Everyone wastes time, so make sure your wasted time is fun
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Good Morning. This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to waste time better. We all have low energy time that is hard to use well. If some wasted time is inevitable, it might be wise to figure out how to waste this time in ways that are at least mostly satisfying. Longtime listeners have probably heard me talking about getting a new iPhone a few months ago. None of my apps transferred, and so I needed to make an active decision about whether to put social media apps back on my phone. I elected not to. I eventually wound up returning to that site formerly known as Twitter x now because there's just been so much moretter making news lately. I am still off the other apps, though I wish I could say that.
I have been incredibly productive with all the time I have found, but unfortunately that is not the case. If anything, my screen time tallies have gone up. I'm not looking at photos on Instagram, but I'm looking at my own old photos. I'm not looking at people's screeds on Facebook, but I am reading the comments on posts at The New York Times and on some well trafficked blogs. It seems I have a pretty strong desire to scroll around, and apparently I am agnostic about where I am doing that scrolling. I am pretty sure most of us have some inclination to waste time. I have seen thousands of time logs over the years, and I have never seen one where every single minute was devoted to something meaningful or even enjoyable for the person or the people they care about. Oh well, but given that this is the case, the question is not necessarily how to stop wasting time, It is how to waste time better. Of course, there are a few things we can do to make sure that there is only so much time to waste. Being engaged in your job makes working hours feel better, so might be worth doing an audit on that. Spending hours with friends and family enjoying each other's company is definitely not wasted time. Hobbies make down time feel a lot more satisfying. But even though I love singing and running and playing the piano, I am not going to spend all my down time on these things. I'm just not, so how can I spend low energy time better? This is one reason I try to borrow a lot of coffee table books from the library. Looking at someone's lovely living room with a view of the ocean is a lot like looking at Instagram. But I can't get sucked into some other influencer's really horrible take on modern medicine by accident. I subscribe to a lot of magazines to at least try to limit the time spin online. I will reread books I have read before, because well, if I know what's going to happen, it's a little easier on the brain. I go for meandering walks while listening to music if that is an option. Even online time probably can be improved. I'm a fan of closed communities spots on the Internet where people have to pay to join, or at least have to be approved to join. Having to use real names is a huge plus. It means people feel like they have a relationship with everyone else, and there are real downsides to behaving badly. People will know who you are. That is not the case with a lot of places. If you approach time knowing you will waste time, you can figure out ways to make this downtime better. Indeed, I would recommend making a list if you can choose how to spend your time, how do you like to spend your time? What about time that's sort of discretionary but not entirely, like downtime at work or while watching children, or even while standing in line. What can you do during those times? Make a list of things that feel most meaningful or enjoyable that might still be possible during these windows. Then train yourself to do those things. First, If you are getting bored at work but you aren't chained to your chair, go for a walk. If you're puttering around the house waiting for a kid to come home, listen to some music. If you're planning to scroll while waiting in a TSA line at the airport, log into that private group instead of regular social media and read the threads there. Not all time can be spent perfectly by any means, but given that everyone wastes time, figuring out how to waste time in ways that feel more enjoyable can be a big win. It's worth putting some thought into it. In the meantime, This 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 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.