1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 1: tip is to adopt the mindset that after five pm 4 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: it's Friday. You just might find yourself feeling more relaxed 5 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: and enjoying your time after work. More so, over the 6 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: past year or so, I've become more and more interested 7 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:39,279 Speaker 1: in how people spend their evening hours. In another year 8 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: or two, I'll publish a book called The Golden Hours. 9 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: I'm making the most of your weekday evenings. This time 10 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: is so hard to use well. People are tired, and 11 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: in many cases we have family or household responsibilities. But 12 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: it's also a lot of time to simply write off. 13 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: I collected time logs from a ton of people to 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 1: analyze their evenings, and I can report that on average, 15 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: people had about five hours after they finished work and 16 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: before they went to bed on weekdays. Multiply that by 17 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: four nights from Monday to Thursday, and we are talking 18 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: twenty hours a week of potential family and leisure time. 19 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:26,759 Speaker 1: Of course, one of the reasons it's hard to really 20 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: relax and enjoy this time is that we know we 21 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: are going to work the next day, there will need 22 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: to be preparations for getting up early in school schedules 23 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: and activities and so forth. But honestly, if you have 24 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: young kids, you may be up early on weekends anyway. 25 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: You have the activities then as well. And yet in 26 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: general people still feel more relaxed on weekends. So here's 27 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: an idea to contemplate. Not too long ago, Professor Cassei 28 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: Holmes was a guest on this show. She talked about 29 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: one of her studies or she found that when people 30 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: were told to treat their upcoming weekends like a vacation, 31 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: they generally enjoyed themselves more. So, if thinking of the 32 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: weekend as a vacation can make it more enjoyable, then 33 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: I think thinking of a weeknight as a weekend might 34 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: do the same thing. So repeat this phrase to yourself 35 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: after five pm it's Friday, even if it is five 36 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: pm on a Tuesday, there is no reason not to 37 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: feel like you are off and relaxed and enjoying some 38 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: restorative time. You can linger over your dinner even if 39 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: it's Tuesday, and you can enjoy your downtime at night, 40 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: after your chores or after your kids go to bed, 41 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: even if it is a weekday. My guest is you 42 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: don't stay up all that late on Friday night if 43 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 1: you've been working all week. So we're not even talking 44 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: about not upsetting any sleep schedules. We're just not approaching 45 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: the next day as some battle to be prepared for 46 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,119 Speaker 1: tomorrow is going to happen one way or the other. 47 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: So after five pm, it's Friday. I really like this phrase, 48 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 1: and I have been experimenting with saying it to myself. Now. 49 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: Obviously a pithy phrase can't actually make a Tuesday into 50 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: a Friday. You should probably still go to work on Wednesday, 51 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: but it does make the time feel a little different, 52 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: at least for me. Perhaps you will find this phrase 53 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: helpful as well. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks 54 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. 55 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 56 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 57 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 58 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 59 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.