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 consider how you can give the
Speaker 1: gift of time. Far more than a gift card. The
Speaker 1: gift of time can help nurture relationships and build community.
Speaker 1: I decided to do an episode on this topic after
Speaker 1: hearing from a Before Breakfast listener who had thoughts on
Speaker 1: an earlier episode we did on having too much time.
Speaker 1: The listener noted that people whose schedules open up because
Speaker 1: they're between jobs or retired, or his children have grown
Speaker 1: are often advised to volunteer. That's a great idea, but
Speaker 1: the listener reminded me that volunteer opportunities don't have to
Speaker 1: be formal. For instance, she decided to take on some
Speaker 1: kid driving duties for a busy family. She knew the
Speaker 1: kids got to spend special time, I'm with someone who
Speaker 1: is like an aunt to them, and the parents got
Speaker 1: a break. Time can be an incredible gift in many ways.
Speaker 1: It's more valuable than money or things, because while you
Speaker 1: can make more money, you cannot make more time. The
Speaker 1: richest person on the planet still has just twenty four
Speaker 1: hours in a day. Once a second is gone, all
Speaker 1: the money in the world cannot buy it back. I
Speaker 1: know that sounds daunting and maybe like we should hoard
Speaker 1: our time, But as with money, having a mentality of
Speaker 1: abundance can actually make us feel rich. While philanthropists are
Speaker 1: technically giving their money away, they're building the world they
Speaker 1: want to see, which makes them feel wealthier. Not everyone
Speaker 1: has money, but all of us do have time. By
Speaker 1: thinking of yourself as a time philanthropist, you can seek
Speaker 1: out opportunities to invest your time in building the community
Speaker 1: you'd like to inhabit. So if you've got time, you
Speaker 1: can give. Come a time detective. Who in your community
Speaker 1: needs help, who's struggling to cope with their responsibilities in
Speaker 1: the twenty four hours we have each day. Maybe a
Speaker 1: single parent in your neighborhood could really use a break.
Speaker 1: She might not ask, but you can offer. Maybe someone
Speaker 1: with a new baby would welcome the opportunity to hand
Speaker 1: over the other children for a few hours. Maybe a
Speaker 1: family with two working parents facing the stress of making
Speaker 1: a daycare pickup with the vagaries of traffic would love
Speaker 1: to have you on call for those days when the
Speaker 1: inner state is backed up For miles. Maybe a neighbor
Speaker 1: who works an hour away would welcome your offer to
Speaker 1: check on an aging parent if there's ever an issue
Speaker 1: like that parent isn't picking up the phone. You could
Speaker 1: offer to drive someone whose car is broken down to
Speaker 1: the grocery store. There are plenty of needs when you look,
Speaker 1: but you can also think about giving the gift of
Speaker 1: time in general, perhaps as a substitute for more traditional gifts.
Speaker 1: Instead of giving a RelA of a sweater, take her
Speaker 1: as your guest to the art museum for the afternoon.
Speaker 1: Instead of giving a friend a plant for her birthday,
Speaker 1: offered to do a few additional carpool runs. If you're
Speaker 1: pressed for time, this won't work. None of us can
Speaker 1: give more than we actually have. But if you're in
Speaker 1: a stage of life where there is more time, all
Speaker 1: of these ideas will nurture your relationships and build your community.
Speaker 1: And here's the even better part of gifts like these.
Speaker 1: If you come into a time squeeze yourself, people will
Speaker 1: remember and they'll pay it back. In that sense, the
Speaker 1: gift of time isn't really a gift. It's more like
Speaker 1: banking time for the future. In the meantime. This is
Speaker 1: Laura thanks for listening, and here's to making the most
Speaker 1: of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For
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Speaker 1: favorite shows.