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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to see the light. Making sure to

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Speaker 1: see some natural light can be tricky in winter, but

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Speaker 1: it goes a long way toward making winter feel more doable.

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Speaker 1: So my southern Hemisphere listeners are enjoying lengthening days right now,

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Speaker 1: so you all can just listen to this episode in

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Speaker 1: six months. But those of us in the Northern Hemisphere,

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Speaker 1: we are headed straight for the winter solstice. The days

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Speaker 1: are getting shorter, and with the clocks falling back, many

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Speaker 1: people will commute home from work or school in the dark.

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Speaker 1: You might see daylight in the morning for a bit,

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Speaker 1: but since mornings are often rushed, this might not be

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Speaker 1: much time, and some days you might not even get that.

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Speaker 1: The sun rises at seven twenty a m. Round the

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Speaker 1: solstice by me and sets around four thirty p m.

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Speaker 1: Anyone working a seven thirty to four thirty sort of

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Speaker 1: day would not be able to count on time outside

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Speaker 1: of work, and even folks who worked from say nine

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Speaker 1: to five would not have much time outside of it.

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Speaker 1: Winters can be dreary enough as it is. Natural light

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Speaker 1: is a known mood booster. Getting some time outdoors in

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Speaker 1: the light each day can make winter feel far more doable.

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Speaker 1: But that requires a conscious effort when there is little

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Speaker 1: light to be had, so you have to plan to

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Speaker 1: take breaks, and you have to plan to take them outside.

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Speaker 1: This is one of the reasons behind one of my

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Speaker 1: favorite time management rules, move by three p M. I

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Speaker 1: chose this as rule number three in my book Tranquility

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Speaker 1: by Tuesday, because getting some physical activity each day can

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Speaker 1: boost energy levels significantly. Getting that exercise outside in the

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Speaker 1: natural light, it's like hitting a reset button. Even if

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Speaker 1: you are tired or the weather isn't great, A quick

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Speaker 1: walk while they're still light can power you through the

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Speaker 1: rest of the day. But a walk break isn't the

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Speaker 1: only way to see the light. If you drive to work,

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Speaker 1: pause in the parking lot for a few minutes before

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Speaker 1: you go in to notice the winter sky. Same if

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Speaker 1: you go out to lunch with colleagues, take a minute

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Speaker 1: in the restaurant parking lot or before you walk back

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Speaker 1: to work to see the world around you. You might

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Speaker 1: also figure out a way to expand your outdoor time

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Speaker 1: in the morning if your schedule allows it. You could

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Speaker 1: wake up on time to take a little walk or

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Speaker 1: go for a run before work. Except during the darkest

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Speaker 1: days of winter, in many places, you could exercise from

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Speaker 1: seven fifteen to seven forty five, then get yourself going

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Speaker 1: and at least experience a half hour of light. We

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Speaker 1: talked in a previous episode about looking out the window

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Speaker 1: for a minute before clearing your inbox. It's not quite

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Speaker 1: the same as going outside, but it's better than not

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Speaker 1: looking out the window. Make sure you take several minutes

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Speaker 1: to look outside while the thin winter sun is doing

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Speaker 1: its best to light things up. And if that fails,

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Speaker 1: I'm in favor of taking some strategic time off. If

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Speaker 1: you've got paid time off, a half day every other week,

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Speaker 1: maybe on a Wednesday, where you make sure to enjoy

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Speaker 1: whatever sunlight there is can help you make it through

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Speaker 1: to the weekend. But as with any resource, when you

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Speaker 1: recognize that it is scarce at least for a period

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Speaker 1: of time, and that it is precious, you can see

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Speaker 1: that it helps to be mindful of it and optimize

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Speaker 1: your schedule around it. During the winter, it's a lot

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Speaker 1: harder to see the light than it is in the summer.

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Speaker 1: When you get the bounty of light after work, even

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Speaker 1: if you work quite late, but it is usually still

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Speaker 1: possible and definitely worth it. After the solstice, the days

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Speaker 1: will start getting longer and you can celebrate each extra minute.

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Speaker 1: But until then, seizing what you can of the lingering

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Speaker 1: light can make it feel more abundant than it is

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Speaker 1: in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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Speaker 1: here's to making the moose of our tip. Hey everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Cat