WEBVTT - Power up at lunch

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to use your lunch break to get

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<v Speaker 1>energized for the afternoon. You could think of yourself as

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<v Speaker 1>a character in a video game and power up at lunch.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've played a lot of video games over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>you have witnessed this phenomenon of powering up. Characters can

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes get extra abilities or become resistant to threats as

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<v Speaker 1>a result of encountering their power up substance. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>and Super Mario Brothers, you want to absorb mushrooms. My

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<v Speaker 1>understanding from watching my kids play Fortnite is that various

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<v Speaker 1>power up items can restore their health and shields. Real

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<v Speaker 1>life is not a video game, but if you have

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<v Speaker 1>a long work day, you probably do need to power

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<v Speaker 1>up in the middle of it, or you will find

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<v Speaker 1>yourself at three pm flickering like a video game character

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<v Speaker 1>that's about to expire. I have certainly been finding this

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<v Speaker 1>myself as the weather has gotten nicer. I am challenging

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<v Speaker 1>myself to take a real lunch break. Ideally, I do

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<v Speaker 1>a few things first. I sit at the table to eat,

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<v Speaker 1>not at my desk. Usually it's leftovers from dinner, but

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<v Speaker 1>if we don't have leftovers, I will cook something so

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<v Speaker 1>I can have a real meal. On the days my

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<v Speaker 1>husband is working from home, we both try to take

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<v Speaker 1>a break at noon together. It's like a kid free

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<v Speaker 1>date in the middle of the day. Then I go

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<v Speaker 1>outside and sit in my hammock for a few minutes

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<v Speaker 1>and read something. It might be work related, but it

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<v Speaker 1>might not be too. Then I walk through the yard

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<v Speaker 1>and the woods behind the house. I take the same

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<v Speaker 1>trail most days and see how summer fills everything in

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<v Speaker 1>with green. I will admit that all of this takes

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<v Speaker 1>an hour a lunch shower, and I know that is

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of time in the middle of the work day.

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<v Speaker 1>On the other hand, I come back feeling powered up

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<v Speaker 1>for the afternoon. I'm ready to keep working until the

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<v Speaker 1>kids come home. Now, I recognize that my own ways

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<v Speaker 1>of powering up might not be available to everyone. But

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<v Speaker 1>the components of my lunch break are all known energy

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<v Speaker 1>and mood boosters. Good food, socializing, fresh air, reading for fun, exercise.

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<v Speaker 1>Wherever you are working, you might be able to pick

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<v Speaker 1>up some of these to help you power up. Can

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<v Speaker 1>you walk up and down the stairs of your building.

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<v Speaker 1>One study of people's energy levels through the day found

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<v Speaker 1>that folks who rated themselves as a three on a

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<v Speaker 1>ten point scale gave themselves a nine after five minutes

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<v Speaker 1>of bounding up and down the stairs. Now that might

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<v Speaker 1>seem like it couldn't be true that expending energy through

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<v Speaker 1>exercise creates more energy, but I promise you that is

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<v Speaker 1>what happened. You can also chat with a friend, make

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<v Speaker 1>concrete plans to meet up with your work best friend

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<v Speaker 1>at least a few times a week for a brown

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<v Speaker 1>bag lunch in the break room. If you are both

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<v Speaker 1>working from home, call her. Or you could meet another

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<v Speaker 1>work from home friend at a local dog park as

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<v Speaker 1>you get your dogs outside and get some exercise. Laughter

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<v Speaker 1>and connection always leave us feeling better than before. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if your schedule doesn't allow you to connect with a

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<v Speaker 1>friend who makes you laugh, look for other opportunities to

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<v Speaker 1>feel merry. Listening to a funny podcast or watching a

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<v Speaker 1>YouTube video of your favorite comedian can induce real belly

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<v Speaker 1>laughs that will certainly power you up more than reading

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<v Speaker 1>depressing headlines. Do that only in short bursts and ideally

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<v Speaker 1>when you are best able to deal with it and

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<v Speaker 1>whatever you do, make sure you eat something satisfying, not

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<v Speaker 1>something that's going to leave you in a food coma afterwards.

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<v Speaker 1>And I wouldn't recommend the three martini lunch of yesteryear,

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<v Speaker 1>but something with protein and healthy fats is probably going

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<v Speaker 1>to stick to your ribs longer, as they say, then

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<v Speaker 1>a doughnut and coffee. It can seem productive to work

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<v Speaker 1>through lunch shoveling something into your mouth as you said,

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<v Speaker 1>at your desk and being unable to say what it

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<v Speaker 1>was afterwards, but paradoxically, you will probably accomplish more in

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<v Speaker 1>the afternoon if you stop working for your lunch break

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<v Speaker 1>and use it to do something totally different. You power

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<v Speaker 1>up instead of powering through, and that can make all

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<v Speaker 1>the difference 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 p o D.

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

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.