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 ask yourself what you loved doing
Speaker 1: as a child. The point is not so much to
Speaker 1: find your next career move, though that could be an option,
Speaker 1: but mostly it's to make your leisure time feel more fulfilling.
Speaker 1: Adults love to ask children what they want to be
Speaker 1: when they grow up, and many kids have a ready answer.
Speaker 1: They proudly announced that they plan to be writers, or
Speaker 1: doctors or princesses without any self consciousness. Then we grow
Speaker 1: older and we discover that there aren't so many job
Speaker 1: openings for princesses, and we find ourselves pursuing completely different
Speaker 1: career paths. There's nothing wrong with this. Kids have no
Speaker 1: idea about the scope of careers in the world, or
Speaker 1: about how to find the intersection between skills, interests and
Speaker 1: what is economically viable. But leisure time pursuits have no
Speaker 1: such constraints. As the past few months of lockdowns have
Speaker 1: forced people to reconsider how they spend their time, there's
Speaker 1: something to be said for looking to the past for ideas.
Speaker 1: Chances are that at least some of the activities who
Speaker 1: loved as a kid might bring a smile to your
Speaker 1: face now, So set aside a few minutes this week,
Speaker 1: maybe during a break at work, to think about how
Speaker 1: you used to spend your time when you had a
Speaker 1: free saturday as a child. What did you do with it?
Speaker 1: What kind of books did you read, or toys or
Speaker 1: games did you enjoy. You might look at old photos
Speaker 1: to conjure up memories, talk to parents, siblings, or childhood
Speaker 1: friends to surface other ideas. Maybe certain objects brought you
Speaker 1: great happiness or certain pursuits. Jot down words and phrases
Speaker 1: that come to mind. Now look at what you've written down,
Speaker 1: and consider how some of the interests or activities could
Speaker 1: be pivoted into your adult life. If you're actually looking
Speaker 1: to figure out your next career move, this can take
Speaker 1: a good deal of creativity. No one is likely to
Speaker 1: pay you to play in a sandbox unless you work
Speaker 1: at a daycare, but there may be other ways to
Speaker 1: incorporate your interests, either as side hustles or just for
Speaker 1: the fun of it. If you have happy memories of
Speaker 1: playing school with your friends, you might enjoy teaching an
Speaker 1: online course or volunteering in a literacy program. If you
Speaker 1: loved exploring on your bike but haven't done this in
Speaker 1: a while, it might be worth buying a bike from
Speaker 1: a neighbor and building some rides into your life. I've
Speaker 1: realized that one reason I like occasionally writing articles on
Speaker 1: random topics is that I loved earning Girl Scout badges
Speaker 1: as a kid. I learned just enough about a topic
Speaker 1: to feel a sense of accomplishment, and then I'd move on.
Speaker 1: Thinking about your childhood joys can be a helpful exercise
Speaker 1: even if you aren't looking to do anything particularly productive.
Speaker 1: Maybe you have fond memories of waking up early on
Speaker 1: Saturday mornings to watch cartoons all by yourself. You might
Speaker 1: enjoy building a version of this into your life now
Speaker 1: by waking up an hour before the rest of your
Speaker 1: family to do something totally for you, whether that's watching
Speaker 1: cartoons or reading a book or doing a puzzle. So
Speaker 1: if you're feeling stuck board or just in search of
Speaker 1: a way to enjoy time more, take some time to
Speaker 1: consider what brought you happiness as a child. Then think
Speaker 1: flexibly and with an open mind about how these joys
Speaker 1: could fit into your adult life. You'll probably start to
Speaker 1: smile just thinking about it. In the meantime, This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: 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 to pod that's B the number four, then
Speaker 1: breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
Speaker 1: com 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: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.