Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to enjoy what is always available. Don't miss
Speaker 1: out on something special because you could do it anytime,
Speaker 1: but you never do so. You may have heard about
Speaker 1: the scarcity heuristic, people's tendency to value what they perceive
Speaker 1: as less available. Think about offers for a limited time only.
Speaker 1: If you know that today is the day to get
Speaker 1: those two dollars and ninety nine cent per pound chicken breasts,
Speaker 1: or that the scarfew of your ion may sell out,
Speaker 1: or that the band you love will perform in your town,
Speaker 1: but only on Friday, you may be motivated to seize
Speaker 1: your chance while you can. Just as it's easy to
Speaker 1: overvalue what we perceive as scarce, it is easy to
Speaker 1: miss out on what we perceive as readily available. We
Speaker 1: mean to do it sometime, but never get around to it,
Speaker 1: and that can be a shame. Maybe you lived in
Speaker 1: Chicago for several years and always intended to go on
Speaker 1: an architecture tour, but now you moved and you never did.
Speaker 1: Or perhaps there's a highly regarded restaurant near you that
Speaker 1: you've always wanted to try, but never have, and now
Speaker 1: you never can because it had to shut down after
Speaker 1: a kitchen fire. If you're like a lot of people,
Speaker 1: you may not make it to attractions in a city
Speaker 1: where you live unless you have out of town visitors.
Speaker 1: It is cliched but true that plenty of New Yorkers
Speaker 1: would never make it to the Statue of Liberty if
Speaker 1: it weren't for out of town friends who are in
Speaker 1: the city for a weekend and are determined to see
Speaker 1: it while they are there. Sometimes we neglect to enjoy
Speaker 1: time with people who are always available to You may
Speaker 1: go weeks without a meaningful conversation with a colleague you
Speaker 1: see every day, or maybe people from your office go
Speaker 1: out after work every Thursday. But since you know you
Speaker 1: can go every Thursday, you don't bother to make it
Speaker 1: a priority on any given Thursday. But then Thursdays keep passing.
Speaker 1: Next thing, you know, your work best friend quits, or
Speaker 1: you go work somewhere else, and you don't ever get
Speaker 1: another Thursday night happy hour with that crew. If the
Speaker 1: thought of that bothers you, then perhaps it's time to
Speaker 1: get specific. Decide that next Thursday will be the Thursday
Speaker 1: you go or that this Saturday is when you visit
Speaker 1: that museum you've been saying you want to see. If
Speaker 1: this particular Thursday or Saturday doesn't work, you can use
Speaker 1: our recent tip about choosing a random calendar date. Just
Speaker 1: choose an upcoming Thursday or Saturday and put the event
Speaker 1: on your calendar for Then, then when it comes time
Speaker 1: to plan that particular week, you will see the appointment
Speaker 1: and most likely incorporate that activity into the week's mental model.
Speaker 1: A third option is to put scarcity to work. If
Speaker 1: something is readily available for a long time but then
Speaker 1: will become scarce or unavailable, create a calendar item for
Speaker 1: shortly before it becomes unavailable, for instance, the last week
Speaker 1: of an art exhibit or the last week of the
Speaker 1: baseball season. That way you can be sure to catch
Speaker 1: it before it's gone. Now it may happen. Then as
Speaker 1: the time comes to do this always available thing that
Speaker 1: you have now put for a specific date on your calendar,
Speaker 1: you could realize that you don't actually want to do it,
Speaker 1: and that is fine. Not all New Yorkers need to
Speaker 1: go to the Statue of Liberty, cross it off your
Speaker 1: mental list, and stop saying things like I've always wanted
Speaker 1: to see Ellis Island. What is fun for others isn't
Speaker 1: always fun for us. But if there is something that's
Speaker 1: always available that you have been meaning to do, decide
Speaker 1: on a time to do it. That way, you won't
Speaker 1: miss out because time in a broader sense is scarce,
Speaker 1: even if it feels like the opportunity to visit any
Speaker 1: particular local attraction is not. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.