1
00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics

2
00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,159
Speaker 1: used by the world's most successful people to get so

3
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,600
Speaker 1: much out of their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba.

4
00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:17,200
Speaker 1: I'm an organizational psychologist, the founder of behavioral science consultancy Inventium,

5
00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,640
Speaker 1: and I'm obsessed with finding ways to optimize my work day.

6
00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,639
Speaker 1: This episode is another my favorite Tip episode. The title's

7
00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,760
Speaker 1: probably pretty self explanatory. It's about my favorite tip from

8
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,680
Speaker 1: each of the interviews that I conduct. So on today's show,

9
00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,400
Speaker 1: my guest is Harris Faulkner. Harris is a multiple Emmy

10
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:41,040
Speaker 1: Award winning newscaster, anchor, and trailblazer in her field. Harris

11
00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,720
Speaker 1: currently leads two daily programs on Fox News over in America,

12
00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,760
Speaker 1: out Numbered over Time with Harris Faulkner, which airs every

13
00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,680
Speaker 1: weekday from one to two pm Eastern Time, and she

14
00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,920
Speaker 1: serves as the co host of out Numbered, which is

15
00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,160
Speaker 1: also on every weekday from twelve to one Eastern Time.

16
00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,280
Speaker 1: Harris joined the Fox News channel in two thousand and five,

17
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,679
Speaker 1: so she is quite the veteran, and throughout her career,

18
00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:10,280
Speaker 1: Harris has interviewed many notable figures, including President Trump, Senator

19
00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:14,479
Speaker 1: John McCain and Bill Clinton, to name just a few. Now,

20
00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,360
Speaker 1: in this my favorite Tip episode, what we get into

21
00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:24,200
Speaker 1: talking about is how Harris blocks out downtime in her life,

22
00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:29,120
Speaker 1: but more specifically, how she schedules time to be spontaneous.

23
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,520
Speaker 1: So let's head to Harris to hear exactly how she

24
00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:34,039
Speaker 1: does that.

25
00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,559
Speaker 2: Well, I have to schedule downtime. I have to force

26
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,880
Speaker 2: myself to change what used to make me feel comfortable

27
00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,640
Speaker 2: like I used to. And I it's funny because for me,

28
00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:48,920
Speaker 2: more information is always the thing. Like I would come

29
00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,400
Speaker 2: home and I would continue reading stuff after a whole

30
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,560
Speaker 2: day of news. I can't do that now. It's too much.

31
00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,440
Speaker 2: And I have to help my children manage. My ten

32
00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,160
Speaker 2: and my thirteen year old daughters manage their stress and

33
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,560
Speaker 2: whatever they're feeling. The little ones have not seen anybody

34
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,120
Speaker 2: other than the four of us and so long, and

35
00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:10,560
Speaker 2: the one camera man who comes here is on the

36
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,440
Speaker 2: first floor wearing a mask and gloves. They don't go

37
00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,959
Speaker 2: near him, so they literally, other than looking out the window,

38
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,480
Speaker 2: haven't had human contact outside of us. And I don't

39
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,640
Speaker 2: want to stress them out with my stress, so I

40
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,120
Speaker 2: have to self care. I take more bubble baths than

41
00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,880
Speaker 2: I've ever taken in my life, and you.

42
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:35,679
Speaker 1: Said, like, you're now literally scheduling downtime, Like, what does

43
00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:37,919
Speaker 1: that look like? Is it almost if I looked at

44
00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:43,760
Speaker 1: your calendar there would be time where you're uncontactable, for example,

45
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,400
Speaker 1: by the rest of the world outside your family, Like,

46
00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,240
Speaker 1: what's that looking like on a really practical level?

47
00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,200
Speaker 2: So it looks exactly the way you described it. And

48
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:56,679
Speaker 2: you know, here's how old school I am too, Amantha.

49
00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:59,680
Speaker 2: I have all these digital devices and everything else. I've

50
00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,840
Speaker 2: got to phones and laptops and tablets and stuff. I

51
00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,080
Speaker 2: use four devices for every show. But I have a

52
00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,400
Speaker 2: beautiful fabric calendar book and I love it, and I

53
00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,360
Speaker 2: buy a new one every eighteen months. And it is

54
00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:21,080
Speaker 2: something about physically writing in the words my time spontaneity. Yes,

55
00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:27,480
Speaker 2: I actually schedule spontaneity. That's awesome, lad. But my husband,

56
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,840
Speaker 2: he's a big role in this because I'll start to

57
00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,480
Speaker 2: I'll schedule and it's no more than forty five minutes

58
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,040
Speaker 2: to an hour at a time, but it may be

59
00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,000
Speaker 2: turning on my favorite We have sonas in my house

60
00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,240
Speaker 2: and I'll just turn it on for the bedroom and

61
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,800
Speaker 2: my favorite channel is called Poolside, and it's just like

62
00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,240
Speaker 2: it's almost like a boat's rocking. The music is just

63
00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,800
Speaker 2: kind of bumping and it's not too you know, it's

64
00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:52,880
Speaker 2: it's got some soul behind it, but it's you know,

65
00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,040
Speaker 2: it doesn't look like a TikTok video. And I will

66
00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,560
Speaker 2: do anything for I just finished a book by Gabrielle

67
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,880
Speaker 2: Union called We're Going to Need More Wine. It didn't

68
00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:03,240
Speaker 2: just come out, It's been out for a while. It

69
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,440
Speaker 2: was bestseller. But I had started that book like five

70
00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,200
Speaker 2: times last year and just never do you know, I

71
00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:10,800
Speaker 2: finished that book in just a manner of hours. Wow,

72
00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,800
Speaker 2: just a couple of break times because I don't allow

73
00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,839
Speaker 2: anything else to impede. And my husband really supports me

74
00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:19,840
Speaker 2: with this, like he will tell the girls, Mommy's having

75
00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,440
Speaker 2: a moment. Now. I don't get to do that every day,

76
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,040
Speaker 2: but if I'm doing it three times a week, that's

77
00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:31,720
Speaker 2: three hours. That's that's like. And I create a spa,

78
00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,960
Speaker 2: you know, I'll light a candle. I'm very I love aromatherapy,

79
00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,520
Speaker 2: so I like for things to smell good. And you know,

80
00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,240
Speaker 2: I'll take that bubble bath and the whole that just

81
00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:45,960
Speaker 2: makes the whole upper floor with all the bedrooms smell good.

82
00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,680
Speaker 2: Sometimes I'll just get out my yoga mat and do

83
00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:51,600
Speaker 2: a couple of down dogs and just look at the

84
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,039
Speaker 2: city with the curtains open. I mean, they're Florida to

85
00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,800
Speaker 2: ceiling windows and that's my time. It doesn't have to

86
00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,320
Speaker 2: be complicated, but it does have to be kept. And

87
00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,880
Speaker 2: that was something that my husband was really supportive on.

88
00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,640
Speaker 2: He's like, well, what good is it to schedule my

89
00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,200
Speaker 2: time or spontaneity on your calendar. If you're not going

90
00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,440
Speaker 2: to keep it, it can't be a broken promise. So

91
00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:14,160
Speaker 2: that's the deal.

92
00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:18,560
Speaker 1: I'm fascinated by this idea of scheduling spontaneity. So when

93
00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,919
Speaker 1: did this start? And how often are you doing this spontaneity.

94
00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,080
Speaker 1: Is that always just on your own the spontaneity or

95
00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,200
Speaker 1: is it sometimes spontaneity with your family? Like, well, I'm

96
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,160
Speaker 1: curious as to the origins to start with.

97
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,400
Speaker 2: So that is the question of the day. I love

98
00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,400
Speaker 2: that question, Amantha. It can be by myself. But the

99
00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:42,200
Speaker 2: best spontaneity is when I surprise everybody and I walk

100
00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:44,360
Speaker 2: in with I did this last weekend. They looked a

101
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,440
Speaker 2: little scared, but it turned out to be fun. A

102
00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,200
Speaker 2: five hundred piece puzzle that I had ordered off of Amazon.

103
00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:53,720
Speaker 2: We're not usual to do that, but we did. We

104
00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:56,760
Speaker 2: cleared everything off the dining room table and we did

105
00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,680
Speaker 2: this for hours and had such a good time. The

106
00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,440
Speaker 2: whole point is it is for it to be relaxing

107
00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,080
Speaker 2: and fun and to feel disconnected. So I love the

108
00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:09,880
Speaker 2: idea of doing things that I don't normally do. So

109
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,320
Speaker 2: my spontaneity isn't always by myself. But I try not

110
00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,359
Speaker 2: to write anything down, like I literally whatever. When that

111
00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,880
Speaker 2: time comes, I'll say what sounds good, what feels good,

112
00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,360
Speaker 2: and I'll go do that. And the other day we

113
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:28,679
Speaker 2: made homemade biscuits for breakfast. My time was thirty minutes

114
00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,279
Speaker 2: in the morning, and I said, you know what, school

115
00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:33,560
Speaker 2: hasn't started yet, Let's go do this. And we did

116
00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,680
Speaker 2: and it was delicious. I made some egg whites, fluffy

117
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,520
Speaker 2: biscuits and sausage, and I made little sandwiches.

118
00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:43,120
Speaker 1: Sounds delicious.

119
00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,000
Speaker 2: There's a way I could have known I wanted to

120
00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,040
Speaker 2: do that, but we work for it.

121
00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,400
Speaker 1: That is it for today's show. If you liked it,

122
00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:53,720
Speaker 1: you might like to listen to my full chat with Harris,

123
00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,200
Speaker 1: which I linked to in the show notes. And if

124
00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,920
Speaker 1: you're enjoying how I work, Why not leave a review

125
00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,320
Speaker 1: in Apple Podcasts or wherever you've listened to this. It's

126
00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:07,400
Speaker 1: awesome hearing reading people's reviews. It really does make my day.

127
00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,960
Speaker 1: So thank you if you've left a review, and thank

128
00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,000
Speaker 1: you as well if you intend to leave one today.

129
00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:15,040
Speaker 1: So that's it for today and I'll see you next time.