Don't sweat the seconds

You don't have to optimize every task if you're happy with the way you're doing it now.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that you don't need to sweat the seconds.
If you make good choices about your hours, you don't

(00:24):
have to worry too much about saving every second you can.
So I like life hacks like anyone else. I probably
like time saving strategies more than most people. So listeners
are sometimes surprised to hear that I don't use a
template for Before Breakfast scripts. Yes, that means I type
out the same opening and closing sentences two hundred and

(00:47):
sixty times per year. Is that efficient? Probably not, But
typing those sentences takes me just a few seconds. If
I had a template that I called up every day instead,
maybe it would take me ten seconds versus twenty five.
So I could save on net fifteen seconds per weekday.

(01:08):
That is an hour and five minutes over the course
of a year, which may not be zero, but since
it comes in chunks of fifteen seconds, it is almost
impossible to use for much. Unlike money, I can't really
save those fifteen seconds each time and cash them in
with interest. Typing the opening lines gets me in the

(01:29):
frame of mind to write a script, so it's fine,
no need to sweat the seconds. People are also sometimes
surprised to learn that when I am away from my computer,
I email myself the data for my time tracking logs
and then transfer the information to my computer once I
am back at my desk. It could be much more efficient.

(01:51):
I guess to put a time tracking Google sheet on
my phone and enter the information directly. But I'm fine
with my current procedure. I have been doing it this
way for nine plus years. Is there a quicker way,
No doubt? Do I care? Nope. When we hear about

(02:12):
other people's efficiencies, it is easy to feel like we
are missing out if we don't seize that efficiency too.
Sometimes we might even be embarrassed about doing something a
slower way, But there's no real reason for that. If
you are happy with your processes and you have room
for what you want in your life, carry on. I

(02:34):
love my work. I'm raising five happy kids. I train
for half marathons, I sing at a choir, I get
enough sleep. If the big stuff is in place, it
doesn't really matter if I could save ten seconds with
a keyboard shortcut. Indeed, I sometimes find that trying to

(02:54):
ring each little second out of something actually makes me
feel time poor. With time, I want to feel like
Scrooge McDuck diving into a pile of money. I have
so much time I can waste it not learning keyboard shortcuts.
That sounds pretty good to me. In the meantime. This

(03:18):
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

(03:48):
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.