thirty minutes cooking dinner and enjoying it,
Speaker 1: and even thirty minutes on social media, that is ninety minutes.
Speaker 1: That might not have been entirely efficient, but that is okay.
Speaker 1: According to the most recent American Time You survey, Americans
Speaker 1: spent an average of three point one hours per day
Speaker 1: watching television last year. Except for the people who are
Speaker 1: TV critics, a lot of that was probably wasted time.
Speaker 1: In comparison, your extra thirty minutes on errands is just
Speaker 1: not that big a deal. Neither is your time cooking dinner,
Speaker 1: even if you could have gotten by on half of that.
Speaker 1: So yes, aim for efficiency in Errand's life, maintenance and
Speaker 1: anything else that is not a high priority for you.
Speaker 1: But also maintain a sense of perspective. How long it
Speaker 1: takes you to do your laundry or pick up your
Speaker 1: target order is not going to determine how much you
Speaker 1: get out of your life. Get the big things right.
Speaker 1: Everything else matters a lot less in the meantime. This
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b the number
Speaker 1: four then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot
Speaker 1: me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart
Speaker 1: media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
Speaker 1: heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit
Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.