Check the news once a day

Stay informed without getting (too) overwhelmed

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to check the news once per day. Well.
This is wise for productivity at any point, it is
particularly important during times of widespread anxiety. I normally take

(00:26):
Before Breakfast episodes a few weeks ahead. That helps me
cope with unexpected disruptions to life and expected events too,
like my fifth child's arrival in late December. We certainly
have had more than a few unexpected disruptions now if
my kids out of school for the next few weeks
due to emergency measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

(00:47):
But I decided to swap in a few last minute
episodes anyway in order to address what everyone is thinking about.
Like many of us, I spent many hours of the
past week or so looking at headlines trying to come
to grips with what a glow bull pandemic might mean.
I also then realized, at some point, when I was
looking at the New York Times homepage yet again, and
my beautiful three month old baby boy was giggling at

(01:09):
his toys, that this was the wrong way to be
spending my time. We are controlling what we can control
in this household, continuing the kid's education at home, making
sure we wash hands, avoiding crowds, and not making any
rash financial moves. But if reading headlines doesn't do anything
but produce anxiety, then there is no point spending more

(01:29):
time on this than necessary. And so I have a
new rule for myself. Check the news once per day.
Back many years ago, this is about as often as
we would have been able to get the news anyway,
in a morning paper perhaps, or watching the evening news.
I can remain an informed person by looking at what
is going on in the world once. Other than that,

(01:51):
I can help my children with their homeschooling, read books,
play outside, and watch my baby learn new things every day.
This is a much more productive use of time. Now,
I will admit that this is not easy. Anxiety induces
us to pick up the phone and see what the
situation is and see if it has changed. But general
mindfulness helps a lot. When I pick up the phone,

(02:13):
I try to pause and ask why if I am
just about to check the news again, well, time to
scroll through baby photos or read something on the kindle
app Eventually we will be on the other side of this,
but I think checking news once a day remains a
good rule. Indeed, I might suggest people try subscribing to
a physical newspaper and building the day's news consumption into

(02:34):
a morning ritual. Then you can spend the rest of
the day focused on what you need to and not
on things that won't change whether you read about them
ten times a day or once, And maybe you could
spend some of the freed up time looking at things
that do remind you of what is still good in
the world. Baby giggles and blooming flowers are doing that
for me and for those I am grateful In the meantime,

(02:57):
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b the number

(03:21):
four then breakfast p o D. You can also shoot
me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart
media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with
all the letters. Thanks so much. I look forward to
staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

(03:43):
heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
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listen to your favorite shows.