Second Cup: Let 'Best of' lists guide you

Take advantage of expert research

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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 to let best of lists guide you. There
is no need to guess which movies or TV shows,

(00:25):
or podcasts or books you will enjoy when there are
lots of media lovers who curate lists that can point
you to great content. Let those folks do the initial
research and you can have fun with the results. So
lots of people tell me that they would like to

(00:46):
spend less time mindlessly glued to screens. One way to
do that, of course, is to spend less time on
screens period. That is why one of my favorite time
management rules is to do a little effortful fun before
effortless fun, reading for a few minutes before heading over

(01:06):
to Twitter, or working on that puzzle before turning on Netflix.
Even if you still wind up binging something mediocre, at
least your leisure time will feel more balanced. But whether
you do that or not, another way to achieve the
same goal is to make your screen time more mindful

(01:26):
and meaningful. One way to do that is with best
of lists. Do a quick search online and you will
instantly find lists of the best funny movies, the best
feel good movies, the best documentaries, or the best movies
for the whole family. You can also find narrower categories

(01:48):
like the best movies about Italy or the best movies
about space, or very broad categories like the best movies
of all time. Any of these can be a great
starting point for your view, to say nothing of the
annual best of lists like Oscar nominees and such. Of course,
it's not just screens where best of lists can improve

(02:10):
your enjoyment. Best of lists are great for books and
podcasts too. For books, check out winners of the Pulitzer
Prize or the Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize for
literature from past years, or search the internet for whatever
sort of books you are looking for, the best graphic novels,

(02:30):
the best coming of age novels, the best presidential biographies,
or perhaps the best time management books. To be sure,
any person compiling a best of list has their own tastes,
and they might not match yours. Sometimes they have their
own biases and agendas. Not everyone who claims to be

(02:54):
an expert truly is. But so what when we are
talking about leisure screen time in particular. The stakes are
pretty low. You don't have to watch everything on a
list or read everything either. You just want a helpful
starting place and to discover some stuff that might be cool.

(03:19):
Maybe you will be taken with a certain actor and
leave the best of list to watch more of his work.
Maybe you will mention that great Italy documentary from a
best of list to a friend and get a recommendation
of something that is truly up your alley from her.
And if you do go straight through a best of list,

(03:40):
remember that someone thought this stuff was the best on
at least some dimension. You will probably have more hits
than missus. When you use a best of list, you
find out about options that somebody who is probably well informed,
thinks many people will like, so there is a good

(04:02):
chance you will like it too. As an added bonus,
best of lists let you be part of the conversation
about what other people are finding interesting. So try printing
up a few best of lists and saving them near
wherever you choose your leisure pursuits. Then when you are

(04:25):
considering how to spend your time, you've got expert guides
at the ready, and probably your leisure time will start
feeling more mindful In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks
for listening and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

(04:54):
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 E the number four then Breakfast Pod. You
can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

(05:17):
with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
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