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Before Breakfast

A simple path to time abundance

06 May 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 19.757 Laura Vanderkam

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.

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19.897 - 43.74 Cheryl Strayed

Hi, everyone. I'm Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things. I'm excited to share that I have a new podcast called Mind Over Mountain. In each episode, I interview athletes, adventurers, and adrenaline seekers to discuss the inner landscapes that informed and inspired their extraordinary feats so we too can better understand how to face our own seemingly insurmountable challenges.

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43.72 - 54.622 Cheryl Strayed

Listen to Mind Over Mountain every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and iHeart Podcast presents Soccer Moms.

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54.842 - 75.378 Unknown

So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend, Janet. And we have been joined at the hip since high school. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer?

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75.418 - 77.02 Unknown

Oh, they had a BOGO. Well, then you got it.

77.04 - 82.388 Cheryl Strayed

Listen to Soccer Moms on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

85.633 - 97.271 Laura Vanderkam

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

98.373 - 114.957 Laura Vanderkam

Today's episode is going to be a slightly longer one, but instead of interviewing a fascinating guest about how they take their days from great to awesome, I'm going to talk about some ways that I try to take my days from great to awesome, and that I hope will be helpful for you as well.

116.299 - 131.418 Laura Vanderkam

Long-time listeners know that I have spent the past three years working on a book called Big Time, A Simple Path to Time Abundance. That book is on sale this week. If you enjoy the tips on this show, I hope you will consider picking up a copy.

Chapter 2: How can tracking your time improve time abundance?

1609.231 - 1633.839 Laura Vanderkam

We've been around for seven years now. We get millions of downloads a year. Absolutely none of that was obvious from the first email, which I might not have answered if I'd been swamped or trying to say no to more things. In general, I think saying yes makes life more interesting. And I try to do this in my personal life, too.

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1634.52 - 1661.941 Laura Vanderkam

So last spring, as part of writing big time, I decided to go on a three-week yes quest, where I would say yes to things that sounded interesting. And as part of that, I wound up swimming with sharks in Hawaii. My oldest son really wanted to do this as part of our family's already planned vacation to Oahu. He asked me to go with him and wisely timed this request to my yes quest.

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1662.722 - 1690.741 Laura Vanderkam

Now, I will tell you, I don't particularly like going out in small boats on big waves. It makes me seasick. I also don't like sitting in cold water for long periods of time. I get cold very easily. And sharks. I was going to be swimming with sharks. That's a little bit anxiety-producing. But the truth is, I had no real reason to say no. And since I was trying to say yes to things, we did it.

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1691.843 - 1720.529 Laura Vanderkam

And yes, it was a little nerve-wracking. But it was also such a memorable experience. Sharks are magical. So is a day when a teenager wants to spend time with you. On the way back from swimming with those sharks, our boat passed some whales surfacing in Hawaii's waters. Talk about a bonus seeing those. I mean, I remember that for sure.

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1720.59 - 1745.319 Laura Vanderkam

And that definitely wouldn't have happened for me if I hadn't said yes to something outside my comfort zone. Now, I know we can't say yes to everything, but one way to think about this is that in general, we want to spend less time doing things that we need to talk ourselves into. You are not initially excited, but you start going, well, you know, it won't be too hard.

1745.88 - 1772.072 Laura Vanderkam

It might look good on my resume. This is how we fill our lives with things that are a five or a six on a 10-point scale of excitement. This is how we start to feel overscheduled with things we don't really want to do. And we feel like we can't take on anything else. Where you want to sit up and pay attention is when you start talking yourself out of something.

1773.314 - 1792.581 Laura Vanderkam

You are initially excited, but then you start telling yourself that the logistics are going to be complicated. Maybe it is outside your comfort zone. You'll have to call in a favor from a friend, your partner, your colleague. But that initial excitement is telling. You can probably figure everything else out.

1793.827 - 1813.168 Laura Vanderkam

So I try to say yes to interesting things because I know that it is doing interesting things that makes time feel big and abundant. Not cutting things out. Adding them in. Yes, it might be counterintuitive. But I promise you, it's true.

1814.887 - 1846.046 Laura Vanderkam

There are a great many more practical strategies in big time for falling in love with your schedule and feeling like time is big enough for all the wonderful things you want to do. If you enjoy this show, I hope you will pick up a copy and check it out. If you do, please let me know what you think. You can always reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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