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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to not waste limited daylight.
Especially when the days are short, it is worth prioritizing a little time outside over other things that could be done in the dark.
So this episode is airing around what is the winter solstice for my listeners in the Northern Hemisphere?
This is the day of the year when the sun is up for the least amount of time.
Of course, that means my southern hemisphere listeners are enjoying the longest day of the year.
But winter will come for them too eventually.
And this advice can be applied whenever that happens.
When resources are limited, economics tells us that we should consider the opportunity cost of using that resource versus other resources.
When it is light until 9 pm.
Maybe it wouldn't feel so bad to be in meetings that didn't have to happen in windowless conference rooms from 9 am to 4 pm.
But when the sun is going down a little after 4 p.m., well, that is a different matter entirely.
So don't waste the daylight.
Maybe by working through lunch, you might be able to get out of work at 5 instead of 5.30.
But here where I live, it is dark at 5 and it is dark at 5.30.
If you don't have anything in particular, you are going to do between 5 and 530.
Given how important seeing daylight is for mood and energy, the opportunity cost of working from 12 to 1230, when you could have seen the light, is much higher than the opportunity cost of working from 5 to 530.
Now, if you're meeting your best friend for an early dinner or you need to pick up your kids, that is a different matter.
But if you are just going to watch TV, well, you can watch TV in the dark.
Don't waste the daylight.
This is true on weekends as well.
While there is nothing wrong with watching TV on a Sunday afternoon, you can, in fact, watch TV when it is dark out.
It's going to be harder, though, to go for a hike in the dark.
So it is worth prioritizing the afternoon time for that hike and then go for the screens when there is less competing for those hours.
Now, I know not everyone plans out entire days in advance, but this idea to not waste the daylight might inspire you to check in with yourself an hour or two before sunset each day.
In my part of the world, that happens around 4.20 p.m.
Yep, goes down early around here.
Maybe for you, it's a little later or a little earlier.
Either way, set some sort of alarm.
When it goes off, ask yourself, have I seen the daylight?
Have I gotten outside for at least a few minutes?
If so, excellent.
But if not, maybe you should take a pause from whatever you are doing and stick your head outside for five to ten minutes.
I am guessing that whatever you are doing could be done in a few minutes later, too.
But the sun will go down probably sooner than you want it to.
A little awareness can lead to better choices.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most 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 I heart media.
For more podcasts from I heart media, please visit the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
I'm investigative journalist Melissa Jeltsin.
My new podcast What Happened in Nashville tells the story of an IVF clinic's catastrophic collapse and the patients who banded together in the chaos that followed.
It doesn't matter how much I fight.
It doesn't matter how much I cry over all of this.
It doesn't matter how much justice we get.
None of it's going to get me pregnant.
Listen to What Happened in Nashville on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, everybody, it's Chuck and Josh from the Stuff You Should Know podcast.
And it's that time of year again when we knuckle down to do our annual holiday episodes.
We collected our best past classic holiday episodes and compiled them into a 12 Days of Christmas Toys playlist that the whole family can enjoy.
That's right.
Maybe you missed it the first time we detailed the history of Beanie Babies, Monopoly or Yo-Yos, and a whole lot more.
So listen to the 12 Days of Christmas Toys playlist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an I Heart podcast.
Guaranteed human.
