January 10, 2020 • 7 mins
This is the secret to feeling less rushed and enjoying time more
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 the fifth in a five part series
on how to take control of your time in the
new year. This week, I've been talking about five strategies
(00:23):
that I know will help you feel less busy and
get more done because they've definitely helped me. The first
strategy was to track your time. I hope you're five
days into that now, but if not, you can start today,
start on any day. It's always helpful to know where
the time really goes. The second strategy was to build
(00:44):
in an extra hour for something you really want to do.
The third strategy was to treat your priorities as real emergencies.
The fourth strategy was to try doing things at unorthodox times.
By being flexible, we can make more space in already
full lives. And now the final strategy, the fifth one,
(01:07):
is to create more white space. I know that in
our society it's almost a badge of honor to talk
about how busy we are. How is life busy? How
is your weekend busy? We talk about how much we
have going on, all the projects at work, The projects
at home. The implication of all this is that we
(01:28):
are very, very important, as evidenced by this high demand
for our time. But in my years of studying how
people spend their time, I've found something interesting. Many of
the most important people I've studied have a surprising amount
of white space in their lives. They do not schedule
(01:48):
every minute. They consciously use the power they have over
their time to try to be less busy, which is
definitely something I've been working on learning to do, and
there are a lot of practical reasons for building in
open space. Time tracking has shown me that everything takes
longer than I think it will. Somebody can ask for
(02:10):
thirty minutes at ten am, but for some reason, that
call will start late and something will come up, and
if I schedule something else at ten thirty, I'll really
need to force the issue. Or if I'm trying to
get out the door with my kids, I look at
the clock as I'm calling for everyone to get shoes on.
We climb in the car, and I look at the
clock again and shockingly, some non zero amount of time
(02:32):
has passed in the interim. Transitions aren't instantaneous, ever, yet
we often assume they are very few people enjoy being
late and rushing. Creating white space in a schedule can
make life feel more calm right there. I also think
(02:52):
it makes us more productive because white space allows us
to seize opportunity. If the person on my ten o'clock
call has some wonderful ideas he wants to discuss, and
I'm excited about these ideas, it's really nice not to
be furtively glancing at the clock trying to figure out
how I can hang up in order to start my
ten thirty call on time. White space invites these opportunities
(03:15):
as we linger in good conversations or talk to people
that we might not talk to when we feel starved
for time. We've talked in plenty of previous episodes of
Before Breakfast about how to build in white space, and
one of my favorites is to be very careful about
saying yes to things. Don't just ask whether you're free,
(03:35):
really consider if it's a smart use of your time.
And one way to gauge this is to ask of
any request whether you'd be willing to do it tomorrow.
You know exactly what you have on your plate tomorrow
and how much energy you're likely to have We have
absolutely no idea what our answers will be to these
questions six months from now. Since it's hard to say no,
(03:57):
the bias is to say yes, and this is what
leads to our kicking ourselves about being overcommitted. I also
recommend looking at your calendar once a week, maybe on
Friday afternoons. As you look at the week ahead, figure
out what doesn't have to happen. If you're going to
cancel that Wednesday meeting, it's better to do it on
Friday when everyone can make other plans versus Wednesday. Five
(04:20):
minutes before start time, when you realize just how busy
you are, you might see that a sixty minute in
person meeting could be handled in a five minute phone call.
If that's the case, pick up the phone and make
that call. Or you might see that four people from
your team are scheduled to be in a meeting. That's
just about keeping your team informed. Probably one of you
(04:42):
can do that. A meeting is not the popular kid's
table in the middle school cafeteria. Do what you can
to free up space, and please try to create white
space at home too. As I create our kids activity schedules,
I try to keep one completely open day with no activities.
This is harder than it sounds with four and soon
(05:04):
to be five kids and all sorts of things. But
it's nice to have one day where we can relax,
or the kids can put on their jammies at four
pm if they want, or they can schedule longer homework
projects or reschedule things that got bumped from other days.
On weekends, we schedule some family adventures but leave some
open time too. Life is really about the balance. So
(05:27):
as you're studying your schedule this week, I challenge you
to consciously create more white space. Can you create a
work day with no meetings or appointments. If that's not possible,
how about an afternoon or morning, or at least two
hours open per day. You won't wind up twiddling your thumbs.
Trust me, this time. We'll get filled with something. But
(05:50):
leaving it open allows you to deal with what comes up,
rather than being flustered by the unexpected. Because life is unexpected,
you don't know for sure what will happen, but something will.
Creating white space allows you to deal with it. I
hope you've enjoyed this five part series this week on
(06:11):
making the most of your time in the new year.
If you do enjoy this podcast, please tell a friend
and be sure to rate and review Before Breakfast on
Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts in
the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
(06:36):
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 p o D. You can
also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
iHeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
(06:58):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is 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.
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 the fifth in a five part series
on how to take control of your time in the
new year. This week, I've been talking about five strategies
(00:23):
that I know will help you feel less busy and
get more done because they've definitely helped me. The first
strategy was to track your time. I hope you're five
days into that now, but if not, you can start today,
start on any day. It's always helpful to know where
the time really goes. The second strategy was to build
(00:44):
in an extra hour for something you really want to do.
The third strategy was to treat your priorities as real emergencies.
The fourth strategy was to try doing things at unorthodox times.
By being flexible, we can make more space in already
full lives. And now the final strategy, the fifth one,
(01:07):
is to create more white space. I know that in
our society it's almost a badge of honor to talk
about how busy we are. How is life busy? How
is your weekend busy? We talk about how much we
have going on, all the projects at work, The projects
at home. The implication of all this is that we
(01:28):
are very, very important, as evidenced by this high demand
for our time. But in my years of studying how
people spend their time, I've found something interesting. Many of
the most important people I've studied have a surprising amount
of white space in their lives. They do not schedule
(01:48):
every minute. They consciously use the power they have over
their time to try to be less busy, which is
definitely something I've been working on learning to do, and
there are a lot of practical reasons for building in
open space. Time tracking has shown me that everything takes
longer than I think it will. Somebody can ask for
(02:10):
thirty minutes at ten am, but for some reason, that
call will start late and something will come up, and
if I schedule something else at ten thirty, I'll really
need to force the issue. Or if I'm trying to
get out the door with my kids, I look at
the clock as I'm calling for everyone to get shoes on.
We climb in the car, and I look at the
clock again and shockingly, some non zero amount of time
(02:32):
has passed in the interim. Transitions aren't instantaneous, ever, yet
we often assume they are very few people enjoy being
late and rushing. Creating white space in a schedule can
make life feel more calm right there. I also think
(02:52):
it makes us more productive because white space allows us
to seize opportunity. If the person on my ten o'clock
call has some wonderful ideas he wants to discuss, and
I'm excited about these ideas, it's really nice not to
be furtively glancing at the clock trying to figure out
how I can hang up in order to start my
ten thirty call on time. White space invites these opportunities
(03:15):
as we linger in good conversations or talk to people
that we might not talk to when we feel starved
for time. We've talked in plenty of previous episodes of
Before Breakfast about how to build in white space, and
one of my favorites is to be very careful about
saying yes to things. Don't just ask whether you're free,
(03:35):
really consider if it's a smart use of your time.
And one way to gauge this is to ask of
any request whether you'd be willing to do it tomorrow.
You know exactly what you have on your plate tomorrow
and how much energy you're likely to have We have
absolutely no idea what our answers will be to these
questions six months from now. Since it's hard to say no,
(03:57):
the bias is to say yes, and this is what
leads to our kicking ourselves about being overcommitted. I also
recommend looking at your calendar once a week, maybe on
Friday afternoons. As you look at the week ahead, figure
out what doesn't have to happen. If you're going to
cancel that Wednesday meeting, it's better to do it on
Friday when everyone can make other plans versus Wednesday. Five
(04:20):
minutes before start time, when you realize just how busy
you are, you might see that a sixty minute in
person meeting could be handled in a five minute phone call.
If that's the case, pick up the phone and make
that call. Or you might see that four people from
your team are scheduled to be in a meeting. That's
just about keeping your team informed. Probably one of you
(04:42):
can do that. A meeting is not the popular kid's
table in the middle school cafeteria. Do what you can
to free up space, and please try to create white
space at home too. As I create our kids activity schedules,
I try to keep one completely open day with no activities.
This is harder than it sounds with four and soon
(05:04):
to be five kids and all sorts of things. But
it's nice to have one day where we can relax,
or the kids can put on their jammies at four
pm if they want, or they can schedule longer homework
projects or reschedule things that got bumped from other days.
On weekends, we schedule some family adventures but leave some
open time too. Life is really about the balance. So
(05:27):
as you're studying your schedule this week, I challenge you
to consciously create more white space. Can you create a
work day with no meetings or appointments. If that's not possible,
how about an afternoon or morning, or at least two
hours open per day. You won't wind up twiddling your thumbs.
Trust me, this time. We'll get filled with something. But
(05:50):
leaving it open allows you to deal with what comes up,
rather than being flustered by the unexpected. Because life is unexpected,
you don't know for sure what will happen, but something will.
Creating white space allows you to deal with it. I
hope you've enjoyed this five part series this week on
(06:11):
making the most of your time in the new year.
If you do enjoy this podcast, please tell a friend
and be sure to rate and review Before Breakfast on
Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts in
the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
(06:36):
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 p o D. You can
also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
iHeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
(06:58):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is 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.
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
Show Links
AboutPopular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Death, Sex & Money
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.