Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 2: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 2: tip is that with a little creativity, you can repurpose
Speaker 2: waiting time to do something that is meaningful for you.
Speaker 2: I love hearing about how my listeners and readers make
Speaker 2: the most of their time. For instance, one swim parent
Speaker 2: recently shared that she is part of a book club
Speaker 2: composed of parents of kids on her kid's swim team.
Speaker 2: The book club meets regularly at the pool while the
Speaker 2: kids are at practice. I absolutely love this idea. The
Speaker 2: parents are at the pool anyway, and the book club
Speaker 2: gives purpose to their time beyond just waiting to drive
Speaker 2: their kids home. Without but the book club, most of
Speaker 2: the parents would probably be scrolling around on their phones
Speaker 2: or maybe even talking with each other about how busy
Speaker 2: they are if only they had time to be in
Speaker 2: a book club. But with the swim parent book club,
Speaker 2: at least some of the nights they are talking about
Speaker 2: a book and connecting with each other over this shared interest.
Speaker 2: My bet is that during some of the other practices
Speaker 2: on nights when the book club doesn't meet, they may
Speaker 2: spend time reading the book. They'll eventually discuss. Maybe they
Speaker 2: even chat with each other about what they are reading.
Speaker 2: In the same spirit, by being a little creative, you
Speaker 2: can turn other recurring waiting times into something that's fun
Speaker 2: for you too. If you have a kid activity like
Speaker 2: sports or gymnastics, robotics, youth symphony, or a choir that
Speaker 2: leaves you and other parents sitting around waiting, consider whether
Speaker 2: there is an activity some.
Speaker 1: Of you might enjoy while you wait. You could form
Speaker 1: a book club like the folks at the pool, or
Speaker 1: you could decide to discuss a podcast or movie or
Speaker 1: ted talk. A game club is another option, maybe bridge
Speaker 1: every week, or you could take turns bringing a tabletop
Speaker 1: game like pictionary. You could try yoga or stretching. Particularly
Speaker 1: if someone can lead the group and there's a space
Speaker 1: available separate from where your kids are doing their thing,
Speaker 1: you could meet up and walk or run in the neighborhood.
Speaker 1: You could try some of these activities on a one
Speaker 1: off basis and see whether they catch on. For instance,
Speaker 1: all you have to do to try out a game
Speaker 1: club is bring a deck of cards or corkeal tiles
Speaker 1: someday and see whether anyone wants to play. You may
Speaker 1: soon find kindred spirits. For some people, workday lunch breaks
Speaker 1: can be ho hum as well. You could go back
Speaker 1: to work, but it would be nice to do something
Speaker 1: different for the time you have before heading back to
Speaker 1: your desk. If that's the case for you, these waiting
Speaker 1: activities could also be good for your lunch hour. Rally
Speaker 1: a group of colleagues for a book club, a goal club,
Speaker 1: or similar. Pack a lunch and enjoy eating while you
Speaker 1: have a focused discussion with your work friends about the
Speaker 1: book you've all read, the goals you are each pursuing,
Speaker 1: or whatever topic you decide on. Or maybe you eat
Speaker 1: quickly at your desk and then meet up with colleagues
Speaker 1: for a short walk. Either way, you are replacing a
Speaker 1: dull lunch hour with an engaging one. You are giving
Speaker 1: the time purpose. We spend a lot of time waiting,
Speaker 1: so anything you can do to make it more enjoyable
Speaker 1: is a win. Think about when it will happen, think
Speaker 1: about what might be fun, and try things out. You
Speaker 1: might be surprised at how much you start looking forward
Speaker 1: to your kids swim practice. If you try making the
Speaker 1: most of waiting time to do something fun, I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear about it. You can reach me at Laura
Speaker 1: at Laura vandercam dot com. 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.