Not too easy, not too hard

Find the sweet spot where progress is possible

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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 seek out that sweet spot where
your projects are not too easy and not too hard.

(00:23):
No one likes to be frustrated, but no one likes
to be bored either, and working to get this right
can make a life a little more satisfying. I recently
completed a one thousand piece puzzle that was a bit,
well hard, and not in a good way. I don't
mind so much if two hundred pieces are black night Sky.

(00:47):
When I get to that part of a puzzle, I
sort by shape and work by process of illumination. The
problem with this particular puzzle was that the pieces were
quite small and could plausibly fit in multiple play uses.
The cuts weren't exact enough that you could be sure
if you were right or wrong. As I neared the end,
it became clear that there was an error in another

(01:10):
part of that night Sky that needed to be unwound.
This was difficult, and not really a good difficult. Now
I am working on another puzzle and it's a very
different experience. There are still a thousand pieces, so it's
going to take a while. There are big patches of
single colors or patterns. However, when you see a piece,

(01:33):
you know immediately which section of the puzzle it goes in.
I am seeing progress much faster than I did with
the other puzzle. It is feeling a lot more fun
and incidentally also more fun than I would probably find
a piece puzzle that is a half hour project and
not exactly going to keep me entertained for long. That

(01:55):
magical place where things are difficult but doable can put
us in a state of flow, that feeling where time
seems to stand still. I can look at the clock
and realize I've been working on that puzzle for forty
five minutes without realizing it. Hopefully you have some activities
that put you in that state as well. I love

(02:18):
that point in writing where I'm working on a book
chapter or an article and the hard first draft is done.
I'm editing and I can see that each round of
edits makes it better. There are problems, but those are
problems that are within my capacity to solve. I am
making progress bit by bit. What makes you feel like that,

(02:42):
Maybe it's singing with a group that is a little
bit better than you you're working hard to keep up,
but the group sounds amazing. Maybe it's following a challenging
set of instructions to build furniture or a lego set.
Maybe it's learning new music for an instrument you play
that third time playing through a piece can be where
the magic happens. Maybe you're reading a novel that's a

(03:05):
little bit more opaque than your usual fines, but because
you have to pay attention, you are seeing all kinds
of symbolism and connections woven into the plot. Pay attention
to these things. If something is unpleasant or you find
yourself putting it off, maybe the frustration level is a
bit too much. But if you're breezing through and finding

(03:28):
yourself thinking of other things, well that's not really ideal either.
You want to be fully absorbed. Being fully absorbed means
you don't have space to think about all those things that, frankly,
aren't that fun to think about. We can be completely
in the moment. When you know where that sweet spot is,

(03:49):
you can seek it out. I know I'll likely be
buying more of this particular kind of puzzle. I love
a challenge, but it has to be the right kind
of challenge. After all, fun, It's supposed to be fun.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

(04:11):
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.

(04:31):
That's b E the number 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

(04:54):
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H m
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