This is an iHeart podcast, guaranteed human.
Run a business and not thinking about podcasting?
Think again.
More Americans listen to podcasts than add supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora.
And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined.
Learn how podcasting can help your business.
Call 844-844-iHeart.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to make space for possibility conversations.
Even if you are very busy.
And even if you have a lot of people seeking you out, it is worth making some space in your schedule for new things.
After all, new things are where the breakthroughs really come.
In my new book, Big Time, I talk about the idea of being thoughtfully accessible.
A lot of productivity literature is about saying no to more things.
And there's something to that.
But we also want to say some strategic yeses as well.
If you knew about something great, you would already be doing it.
It's saying yes to things that we don't know about.
That allows new opportunities, relationships and adventures to come into our lives.
So how do we strike the right balance?
This is particularly challenging for people who are in positions of power or who have the ability to do big things for people.
After all, there are a lot of demanding people and a lot of bad ideas in this world.
How can you have good boundaries and also leave open the possibility that a good idea will make its way to you?
One option I like is to make space in your schedule for possibility conversations.
The idea is that you carve out a set amount of time each week or so for conversations where you don't know exactly where things will lead, or to talk with new people that you think might be worth getting to know better.
So for instance, he might decide that in general you will have these conversations on Friday mornings.
Perhaps he might even set a rough time frame.
You are available from 10.30 to noon on Fridays for these sorts of things.
Then if someone reaches out to get to know you, to pitch an idea or to do something like pick your brain much as I hate that phrase then you nudge these people to Friday morning.
If they really want to talk with you, they will find a way to make it work.
This way, you are still accessible.
You know these conversations won't take over your whole schedule.
You can be mentally prepared for that block of time.
It is limited enough that you won't worry that you're not making progress on other things.
And things can still get to you.
Perhaps during a slow week you will even start seeking out who you might want to talk to during your possibility conversations.
Now, obviously many of us are not in such high demand and if that is the case, then we can be more proactive about trying to have possibility conversations at least once or twice a week.
Is that I tend to be having a conversation with someone new each week?
I have met all sorts of interesting people this way.
In life, we are going to spend most of the time talking with people we already know and with people where we know the conversation will lead to something.
That is just the nature of being busy and of there being a lot of people in the world.
But when we make space for possibility conversations, we leave ourselves open to just that possibility.
We can do this wisely in ways that allow for good new things and limit the downsides.
It's just an hour or two.
It will be okay.
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 LauraVanderkam.com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media.
For more podcasts from iHeart Media, please visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey guys, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.
I'm Joe.
I'm Kevin.
And I'm Nick.
And guess what?
We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but you know.
Tired and sick.
Tired and sick.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Just listen.
We don't care where you hear it.
On Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends, we help make you funnier.
On this episode.
My guests Bob Odenkirk and Kids in the Halls, Bruce McCullough, try and help the Kazoo Kid and Tazon Day be famous again.
What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
Well, and they could travel the land doing meet and greets.
They're constantly needed at malls.
Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an iHeart Podcast.
Guaranteed human.
