What would you do with an extra hour?

Extra time can be hard to use well

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to think about what you do with
an extra hour in the week, but then also be
realistic about the nature of time and our choices. In

(00:25):
much of the United States, we set our clocks back
an hour over the weekend. This means that Sunday actually
contained twenty five hours, and any week containing Sunday was
a one hundred sixty nine hour week instead of a
one sixty eight hour week. I find this concept fascinating,
not the whole daylight savings idea, which just tends to

(00:48):
mess up my kids sleep schedules. I am more fascinated
by the idea of actually making a week longer. Many
times people tell me, oh, if I only had an
extra hour in the day, I do X, Y or Z,
and then magically, one day a year we get just that.
On some level, this could lead to thought provoking questions

(01:10):
what would we do with an extra hour in the week.
As we discussed in an episode last week, some people
use the time change to rethink their habits. In the
group discussion questions section at the end of My Time
management fable Juliette School of Possibilities. I ask people to
think about the idea of adding an extra hour into
a schedule. If you are going to devote one extra

(01:33):
hour a week to a top professional priority, what would
that be. If you are going to devote one extra
hour a week to a top personal priority, what would
that be? This question tends to get quickly at those
handful of things that we know we should be doing
but aren't. Maybe it's reaching out to a mentor or

(01:55):
thinking about long term career development. Maybe it's exercising or
working on our novels. Maybe it's really connecting with our spouses.
In this extra hour, we know we'd finally put time
towards those things that are important but not urgent. We'd
put time towards those things we're not doing now, but
we truly believe our priorities. Except when people get a

(02:20):
twenty five hour day, do they do these things? In
a word, no, The vast majority of people who live
in places where the time falls back do not spend
the extra hour exercising or connecting with their spouses or
writing that novel. Many people don't rethink their habits or
anything else. Instead, the hour is just absorbed into the day.

(02:43):
We do the same things we always do, and that's
because time itself is not the issue. If we're not
making space for something in a twenty four hour day,
we aren't going to make space for it in a
twenty five hour day either. If we're not making something
a priority in a one hour week, it's unlikely that

(03:03):
a six nine hour week will do the trick. Time
will always be a matter of choices. Expectations are infinite,
and time is finite. Since we are always choosing, it's
not measurably easier to choose just because a little more
space opens up. So, by all means, ask yourself what

(03:23):
you would do with an extra hour in the day.
But then, and this is key, challenge yourself to figure
out a way to do this in your normal life.
People who exercise or read or write operas while reporting
today jobs don't have any more time than anyone else.
They've figured out ways to allocate time to what matters

(03:45):
to them. They make the logistics work, they ask for help,
they push back on things, They do meaningful things even
when they don't always feel like it. And that is
how stuff truly gets done. Whether that's in twenty four
hours or occasionally in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

(04:08):
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

(04:30):
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

(04:52):
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H m
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