WEBVTT

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Have you ever felt that relentless squeeze? You

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know, that feeling that there just aren't enough

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hours in the day. It's something that seems to

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get, well, more intense the further we get in

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our careers. I think particularly for mid -senior

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professionals, you're juggling, demanding work,

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family life, maybe trying to squeeze in some

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personal goals too. Does that resonate, that

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constant sprint? Oh, absolutely. It's almost

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a universal lament, isn't it? The feeling of

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being perpetually short on time. Well, today

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we're going to challenge that very idea. That

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pervasive myth. The core premise we're going

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to dissect is this. Every single one of us, whatever

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our commitments, has precisely 168 hours in a

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week, full stop. That's the inescapable number.

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Exactly. And the real challenge we're about to

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discover isn't actually a lack of time, but maybe.

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just maybe, a lack of clarity and, crucially,

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intentionality in how we perceive and use those

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hours. We are incredibly fortunate to have an

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expert guide with us today, brilliant at synthesizing

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complex information and connecting dots in, well,

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quite surprising ways. It's a pleasure to be

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here. Now, this idea of having more time than

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we think, it feels almost counterintuitive for

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so many people, especially when daily life feels

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like such a constant sprint. What's your initial

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take on that widespread feeling? Well, it is

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fascinating, isn't it, how our perceptions of

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time can diverge so dramatically from the reality

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of how we actually spend it. We tend to operate

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under this pervasive cultural narrative of perpetual

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time scarcity, that constant time crunch. Right.

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Yet the evidence, when you actually move beyond

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those anecdotal feelings and look at the hard

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data, the real world examples, it often tells

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a remarkably different story. It challenges the

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very foundation of that common belief. And that's

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precisely our mission for this deep dive. We

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want to extract... actionable insights, hopefully

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transform how you view and use your 168 hours,

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the goal is to help you shift from just, you

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know, reacting to demand. Firefighting, essentially.

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To intentionally aligning your time with what

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truly matters to you, your real priorities, your

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aspirations, ultimately leading to a life that

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feels more fulfilling, not just more busy. So

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let's jump in and unpack this revelation, starting

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with that unwavering truth. 168 hours. A great

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equalizer. It's a fixed quantity, isn't it? A

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constant. Doesn't matter who you are, what you

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do, how much you run. 168 hours. That's it. Exactly.

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Personal experience of this constant how stretched

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or free we feel within it that varies wildly

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from person to person It's quite remarkable how

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subjective it feels almost as if I some people

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genuinely have more time than others indeed And

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this is precisely we're looking at authoritative

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data becomes so crucial It helps debunk some

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really widespread assumptions about how we use

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our time for instance in the US the Federal Bureau

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of Labor Statistics Runs a very robust study

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called the American Time Use Survey or ATS ATS

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right? Yes, and that along with other similar

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time diary studies conducted over the past four

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decades or so, is really considered the gold

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standard for sociological time research. And

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how do they actually gather that data? It sounds

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intensive. It is meticulous. They get thousands

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of people to report their activities literally

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minute by minute over 24 hour periods. Sometimes

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a researcher is even on the phone, you know,

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actively prompting for accuracy, perhaps gently

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reminding participants about the actual physics

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of time if they try to claim they somehow squeezed

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28 hours of activity into a single day. Happens

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more often than you think, I imagine. Perhaps.

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But it's a rigorous approach designed to capture

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reality, not just perception. And the findings,

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well, they often challenge some deeply ingrained

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beliefs. OK, like what? Give us an example. Well,

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take sleep. Time diary studies consistently show

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that Americans average about eight hours of sleep

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per night. Eight hours? Really? Yes, about eight

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hours. And what's particularly striking is that

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this figure has remained largely unchanged over

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the past 40 years. 40 years. Despite everything,

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mobiles, the internet. Exactly. And this isn't

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skewed by, say, retirees or students sleeping

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in. Even married mothers who work full -time

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with children under six, a group you'd assume

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is highly sleep deprived, they manage an average

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of 8 .31 hours of sleep. Fathers in that situation

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get 8 .06 hours. That's genuinely surprising.

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It is. And even married full -time working mothers

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with older school -aged children still get a

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very respectable 8 .09 hours. So, while individual

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nights obviously vary, the narrative of widespread

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chronic sleep deprivation across the working

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population might not be quite as universal as

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we often assume from, you know, just talking

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to people. Okay, so sleep might be better than

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we think overall. What else is the data challenge?

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Well, then there's the perception around work

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hours. That cultural narrative of the pervasive

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60 -hour -plus work week, for the vast majority,

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it seems to be largely a misconception. You hear

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it all the time, though. You do. But the data

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suggests that only about 1 % of the US workforce

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actually logs these kinds of hours consistently.

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And even that estimate, because it's often self

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-reported rather than meticulously time logged,

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might actually be too high. Most people seem

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to be working significantly less than they perceive,

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or certainly less than the popular narrative

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suggests. Fascinating. And housework. That must

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have changed. Oh, dramatically. Time spent on

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household chores has fallen. quite precipitously

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almost halved over the past 40 years. Halved?

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Wow. Yes. To give you some concrete figures,

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back in 1965, stay -at -home mothers spent an

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astonishing 37 .4 hours per week just on cleaning.

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37 hours, just cleaning. Just cleaning. Today,

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married mothers who work full time spend about

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13 .5 hours per week on all housework combined.

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And it's not just mothers. Even dads whose wives

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don't work full time are contributing over an

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hour a day to household tasks now. Standards

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have clearly changed. Yeah. And that's had a

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huge impact on time allocation. Ray, you mentioned

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those old magazine tips, vacuuming ceilings and

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polishing shoes. Exactly. Things people simply

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don't prioritize anymore. OK, one more television.

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How does that fit in? Ah, television. Self -reported

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viewing often exceeds the results from time diary

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studies. Nielsen might report, say, 28 hours

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per week on average. But the time diaries, which

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track what people are doing as their primary

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activity, show something closer to 18, 23 hours

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per week. So discrepancy there, too. What does

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that suggest? It suggests people don't fully

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track how much time the TV is merely on. in the

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background, versus when they are actively engaged,

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truly watching. It points to a significant chunk

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of, well, unaccounted for time that could potentially

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be reevaluated or used differently. OK, this

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is really interesting. So if the data suggests

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we're largely getting enough sleep, maybe not

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working quite as much as we perceive, and spending

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significantly less time on housework than, say,

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our parents or grandparents did. Then why? Why

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do so many of us still feel perpetually busy

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and under -rested? There's a real disconnect

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here between the objective data and our subjective

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experience. That is the core problem. And it

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really boils down to awareness, or rather, a

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lack thereof. The fundamental issue seems to

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be that most individuals have frankly, absolutely

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no idea how we spend our 168 hours. We just don't

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track it. Precisely. And this unawareness leads

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to spending massive amounts of time on activities

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that offer only, perhaps, slight pleasure or

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feeling of accomplishment, but contribute very

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little to our careers, our families. or our personal

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growth. What kind of activities are we talking

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about? Those hours lost to excessive television,

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aimless web surfing, reactive housework that

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isn't truly necessary, just tidying things that

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will get messy again soon, and countless errands

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that could perhaps be... minimized or outsourced.

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The busy work. Exactly. The busy work. And conversely,

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insufficient time gets allocated to the high

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impact activities that really do matter and require

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more thought or initiative. We're talking about

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things like properly nurturing our children in

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meaningful ways, engaging in regular purposeful

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exercise, or the deliberate practice of our professional

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crafts, the things that genuinely advance us

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towards our goals. So we fill the time with low

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value stuff, feel exhausted, and don't do the

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important things. That seems to be the pattern.

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Consequently, we feel overworked and under rested,

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and then we tend to believe stories or narratives

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that confirm this view, creating a sort of self

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-fulfilling prophecy. The transformative paradigm

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shift, the real opportunity here, lies in approaching

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time differently. It means starting with a blank

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slate and viewing every minute as a choice. Every

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minute as a choice. That's a powerful reframe.

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And to really bring this concept to life, you

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found some truly compelling examples of individuals

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who seem to embody this intentional time management.

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People who seemingly defy that time crunch that

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the data suggests might be partly illusion. Yes,

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there are some remarkable stories. Tell us about

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Teresa Daitner. Right, Teresa Daitner. She's

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a mother of six children, including eight -year

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-old twins at the time this research was done.

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And she successfully runs a seven -figure construction

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company, DCG, overseeing projects ranging from

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$10 million up to $75 million. Wow. Six kids

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and a major construction company. Exactly. And

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despite this immense responsibility, she manages

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to sleep at least seven hours a night. She also

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coaches soccer, she's cheering at her children's

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games on weekends, and she was happily planning

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her 21 -year -old daughter's wedding, all while

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her business continued to grow. She even takes

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days off for family outings, like seeing the

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cherry blossoms in Washington. It sounds almost

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impossible. It does. Which is why, apparently

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when Barack Obama himself met her, he reportedly

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asked her, when do you sleep? It perfectly captures

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that disbelief people often have when faced with

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someone managing such a seemingly packed yet

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balanced life. Incredible. And then there's Michael

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Shidlowski. Yes, Michael Shidlowski, a software

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engineer at Google. His schedule is, well, equally

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astounding. He teaches graduate level computer

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science at NYU for six hours a week. He trains

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for Ironman triathlons. The full Ironman. Swim,

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bike, run. The full Monty. 2 .4 mile swim, 112

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mile bike, 26 .2 mile run. He dedicates 15 hours

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a week just to training for that. He also coaches

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other athletes for about three hours a week.

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On top of a Google job. On top of a solid 40

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hour week at Google. He manages to sleep a full

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56 hours per week. That's eight hours a night.

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And after all that... He still finds he has about

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28 .5 hours of free time left over each week.

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28 hours free after all that. His key insight

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after he tallied it all up. Despite everything

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I do, I still have more free time than I thought

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I do. He describes feeling pretty free and always

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having a pretty good day. It really is a testament

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to the power of intentionality. Their lives sound,

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as you said, pretty sweet. They do. And it's

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crucial to understand it's not because they possess

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more hours than anyone else. They don't have

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the secret time machine. It's because they approach

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their 168 hours with profound purpose and clarity.

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They're not simply reacting to demands. They're

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making deliberate intentional choices about where

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their time goes. This isn't about superhuman

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capability or necessarily extreme privilege.

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It's about treating each hour as a deliberate

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choice and aligning it with what truly matters

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to them. That idea of strategic investment of

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time brings us really neatly to our next concept.

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It's clearly not just about tracking where time

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goes, important as that is, but what we do with

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that time, what we choose to focus on. And this

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leads us to a strategic concept usually reserved

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for corporate boardrooms, the idea of core competencies.

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How does that apply to us as individuals? That's

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an excellent connection. The concept of core

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competencies was, uh... first really powerfully

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articulated by management gurus Gary Hamill and

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C .K. Prelod in a very influential Harvard Business

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Review article back in 1990. Right. I think I

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remember that. Historically, the corporate model

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often saw companies as these sort of behemoths

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of strategic business units, often quite unrelated,

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but hopefully profitable. Think of U .S. Steel

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buying Marathon Oil, or a company like GE acquiring

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investment banks or television networks. The

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thinking was, if it makes money, a big corporation

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should probably be involved in it. Diversification

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above all else. In a way, yes. But Ham and Braha

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contrasted this with the critical shift they

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saw coming. They argued that in a more competitive,

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globalized era, companies would need to focus

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intensely on what they did best. They realize

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that top talent is actually a scarcer resource

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than raw materials or even capital. Interesting

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point. And there's a significant opportunity

00:12:28.769 --> 00:12:32.190
cost and clarity of strategic intent when energy

00:12:32.190 --> 00:12:34.230
and resources are devoted to things that others

00:12:34.230 --> 00:12:37.409
can do just as well or even better. It dilutes

00:12:37.409 --> 00:12:40.559
focus and effort. So they defined a core competence

00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:43.679
for businesses using three key criteria. Okay,

00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:46.200
what are they? Firstly, it has to provide potential

00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:49.200
access to a wide variety of markets. Secondly,

00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:51.519
it must make a significant contribution to the

00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.740
perceived customer benefits of the end product.

00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:56.340
And thirdly, crucially, it must be difficult

00:12:56.340 --> 00:12:58.659
for competitors to imitate, often because it's

00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:01.080
a complex harmonization of individual technologies

00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:02.940
and production skills. Hard to copy. Exactly.

00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:05.620
And they noted that few companies truly achieve

00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:08.200
world leadership in more than, say, five or six

00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:10.960
such core competencies. So the conclusion was

00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:14.570
clear. Modern successful companies focus relentlessly

00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:17.289
on these core strengths and consciously minimize,

00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:19.610
outsource, or simply ignore everything else.

00:13:19.710 --> 00:13:22.629
It's what Thomas Friedman later sort of encapsulated

00:13:22.629 --> 00:13:25.370
with the idea that the world is flat. Specialization

00:13:25.370 --> 00:13:27.730
and focus become absolutely key to competitive

00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:30.549
advantage. So how does this powerful business

00:13:30.549 --> 00:13:33.029
framework originally designed for giant corporations

00:13:33.029 --> 00:13:35.509
genuinely translate to us as individuals? We're

00:13:35.509 --> 00:13:37.779
not global enterprises, obviously. But we certainly

00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:40.120
have our own unique skills, our own value proposition,

00:13:40.299 --> 00:13:43.159
don't we? How can we apply this very strategic

00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:46.320
thinking to our own lives and our own 168 hours?

00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:48.600
That's the critical question, and the translation

00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.700
is remarkably direct and I think very powerful.

00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:55.039
Individuals just like companies absolutely can

00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:57.899
and should identify their core competencies.

00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.580
The same three -part definition applies quite

00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:03.360
well. These are abilities that you can leverage

00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:06.220
across multiple spheres of your life. They are

00:14:06.220 --> 00:14:08.700
important and meaningful to you. And crucially,

00:14:09.059 --> 00:14:11.059
they are things you do best that others cannot

00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:13.559
do nearly as well. OK. Can you give us an example

00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:16.440
of that in practice? Let's look at a truly remarkable

00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:20.200
case study. Roald Hoffman, born in 1937, a Jewish

00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:22.980
Nobel Prize winning chemist. He survived the

00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:25.340
Second World War, hiding in a schoolhouse attic

00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:28.110
in Poland for over a year. incredible survival

00:14:28.110 --> 00:14:30.250
story. Absolutely. And during that terrifying

00:14:30.250 --> 00:14:33.330
period, he became, in his own words, a keen observer,

00:14:33.649 --> 00:14:36.149
a watcher. He'd recorded the changing light the

00:14:36.149 --> 00:14:38.169
seasons. He watched other children playing outside

00:14:38.169 --> 00:14:41.110
from his hiding place This intense observational

00:14:41.110 --> 00:14:43.950
capacity became his foundational core competency

00:14:43.950 --> 00:14:47.490
shaped by extreme circumstances profoundly Despite

00:14:47.490 --> 00:14:50.230
immense pressure later to become a doctor. He

00:14:50.230 --> 00:14:52.909
pursued chemistry Applying these observational

00:14:52.909 --> 00:14:56.269
skills to truly groundbreaking work He co -developed

00:14:56.269 --> 00:14:58.269
the Woodward Hoffman rules, which earned him

00:14:58.269 --> 00:15:00.690
a share of the 1981 Nobel Prize in chemistry

00:15:00.830 --> 00:15:03.649
Amazing. But what's perhaps even more fascinating

00:15:03.649 --> 00:15:06.529
is that after receiving the Nobel Prize, he began

00:15:06.529 --> 00:15:09.029
writing poetry in earnest. He applied that same

00:15:09.029 --> 00:15:12.090
core watching ability to poetry, endowing his

00:15:12.090 --> 00:15:14.490
observations with emotional currency, as he put

00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:17.690
it. He studies other poets, edits himself rigorously,

00:15:18.029 --> 00:15:20.769
attends retreats. He acknowledges it's not easy

00:15:20.769 --> 00:15:23.289
and requires many more drafts than my science

00:15:23.289 --> 00:15:25.990
articles. So he leveraged that one core skill

00:15:25.990 --> 00:15:28.909
across science and art. Exactly. Hoffman exemplifies

00:15:28.909 --> 00:15:31.200
knowing what he is good at. and what he can do

00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.340
better than almost anyone else, and leveraging

00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:36.179
this core ability across incredibly diverse fields,

00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:39.460
from wartime survival to chemistry and poetry.

00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:42.059
That's a powerful illustration. Any other examples?

00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:45.419
Yes. Consider Elizabeth Cambord. Her journey

00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:47.700
began as an overweight former smoker working

00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:50.860
as a nonprofit fundraiser. She initially struggled

00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:53.419
with exercise, but then discovered she actually

00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:55.919
loved working out, particularly group fitness

00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:59.399
classes. Found her niche. She did. This passion

00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:02.320
led her to get certified, and she found she excelled

00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:04.919
at teaching, at choreographing routines, and

00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:07.360
crucially, at creating an accepting environment

00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.039
for different body types. She herself ultimately

00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:13.240
lost over 70 pounds. She then made the bold decision

00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.440
to leave her fundraising job and open her own

00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.220
place, Sante Fitness Studio. Taking the leap!

00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:20.759
And she made a very specific strategic point

00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:23.559
of focusing only on group fitness, encouraging

00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:26.299
all body shapes, and explicitly avoiding personal

00:16:26.299 --> 00:16:29.740
training because Quite simply, she hated it and

00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:31.240
felt it pulled her from other things she was

00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:34.080
better at and enjoyed more. Focusing on her strength.

00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:37.120
Precisely. She even strategically aligned her

00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:40.039
volunteer work. Things like leading warmups for

00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:42.980
charity walks or hosting community dances to

00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:46.159
fund school P .E. programs in ways that also

00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:49.379
benefited her business. In her family life, she

00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:52.789
focused on group fitness. like hiking together

00:16:52.789 --> 00:16:55.350
and nurturing her daughters, while acknowledging

00:16:55.350 --> 00:16:57.789
what she hated to do, like watching her daughter's

00:16:57.789 --> 00:17:00.129
softball games wasn't her thing and figuring

00:17:00.129 --> 00:17:02.789
out how to make it go away without neglecting

00:17:02.789 --> 00:17:06.250
her child. Both Hoffman and Cambord show this

00:17:06.250 --> 00:17:08.910
profound clarity on what they truly excel at

00:17:08.910 --> 00:17:11.390
and enjoy and focusing their energy there. It

00:17:11.390 --> 00:17:13.589
strikes me though that these aren't always obvious

00:17:13.589 --> 00:17:16.480
skills or predetermined paths. It really sounds

00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.559
like it takes a process of self -discovery, maybe

00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:21.240
even quite a bit of experimentation, to uncover

00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:23.460
these unique competencies. It's not about just

00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:25.519
fitting yourself into a predefined box, is it?

00:17:25.859 --> 00:17:27.980
You've hit on a crucial point there. Identifying

00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:30.279
your core competencies is absolutely an ongoing

00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:32.279
journey. It's not a one -off exercise. You just

00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:33.920
have to keep trying things, paying attention

00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:36.200
to your reaction, noticing what makes you, as

00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:38.740
Elizabeth Cambord put it, almost insatiable to

00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:41.319
learn more about it. That sense of deep curiosity.

00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:44.059
Exactly. Like a successful modern corporation,

00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:46.880
individuals typically have no more than, say,

00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:50.539
half a dozen true core competencies. Ideally,

00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:53.319
the actual substance of your paid work should

00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:55.640
be a core competency, something you genuinely

00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.819
excel at and derive energy from doing. That makes

00:17:58.819 --> 00:18:01.019
sense. Nurturing your key relationships, your

00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:04.099
family members, your close friends. That's arguably

00:18:04.099 --> 00:18:06.519
a non -negotiable core competency for everyone.

00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.539
as no one else can fulfill that role quite as

00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:12.720
you can. And importantly, your leisure activities,

00:18:12.900 --> 00:18:15.019
too, should ideally be based around these core

00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:17.279
competencies, things you do best, and are willing

00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:19.400
to devote time and effort toward to make them

00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:22.160
truly meaningful and enriching, not just time

00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:26.069
fillers. So work, family, leisure, all connected

00:18:26.069 --> 00:18:29.269
by these core strengths? Ideally, yes. The sobering

00:18:29.269 --> 00:18:30.769
experience for many, though, comes when they

00:18:30.769 --> 00:18:32.529
actually look at their time logs, as we discussed

00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:35.410
earlier. Those logs often reveal that vast chunks

00:18:35.410 --> 00:18:38.190
of the 168 hours are spent on activities that

00:18:38.190 --> 00:18:40.750
are not core competencies, both at work and at

00:18:40.750 --> 00:18:43.349
home. Like what specifically? Things like errands,

00:18:43.509 --> 00:18:45.549
excessive housework, endless television watching,

00:18:46.049 --> 00:18:48.690
aimless shopping. These often consume huge amounts

00:18:48.690 --> 00:18:51.170
of time, yet when people reflect, These activities

00:18:51.170 --> 00:18:53.609
are rarely classified as particularly meaningful

00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:56.690
or important. Understanding this disconnect between

00:18:56.690 --> 00:18:59.250
where time actually goes and what truly matters

00:18:59.250 --> 00:19:03.410
is the first vital step to reclaiming your 168

00:19:03.410 --> 00:19:06.150
hours and focusing on what counts. That's a powerful

00:19:06.150 --> 00:19:08.609
insight. And it leads us directly to think about

00:19:08.609 --> 00:19:11.559
work, doesn't it? So much of our 168 hours are

00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:14.559
dedicated to our jobs. If that time isn't deeply

00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:17.099
aligned with our core competencies, it can become

00:19:17.099 --> 00:19:19.980
a significant drain on our overall energy and

00:19:19.980 --> 00:19:22.859
satisfaction, can it? It's clearly not just about

00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:25.500
the hours logged, but the quality and alignment

00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:28.099
of those hours. Precisely. Being in the right

00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:30.299
job, a job that genuinely leverages your core

00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:32.519
competencies and aligns with your values, can

00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:34.779
imbue you with amazing energy for the entirety

00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:37.779
of your 168 hours. It's truly profound, the impact

00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:40.619
it can have. More energy overall. Yes, you'll

00:19:40.619 --> 00:19:43.299
possess more zeal, more stamina, more enthusiasm

00:19:43.299 --> 00:19:45.900
for all other aspects of your life, including

00:19:45.900 --> 00:19:48.700
your family. This might sound counterintuitive,

00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:51.660
but working, say, 50 hours a week in a job you

00:19:51.660 --> 00:19:54.660
genuinely love and feel energized by can actually

00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:56.660
provide you with more positive energy for your

00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:59.319
children than working just 30 hours in a job

00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:02.160
you detest and that drains you. The intrinsic

00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:05.099
motivation transforms your capacity and overall

00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.000
well -being. This is a really important point.

00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:09.700
The quality matters more than the quantity. Absolutely.

00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:12.960
Consider the renowned marine biologist and explorer

00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.339
in residence at the National Geographic Society

00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:19.049
Sylvia Earle. Back in 1998, when she was 62,

00:20:19.089 --> 00:20:20.869
which is actually the average U .S. retirement

00:20:20.869 --> 00:20:23.430
age, her voice apparently just brimmed with joy

00:20:23.430 --> 00:20:25.569
when she discussed her work, while speaking from

00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:27.509
60 feet underwater in an underwater base called

00:20:27.509 --> 00:20:30.269
Aquarius. 62 and working underwater with joy.

00:20:30.789 --> 00:20:33.170
Exactly. And fast forward to 2009, when she was

00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:35.589
73, she was still embarking on trips to the Yucatan

00:20:35.589 --> 00:20:38.509
Peninsula and Australia to study whale sharks

00:20:38.509 --> 00:20:41.069
and reefs, finishing books, collaborating with

00:20:41.069 --> 00:20:43.650
Google to add oceans to Google Earth, campaigning

00:20:43.650 --> 00:20:46.539
globally for marine sanctuaries. relentless energy.

00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:50.480
Still going strong. She perceives each hour logged

00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:53.920
doing this work, not as a chore, but as a source

00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:58.180
of joy, even after accumulating over 7 ,000 underwater

00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:01.619
hours throughout her long career. And this passion

00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.279
even spilled into her family life. She often

00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:06.680
involved her three children in things like making

00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:08.819
slides from seaweed specimens she'd collected.

00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:12.289
Her work wasn't a drain. It was clearly a wellspring

00:21:12.289 --> 00:21:15.369
of energy that fueled her entire life. It's incredible

00:21:15.369 --> 00:21:18.309
how that passion fuels everything. Now, thinking

00:21:18.309 --> 00:21:20.769
about our modern career landscape, many people

00:21:20.769 --> 00:21:22.650
seem to be chasing the idea of the four -hour

00:21:22.650 --> 00:21:26.150
work week or simply dream of working less. But

00:21:26.150 --> 00:21:28.529
does the research truly support this as the ultimate

00:21:28.529 --> 00:21:31.009
path to fulfillment? Or is there something deeper

00:21:31.009 --> 00:21:33.569
at play, as Sylvia Earle's life seems to suggest?

00:21:33.609 --> 00:21:35.630
It's an excellent question, and it allows us

00:21:35.630 --> 00:21:37.789
to challenge that popular four -hour workweek

00:21:37.789 --> 00:21:40.509
prescription, drawing on some solid sociological

00:21:40.509 --> 00:21:43.049
research. While an older survey from 2006 by

00:21:43.049 --> 00:21:45.829
CareerBuilder .com found that 84 % of full -time

00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:48.029
workers said they weren't in their absolute dream

00:21:48.029 --> 00:21:52.450
jobs. Which sounds quite high. It does. But contrast

00:21:52.450 --> 00:21:55.789
that with the 2002 General Social Survey, GSS,

00:21:56.309 --> 00:21:58.410
a very respected study, which revealed a rather

00:21:58.410 --> 00:22:02.089
surprising finding. 89 % of adults working more

00:22:02.089 --> 00:22:04.869
than 10 hours per week reported being either

00:22:04.869 --> 00:22:08.490
very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their

00:22:08.490 --> 00:22:11.250
jobs. 89 % satisfied. That's much higher than

00:22:11.250 --> 00:22:13.289
you'd expect. It suggests that most people find

00:22:13.289 --> 00:22:15.529
a workable level of contentment in their employment,

00:22:15.829 --> 00:22:17.690
even if it's not their ultimate fantasy job.

00:22:18.769 --> 00:22:21.390
Furthermore, despite the popularity of TV shows

00:22:21.390 --> 00:22:24.049
portraying a life of pure leisure, that same

00:22:24.049 --> 00:22:27.470
2002 GSS also showed that most people would actually

00:22:27.470 --> 00:22:29.829
continue to work in some fashion even if they

00:22:29.829 --> 00:22:31.789
didn't financially need to. Why do you think

00:22:31.789 --> 00:22:34.930
that is? Well, the truth seems to be that all

00:22:34.930 --> 00:22:37.230
play and no work makes Jack as dull a boy as

00:22:37.230 --> 00:22:39.720
the other way around. There is significant happiness

00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:41.799
and fulfillment derived from engaging in meaningful

00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:44.640
professional pursuits. Indeed, research published

00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.480
in 2008 Journal of Career Assessment even suggests

00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:50.359
that happiness can actually be an important precursor

00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.839
and determinant of career success, not merely

00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:55.160
a byproduct of it. So happiness drives success,

00:22:55.380 --> 00:22:57.240
not just the other way around. That's what the

00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:00.019
evidence suggests. The satisfaction isn't just

00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:03.839
a reward for success. It actively fuels it. Okay,

00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:06.140
so if the four -hour work week isn't the ultimate

00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:09.119
answer for most, what does define the right job?

00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:11.640
What are the characteristics we should be looking

00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:14.500
for based on research? Research on happiness

00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:17.599
and creativity points towards four key characteristics.

00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:21.880
Firstly, intrinsic motivation. The right job

00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:24.160
taps into activities you loved, perhaps as a

00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:26.640
child, or things you would willingly do for free

00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:28.759
just because you enjoy them. Like my writing

00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:31.019
example. Exactly! Like your childhood desire

00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:34.920
to write stories, not doodle equations. Or take

00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:38.079
Elon Crew, an aeronautics professor. As a child,

00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:40.460
he was fascinated by flight, apparently trying

00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:43.000
to figure out how to fly without engines. This

00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:45.420
later led to him inventing the foot -launched

00:23:45.420 --> 00:23:48.380
sailplane. It's about that deep internal drive.

00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:51.079
Makes sense. What's number two? Secondly, autonomy.

00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:53.319
You need to be given a reasonable amount of freedom

00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:55.380
and control in determining how to carry out your

00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:58.059
work. Nobody thrives being micromanaged. It's

00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:00.240
pretty straightforward. Trust and flexibility

00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:04.359
are key. Agreed. Number three. Thirdly, challenge.

00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:08.539
The work needs to be optimally challenging. This

00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:10.660
means it calls upon your best skills and helps

00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:12.900
you develop new ones, but without being completely

00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:14.859
overwhelming or beyond your current skill level.

00:24:15.230 --> 00:24:17.890
This ideal state is what the psychologist Mahali

00:24:17.890 --> 00:24:21.049
Sixcent Mahali famously termed flow. Flow state.

00:24:21.289 --> 00:24:23.690
Yes. He discovered this through a fascinating

00:24:23.690 --> 00:24:26.650
experiment where thousands of people recorded

00:24:26.650 --> 00:24:28.829
their activities and feelings via pagers over

00:24:28.829 --> 00:24:31.210
time. He found people were happiest when they

00:24:31.210 --> 00:24:33.910
were so completely absorbed in a difficult but

00:24:33.910 --> 00:24:37.329
doable activity that hours pass by in minutes.

00:24:37.950 --> 00:24:40.849
This deep absorption is a hallmark of truly engaging

00:24:40.849 --> 00:24:43.400
work. and the final characteristic. And finally,

00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:46.380
number four is organizational support. The work

00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:49.359
environment itself, the organization, your colleagues,

00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:52.119
needs to actively encourage your best work. This

00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:54.660
means providing sufficient resources, fostering

00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:57.519
a genuinely supportive team, ensuring good communication,

00:24:57.880 --> 00:24:59.880
and cultivating an environment where creativity

00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:02.460
and contribution are genuinely valued and encouraged.

00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:05.380
All these elements combined create the fertile

00:25:05.380 --> 00:25:08.039
ground for a truly right job. So it's the task

00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:10.819
itself, the freedom, the challenge, and the environment.

00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:14.059
Precisely. And building on this there's the crucial

00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:17.279
concept of deliberate practice. popularized by

00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:20.460
Kay Anderson's research. This is the idea that

00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:23.359
achieving truly expert performance, whether you're

00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:25.960
playing the violin or mastering a surgical technique

00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:29.279
or writing code, requires at least 10 ,000 hours

00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:32.079
of focused intentional practice. The 10 ,000

00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:34.740
hour rule. That's the one. It's difficult to

00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:37.200
push yourself beyond the basic job requirements

00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:39.920
if you don't fundamentally enjoy or feel engaged

00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:42.500
by what you do. You're likely just do what's

00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:44.740
explicitly required or rewarded and then seek

00:25:44.740 --> 00:25:47.319
escape. There was even a University of Maryland

00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:49.339
study that found unhappy people watched about

00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:52.099
20 % more television than happy ones, suggesting

00:25:52.099 --> 00:25:54.720
they tend towards escape rather than actively

00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:57.579
engaging with and solving problems. The right

00:25:57.579 --> 00:25:59.940
job encourages that engagement and problem solving.

00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:02.140
It really sounds like we can't just sit back

00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:04.119
and wait for the perfect job to land in our laps.

00:26:04.180 --> 00:26:05.680
It feels much more like something we have to

00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:08.119
actively build or shape for ourselves. Is that

00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:11.160
right? What are the practical pathways to cultivating

00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:13.640
this right job, given the realities of today's

00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:15.619
economy? You're absolutely right. It is very

00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:17.700
much something you actively build or create.

00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:22.059
Research suggests two primary pathways. The first

00:26:22.059 --> 00:26:24.160
is creating the right job within an existing

00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:27.490
organization. This involves finding an organization

00:26:27.490 --> 00:26:30.309
that is reasonably flexible and open to leveraging

00:26:30.309 --> 00:26:32.970
your unique talents. And then, as the saying

00:26:32.970 --> 00:26:35.650
sometimes goes, concocting your dream job within

00:26:35.650 --> 00:26:38.390
its structure. Often it might be easier to ask

00:26:38.390 --> 00:26:40.950
for forgiveness than permission. You demonstrate

00:26:40.950 --> 00:26:43.190
your value in a certain area, prove its worth,

00:26:43.390 --> 00:26:45.990
and then work to formalize that expanded or reshaped

00:26:45.990 --> 00:26:49.029
role. Carving out your space. Exactly. The second

00:26:49.029 --> 00:26:50.829
path, which is increasingly common in the modern

00:26:50.829 --> 00:26:53.529
economy, is self -employment. In New York City,

00:26:53.769 --> 00:26:55.630
for example, self -employment was actually the

00:26:55.630 --> 00:26:57.650
biggest single source of job creation between

00:26:57.650 --> 00:27:01.089
1981 and 2006, adding nearly half a million jobs.

00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:04.890
By 2009, something like 26 % of the entire U

00:27:04.890 --> 00:27:07.609
.S. workforce identified as free agents. A quarter

00:27:07.609 --> 00:27:11.009
of the workforce. Indeed. Now while some of these

00:27:11.009 --> 00:27:13.710
are undoubtedly forced moves due to redundancy

00:27:13.710 --> 00:27:16.269
or lack of traditional employment, for many,

00:27:16.549 --> 00:27:19.180
it's a deliberate choice. driven by push factors

00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:22.220
like frustration with bureaucracy and pull factors

00:27:22.220 --> 00:27:24.900
like the desire for autonomy and the drive to

00:27:24.900 --> 00:27:27.559
fully leverage their core competencies. Can you

00:27:27.559 --> 00:27:29.619
give us an example of that self -employment path?

00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:33.019
Certainly. Let's consider Mark Matsumoto. He

00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:35.240
was a former finance professional who, after

00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:37.799
what he described as a forced career change,

00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:40.759
decided to transform his lifelong love for cooking

00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:44.539
into a dream job as a food personality writing,

00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:47.599
blogging, creating recipes. He now apparently

00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:49.920
spends his weekdays exploring farmers markets,

00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.779
cooking interesting dishes, and using his business

00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:54.859
background and marketing skills to attract over

00:27:54.859 --> 00:27:57.200
100 ,000 unique visitors to his website each

00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:59.819
month. He initially viewed the change as a forced

00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:01.960
move, but now he wonders why it didn't do it

00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:04.680
sooner. His passion became his profession, offering

00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:07.019
that crucial autonomy and alignment. Found his

00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:10.279
calling through adversity. In a way, yes. Then

00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:12.519
there are Julie Pickens and Mindy Donnie, the

00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:14.579
creators of Boogie Wipes, those saline -infused

00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:17.099
tissues for kids. Oh yes, I know those. Right.

00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:20.079
Two mothers who, apparently between other business

00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:22.660
ventures, had an epiphany while dealing with

00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:25.759
their snotty children. Why not put saline in

00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:27.980
the wipe? They launched their company, Little

00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:31.920
Busybodies, Inc., in 2007. Now, they probably

00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:34.319
didn't dream of tissues as children, but running

00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:36.539
their own business gave them that incredible

00:28:36.539 --> 00:28:39.279
autonomy and challenge we talked about. They

00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.180
hashed out product details during playdates.

00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:43.539
One worked flexible hours from an office with

00:28:43.539 --> 00:28:45.779
a playroom. The other worked from home with an

00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:48.279
infant. They gave their dozen employees similar

00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:50.740
flexibility. They found themselves energized

00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:53.019
by the challenge of problems like figuring out

00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:54.920
how to get their product into major retailers

00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:58.200
like Walmart. And that drive led to over $5 million

00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:01.289
in sales in less than two years. Wow, so the

00:29:01.289 --> 00:29:03.809
passion came from the process, the autonomy.

00:29:04.130 --> 00:29:06.750
It seems so. Their journey shows that the passion

00:29:06.750 --> 00:29:09.069
for the work itself, the problem solving, the

00:29:09.069 --> 00:29:10.869
building something, can sometimes be developed

00:29:10.869 --> 00:29:13.069
through the autonomy and challenge of entrepreneurship,

00:29:13.710 --> 00:29:15.430
rather than necessarily being a pre -existing

00:29:15.430 --> 00:29:18.069
love of the specific product or service. It's

00:29:18.069 --> 00:29:20.069
inspiring to see how these individuals really

00:29:20.069 --> 00:29:21.930
created their own versions of the right job.

00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:24.880
Ultimately, though, how do we gauge if we're

00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:27.759
on the right trajectory in our own careers? If

00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:30.559
we're genuinely heading toward a right job rather

00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:33.700
than just settling for a job, is there a kind

00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:36.119
of litmus test we can use for ourselves? There

00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:38.940
is a rather insightful, if hypothetical, test

00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:42.599
you can apply. Ask yourself this. Would you take

00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:45.799
400 million to walk away? 400 million pounds.

00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:48.559
Yes. If someone offered you 400 million to walk

00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.900
away from your current job and never do the stuff

00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:53.480
of it again, never engage in the core activities

00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:56.420
that define it, you have to stop and think about

00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:59.160
it. Would you feel a genuine sense of grieving,

00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:02.819
a loss, despite the immense riches being offered?

00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:06.240
Hmm. That's a tough question. If the answer involves

00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:08.799
hesitation, if you'd feel that sense of loss

00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:11.180
for the work itself, it strongly suggests you're

00:30:11.180 --> 00:30:13.789
on the right track. It implies you found work

00:30:13.789 --> 00:30:15.930
that holds intrinsic value for you, something

00:30:15.930 --> 00:30:18.589
beyond mere remuneration. It's about whether

00:30:18.589 --> 00:30:20.769
the work itself holds a deep meaning that even

00:30:20.769 --> 00:30:23.500
vast wealth couldn't easily replace. That's a

00:30:23.500 --> 00:30:26.180
fantastic thought experiment. It really shifts

00:30:26.180 --> 00:30:29.480
the focus beyond just compensation and onto the

00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:32.259
intrinsic value, the meaning of the work itself.

00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:34.900
Now, even if we're fortunate enough to be in

00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:38.079
or building towards the right job, our calendars

00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:39.980
can still get clogged up with activities that

00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:42.599
aren't truly real work, things that look busy

00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:45.859
but aren't genuinely productive. How do we cut

00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:48.720
through that noise and identify what truly moves

00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:50.740
the needle for us, professionally speaking? This

00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:52.779
is such a critical distinction, isn't it? We

00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:55.099
absolutely must differentiate between things

00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:58.279
that look like work and actual work. And by actual

00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:01.059
work, I mean activities that are advancing you

00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:02.720
toward the purpose of your existence, or at least

00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:05.319
towards your key professional goals. So separating

00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:09.279
activity from impact. Precisely. So many common

00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:12.440
workplace activities think of long, aimless meetings

00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:15.079
where you're not essential. or obsessively checking

00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:17.200
and responding to every single email instantly

00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:20.180
can give a false sense of productivity. They

00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:22.259
make you feel busy, but ultimately, they waste

00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:25.160
time, and frankly, they waste lives. Consider

00:31:25.160 --> 00:31:27.759
someone like Bill Gates. He reportedly attends

00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:29.759
meetings only when he plays a critical part,

00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:32.640
and others plan rigorously beforehand to avoid

00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:35.039
wasting his time. There's no inherent nobility

00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:37.200
in just sitting in an endless meeting if you're

00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:39.329
not contributing or gaining anything vital. It's

00:31:39.329 --> 00:31:41.250
like that example you used of the police officer.

00:31:41.390 --> 00:31:44.109
Yes. The officer running herself ragged responding

00:31:44.109 --> 00:31:48.210
to 300 individual 911 calls on a single problematic

00:31:48.210 --> 00:31:50.630
street corner versus taking the time to figure

00:31:50.630 --> 00:31:52.630
out and actually solve the root cause of the

00:31:52.630 --> 00:31:55.190
problem there. One is constant activity. The

00:31:55.190 --> 00:31:57.609
other is strategic impact. Makes sense. Can you

00:31:57.609 --> 00:31:59.769
illustrate this focus on real work with another

00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:03.390
example? Certainly. Let's look at Carol Fassbender

00:32:03.390 --> 00:32:05.730
-Orth. She's a rising young scientist and professor

00:32:05.730 --> 00:32:08.210
at Creighton University and also a mother of

00:32:08.210 --> 00:32:11.190
two young children. Her upbringing was quite

00:32:11.190 --> 00:32:14.829
unusual. She grew up on an apiary, a bee farm,

00:32:15.130 --> 00:32:18.150
where she experienced countless bee stings. Ouch.

00:32:18.529 --> 00:32:20.910
Indeed. But this apparently developed in her

00:32:20.910 --> 00:32:24.769
a certain unflappability. a calmness under pressure,

00:32:25.049 --> 00:32:27.250
they gave her a refreshingly pragmatic perspective

00:32:27.250 --> 00:32:29.869
on academic work. She fundamentally understands

00:32:29.869 --> 00:32:31.849
that academic scientists are ultimately judged

00:32:31.849 --> 00:32:33.890
on the quality of their results in their publications

00:32:33.890 --> 00:32:36.390
in significant journals, not merely on the number

00:32:36.390 --> 00:32:38.230
of hours they spend physically present in the

00:32:38.230 --> 00:32:40.230
lab or the number of committees they sit on.

00:32:40.470 --> 00:32:42.609
Focusing on the outcome, not just the process.

00:32:43.049 --> 00:32:45.809
Exactly. So her strategy is to focus intensely

00:32:45.809 --> 00:32:48.250
on the metrics that truly matter for achieving

00:32:48.250 --> 00:32:51.150
tenure in her field. Typically something like

00:32:51.150 --> 00:32:53.609
three to five high -impact publications in major

00:32:53.609 --> 00:32:56.410
journals, securing significant external grant

00:32:56.410 --> 00:32:58.829
funding and maintaining reasonable teaching and

00:32:58.829 --> 00:33:02.009
advising loads. She consciously minimizes time

00:33:02.009 --> 00:33:04.930
spent on activities she deems a waste of time,

00:33:05.069 --> 00:33:07.069
such as pursuing experiments that show limited

00:33:07.069 --> 00:33:09.369
promise of success or getting bogged down in

00:33:09.369 --> 00:33:12.849
internal academic politics. She's known to apparently

00:33:12.849 --> 00:33:15.309
politely extract herself from meetings if they

00:33:15.309 --> 00:33:16.950
become irrelevant to her core research goals.

00:33:17.089 --> 00:33:19.869
It takes courage to do that. It does. She typically

00:33:19.869 --> 00:33:22.690
works a focused eight or nine hour day, prioritizes

00:33:22.690 --> 00:33:24.849
being home for time with her kids in the evening,

00:33:25.130 --> 00:33:28.329
and then might do more focused work, like writing

00:33:28.329 --> 00:33:30.829
or planning experiments, after they're in bed.

00:33:31.410 --> 00:33:33.390
She plans her experiments carefully to avoid

00:33:33.390 --> 00:33:35.549
frequent unnecessary late -night visits to the

00:33:35.549 --> 00:33:39.549
lab. And her unflappability extends to handling

00:33:39.549 --> 00:33:42.289
unexpected crises. There's a story of her getting

00:33:42.289 --> 00:33:44.130
trapped in an elevator with her young children

00:33:44.130 --> 00:33:47.009
at the lab late one Friday evening, a situation

00:33:47.009 --> 00:33:49.309
she apparently took completely in stride. She

00:33:49.309 --> 00:33:51.490
exemplifies focusing her energy on what truly

00:33:51.490 --> 00:33:54.250
matters for her professional advancement and

00:33:54.250 --> 00:33:56.609
filtering out the noise. Unflappability, I like

00:33:56.609 --> 00:33:59.710
that. So if identifying the real work, the stuff

00:33:59.710 --> 00:34:02.029
that truly matters like Carol did, is the first

00:34:02.029 --> 00:34:05.289
crucial step, how do we then systematically eliminate

00:34:05.289 --> 00:34:07.690
or at least significantly reduce all the other

00:34:07.690 --> 00:34:10.550
stuff, the noise? You've discussed a powerful

00:34:10.550 --> 00:34:12.869
three -part strategy for tackling this non -core

00:34:12.869 --> 00:34:14.630
competency work. Can you walk us through it?

00:34:14.769 --> 00:34:16.730
Yes, it's a comprehensive three -part strategy

00:34:16.730 --> 00:34:19.599
and the elements are Quite straightforward. Ignore

00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:22.940
it, minimize it, or outsource it. Ignore, minimize,

00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:25.320
outsource. OK, let's start with ignore it. Right.

00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:29.199
Ignore Ed Edirana. It is the most direct approach.

00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:32.480
It means actively quitting projects, giving up

00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:35.400
responsibilities that are just leeching time

00:34:35.400 --> 00:34:38.579
without significant return, or simply declining

00:34:38.579 --> 00:34:41.059
to take them on in the first place. Now, this

00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:44.269
can feel frankly, scary as hell for many people.

00:34:44.530 --> 00:34:46.829
Whether you're employed or self -employed, people

00:34:46.829 --> 00:34:50.090
worry about burning bridges, damaging relationships,

00:34:50.329 --> 00:34:52.829
or seeing their income plummet. There are real

00:34:52.829 --> 00:34:55.570
risks involved. There can be. You shared a personal

00:34:55.570 --> 00:34:57.690
example yourself, didn't you, about deciding

00:34:57.690 --> 00:35:00.269
to stop writing that regular section for Reader's

00:35:00.269 --> 00:35:03.230
Digest? Yes, that's right. As a new mom and freelance

00:35:03.230 --> 00:35:05.730
writer, I stopped writing the non -bylined, only

00:35:05.730 --> 00:35:08.449
in America section. It provided over half my

00:35:08.449 --> 00:35:10.570
income at the time and was flexible, only about

00:35:10.570 --> 00:35:12.889
20 hours a week. But I found it took up too much

00:35:12.889 --> 00:35:14.869
mental energy, energy I wanted to put towards

00:35:14.869 --> 00:35:16.869
my bigger goal of writing books and longer, more

00:35:16.869 --> 00:35:19.590
serious articles. My income did drop by half

00:35:19.590 --> 00:35:21.750
initially, which was stressful, but it eventually

00:35:21.750 --> 00:35:24.570
recovered from higher value projects. And well,

00:35:24.690 --> 00:35:26.650
as it turned out, the Reader's Digest Association

00:35:26.650 --> 00:35:28.849
later filed for bankruptcy, so it was probably

00:35:28.849 --> 00:35:31.710
a wise move long -term anyway. A perfect example.

00:35:32.409 --> 00:35:34.710
This tactic often relies on negotiating from

00:35:34.710 --> 00:35:38.860
a position of strength, ideally, by being exceptionally

00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:41.179
good at your core work, making you valuable,

00:35:41.659 --> 00:35:44.019
or perhaps by having a financial cushion or other

00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:47.760
job offers waiting. As the saying goes, people

00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:49.719
perform better when they don't desperately need

00:35:49.719 --> 00:35:52.260
their jobs, as it fosters a willingness to take

00:35:52.260 --> 00:35:54.739
calculated risks and push back against non -essential

00:35:54.739 --> 00:35:57.590
tasks that don't serve their primary goals. Okay,

00:35:57.889 --> 00:36:00.150
so ignoring it is about strategic quitting or

00:36:00.150 --> 00:36:02.289
declining. What about the second part? Minimize

00:36:02.289 --> 00:36:05.110
it. Minimize. It involves setting a reasonable

00:36:05.110 --> 00:36:07.630
limit on your total work hours, perhaps aiming

00:36:07.630 --> 00:36:09.730
for somewhere between 30 and 50 hours a week,

00:36:10.150 --> 00:36:12.769
or 60 at the absolute maximum for sustainable

00:36:12.769 --> 00:36:15.809
high performance. Then, the key is to commit

00:36:15.809 --> 00:36:18.090
to filling large portions of that limited time

00:36:18.090 --> 00:36:21.219
with genuinely high value work. This means actually

00:36:21.219 --> 00:36:23.539
blocking off time in your calendar for strategic

00:36:23.539 --> 00:36:26.639
thinking or deep work on key projects and treating

00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.000
those blocks as absolutely unavailable to others,

00:36:29.300 --> 00:36:31.219
just like an important client meeting. Protecting

00:36:31.219 --> 00:36:34.440
your focus time. Precisely. A great example here

00:36:34.440 --> 00:36:36.579
is Trista Harris, who we mentioned earlier, the

00:36:36.579 --> 00:36:38.380
executive director of the Headwaters Foundation

00:36:38.380 --> 00:36:41.539
for Justice. She implemented regular, short,

00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:44.219
one -on -one meetings with each of her direct

00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:47.360
reports, always with clear agendas sent in advance.

00:36:47.980 --> 00:36:50.579
This proactive approach allowed her staff to

00:36:50.579 --> 00:36:53.099
hold their big, pressing questions for these

00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:55.820
designated times, which significantly minimized

00:36:55.820 --> 00:36:57.880
random interruptions throughout the week. Think

00:36:57.880 --> 00:37:00.719
about it. Two 15 -minute focus meetings per week

00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:03.019
per report might only amount to less than four

00:37:03.019 --> 00:37:06.000
hours total, but the impact on everyone's ability

00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:07.579
to concentrate during the rest of the week could

00:37:07.579 --> 00:37:10.449
be huge. That sounds very efficient. It is. Her

00:37:10.449 --> 00:37:12.570
organization also transitioned to what's called

00:37:12.570 --> 00:37:16.889
a Results -Only Work Environment, or ROE. This

00:37:16.889 --> 00:37:19.130
allows employees to work wherever and whenever

00:37:19.130 --> 00:37:21.530
they choose, as long as the required work gets

00:37:21.530 --> 00:37:24.869
done effectively. This inherently minimizes wasted

00:37:24.869 --> 00:37:27.610
time that can come from rigid schedules or unclear

00:37:27.610 --> 00:37:30.429
directives. Harris herself blocks off chunks

00:37:30.429 --> 00:37:33.170
of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, specifically

00:37:33.170 --> 00:37:36.130
for strategic thinking time. She closes her door,

00:37:36.300 --> 00:37:39.179
avoids email, and focuses purely on high -level

00:37:39.179 --> 00:37:41.579
issues like fundraising strategies or emerging

00:37:41.579 --> 00:37:44.380
philanthropic trends. And to manage the influx

00:37:44.380 --> 00:37:46.539
of mentoring requests she received, she created

00:37:46.539 --> 00:37:48.800
a helpful handout with resources for young women

00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:50.539
and people of color interested in philanthropy.

00:37:50.760 --> 00:37:53.340
She asks potential mentees to review it first

00:37:53.340 --> 00:37:55.340
and then send specific questions beforehand,

00:37:55.480 --> 00:37:57.559
ensuring those high -value interactions remain

00:37:57.559 --> 00:38:00.119
focused and productive. It's all about structuring

00:38:00.119 --> 00:38:02.360
time to minimize waste. Really smart ways to

00:38:02.360 --> 00:38:04.800
manage interactions and focus. Okay, and the

00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:07.619
third strategy, outsource it. Yes, outsource

00:38:07.619 --> 00:38:10.800
it. This is about delegating tasks that don't

00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:13.360
require your specific expertise or attention

00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:16.639
to others, perhaps dedicated assistance, shared

00:38:16.639 --> 00:38:18.960
administrative support, or external freelancers

00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:21.639
and services. This is where the classic economic

00:38:21.639 --> 00:38:24.119
law of comparative advantage comes into play.

00:38:24.619 --> 00:38:26.639
Even if you could technically do a task slightly

00:38:26.639 --> 00:38:29.179
better or faster than someone else, if your time

00:38:29.179 --> 00:38:31.559
is more valuable spent on your core competencies,

00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:34.159
it still makes economic sense to delegate the

00:38:34.159 --> 00:38:36.460
less critical task. You free up your most valuable

00:38:36.460 --> 00:38:38.679
resource, your focused attention for the activities,

00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:41.139
where only you can deliver the highest value.

00:38:41.360 --> 00:38:44.860
It's about opportunity cost again. Exactly. Continuing

00:38:44.860 --> 00:38:47.550
with Trista Harris as an example, Beyond managing

00:38:47.550 --> 00:38:50.130
her internal staff effectively, she actively

00:38:50.130 --> 00:38:52.989
outsourced tasks. She hired someone through the

00:38:52.989 --> 00:38:56.030
online platform Elance to design her New Voices

00:38:56.030 --> 00:38:58.920
of Philanthropy blog. She used a virtual assistant

00:38:58.920 --> 00:39:01.519
for specific research projects. And interestingly,

00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:03.820
when she's invited to speak at conferences or

00:39:03.820 --> 00:39:05.480
panels where she feels she isn't perhaps the

00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:07.800
most appropriate or knowledgeable speaker, she

00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:10.139
proactively suggests other talented individuals

00:39:10.139 --> 00:39:13.139
from her broad, professional network. This builds

00:39:13.139 --> 00:39:15.659
goodwill, helps others, and frees up her own

00:39:15.659 --> 00:39:17.980
time for engagements where her unique expertise

00:39:17.980 --> 00:39:20.440
is truly essential. That's a clever way to handle

00:39:20.440 --> 00:39:22.860
requests. And she applies these lessons at home,

00:39:22.980 --> 00:39:25.739
too. There's a story about when her 10 -year

00:39:25.739 --> 00:39:28.239
-old daughter forgot her homework. Instead of

00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:29.860
automatically dropping everything and driving

00:39:29.860 --> 00:39:32.500
45 minutes back to school to retrieve it, Harris

00:39:32.500 --> 00:39:35.619
leveraged her core competency as a mother, which

00:39:35.619 --> 00:39:37.780
includes teaching responsibility to counsel her

00:39:37.780 --> 00:39:40.099
daughter on how to approach the teacher, explain

00:39:40.099 --> 00:39:42.500
the situation, and figure out how to solve the

00:39:42.500 --> 00:39:45.420
problem herself. She taught a life lesson rather

00:39:45.420 --> 00:39:47.780
than just playing fetch. It's about applying

00:39:47.780 --> 00:39:49.519
the principle of leveraging the right skills

00:39:49.519 --> 00:39:52.099
for the right tasks, regardless of who performs

00:39:52.099 --> 00:39:55.099
them, across all domains of life. So what really

00:39:55.099 --> 00:39:58.179
stands out across ignore, minimize, and outsource

00:39:58.179 --> 00:40:00.559
is this overarching principle of intentionality.

00:40:01.119 --> 00:40:03.539
It requires a really ruthless focus on what truly

00:40:03.539 --> 00:40:05.639
moves the needle for you, professionally speaking.

00:40:06.119 --> 00:40:08.400
It's fundamentally about working smarter, not

00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:11.320
just longer hours, and actively reclaiming agency

00:40:11.320 --> 00:40:14.010
over how your professional time is spent. Absolutely.

00:40:14.570 --> 00:40:17.510
And perhaps one final crucial point on optimizing

00:40:17.510 --> 00:40:20.469
professional life. Boosting your efficiency in

00:40:20.469 --> 00:40:23.389
the long run also means actively getting better

00:40:23.389 --> 00:40:26.639
at your core professional craft. This isn't just

00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:29.119
about passively putting in the hours. It's about

00:40:29.119 --> 00:40:31.679
engaging in that focused, deliberate practice

00:40:31.679 --> 00:40:34.119
we mentioned earlier. It means actively studying

00:40:34.119 --> 00:40:36.639
the work of others you admire, critically analyzing

00:40:36.639 --> 00:40:39.820
your own work to identify weak spots, proactively

00:40:39.820 --> 00:40:42.460
seeking constructive feedback, and continually

00:40:42.460 --> 00:40:45.340
laboring to refine your skills. For instance,

00:40:45.579 --> 00:40:47.360
you've mentioned that after years of dedicated

00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:49.219
writing practice, if you're assigned the 1 ,000

00:40:49.219 --> 00:40:51.679
word piece now, your first draft consistently

00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:54.539
comes out somewhere between 900 and 1 ,100 words.

00:40:54.739 --> 00:40:56.510
Yes, usually pretty close now. That reflects

00:40:56.510 --> 00:40:58.690
an efficiency and precision gained through years

00:40:58.690 --> 00:41:01.150
of intentional practice. It's a true mastery

00:41:01.150 --> 00:41:03.429
of your professional craft that not only improves

00:41:03.429 --> 00:41:05.630
quality, but also frees up valuable time and

00:41:05.630 --> 00:41:08.010
mental energy for other pursuits. Continuous

00:41:08.010 --> 00:41:10.349
improvement is part of working smarter. That's

00:41:10.349 --> 00:41:13.369
a great point. Okay, so once we've started streamlining

00:41:13.369 --> 00:41:15.630
our professional hours using these strategies,

00:41:16.250 --> 00:41:18.710
the next significant area of time investment

00:41:18.710 --> 00:41:21.949
and often perceived time drain is our home lives.

00:41:22.349 --> 00:41:24.949
Many of us, especially those mid -career professionals

00:41:24.949 --> 00:41:27.309
we mentioned, feel that the domestic burden is

00:41:27.309 --> 00:41:30.130
precisely where the time crunch truly bites hard.

00:41:30.510 --> 00:41:33.110
How has this changed historically? And more importantly,

00:41:33.369 --> 00:41:35.789
what can we do about it now? It's true. That

00:41:35.789 --> 00:41:38.269
feeling of the domestic burden is very real for

00:41:38.269 --> 00:41:40.730
many people. But the fascinating reality is that

00:41:40.730 --> 00:41:43.329
home economics, in the broadest sense, have undergone

00:41:43.329 --> 00:41:46.010
drastic changes over the past few decades. The

00:41:46.010 --> 00:41:47.590
single most significant shift is that the amount

00:41:47.590 --> 00:41:50.010
of time devoted purely to housework has fallen

00:41:50.010 --> 00:41:52.949
precipitously almost in half over 40 years. Halfed

00:41:52.949 --> 00:41:55.670
again. Just like work hours perception. Indeed.

00:41:56.530 --> 00:41:58.630
One major factor, of course, is simply smaller

00:41:58.630 --> 00:42:01.849
family sizes. You mentioned Mrs. Meyer earlier,

00:42:02.170 --> 00:42:04.110
the person whose family inspired the well -known

00:42:04.110 --> 00:42:06.690
cleaning product brand. Apparently, she had nine

00:42:06.690 --> 00:42:10.610
children back in 1965. Her daughter, Monica Nasif,

00:42:10.630 --> 00:42:12.769
who later founded the actual Mrs. Meyer's Clean

00:42:12.769 --> 00:42:15.710
Day brand, has two. Fewer children naturally

00:42:15.710 --> 00:42:18.150
require less time for basic upkeep, like laundry,

00:42:18.610 --> 00:42:20.889
dishes, general tidying. Simple maths, really.

00:42:21.110 --> 00:42:23.750
It is. However, another absolutely crucial reason

00:42:23.750 --> 00:42:26.170
for this decline is the significant lowering

00:42:26.170 --> 00:42:29.159
of general housekeeping standards. Women today,

00:42:29.340 --> 00:42:31.599
and men for that matter, simply don't do many

00:42:31.599 --> 00:42:34.219
of the things women did 40 years ago. Think about

00:42:34.219 --> 00:42:36.840
it. Those old, good housekeeping magazines contain

00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:38.460
detailed instructions for things like cutting

00:42:38.460 --> 00:42:41.320
raisins precisely with kitchen shears, meticulously

00:42:41.320 --> 00:42:43.900
polishing children's footwear daily, ironing

00:42:43.900 --> 00:42:46.360
electric blankets, or even routinely vacuuming

00:42:46.360 --> 00:42:48.900
walls and ceilings. Vacuuming the ceiling? Seriously?

00:42:49.130 --> 00:42:51.889
Apparently so. While labor -saving devices like

00:42:51.889 --> 00:42:54.230
dishwashers and self -cleaning ovens certainly

00:42:54.230 --> 00:42:57.610
existed back in the 1950s and 60s, women still

00:42:57.610 --> 00:43:00.789
spent excessive hours on chores. This strongly

00:43:00.789 --> 00:43:02.969
suggests that the perceived necessity of certain

00:43:02.969 --> 00:43:05.809
tasks has changed much more significantly than

00:43:05.809 --> 00:43:09.219
just the availability of tools. Even today, a

00:43:09.219 --> 00:43:11.179
fair portion of the time spent by stay -at -home

00:43:11.179 --> 00:43:13.599
mothers on housework, which averages around 26

00:43:13.599 --> 00:43:16.159
hours per week, might not be strictly necessary

00:43:16.159 --> 00:43:18.920
by today's standards, but everyone benefits from

00:43:18.920 --> 00:43:21.059
these generally lowered societal expectations

00:43:21.059 --> 00:43:24.050
of what constitutes a clean enough home. So it

00:43:24.050 --> 00:43:26.269
sounds like the argument isn't necessarily to

00:43:26.269 --> 00:43:28.949
neglect our homes or our families, far from it,

00:43:29.210 --> 00:43:31.630
but rather to apply that core competency principle

00:43:31.630 --> 00:43:34.250
here too. To focus our precious home time on

00:43:34.250 --> 00:43:36.570
what truly nurtures relate and jumps in connection

00:43:36.570 --> 00:43:39.489
rather than on chores that are often low impact

00:43:39.489 --> 00:43:41.389
could potentially be done by someone else or

00:43:41.389 --> 00:43:44.489
maybe even eliminated entirely. Exactly. For

00:43:44.489 --> 00:43:47.090
most individuals, meticulous housework is not

00:43:47.090 --> 00:43:49.679
one of these core competencies. Let's be honest.

00:43:50.300 --> 00:43:52.199
Someone else can often do these tasks better,

00:43:52.380 --> 00:43:54.539
or at least enjoys them more, or perhaps just

00:43:54.539 --> 00:43:56.480
does them more efficiently because of their profession.

00:43:57.440 --> 00:44:00.199
The crucial point to grasp here is the immense

00:44:00.199 --> 00:44:03.619
opportunity cost involved in doing routine household

00:44:03.619 --> 00:44:06.000
chores yourself, especially if you don't enjoy

00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:08.610
them. Time spent scrubbing is time not spent

00:44:08.610 --> 00:44:11.769
elsewhere. Precisely. Time spent on tedious housework

00:44:11.769 --> 00:44:14.090
is time taken away from potentially much higher

00:44:14.090 --> 00:44:16.929
value activities. Genuinely nurturing your children,

00:44:17.250 --> 00:44:18.989
truly connecting with your spouse or partner,

00:44:19.449 --> 00:44:21.510
pursuing personal passions that recharge you,

00:44:21.809 --> 00:44:24.449
or even just resting properly. Therefore, making

00:44:24.449 --> 00:44:26.789
a monetary investment in outsourcing household

00:44:26.789 --> 00:44:29.489
tasks isn't merely an expense. It should be viewed

00:44:29.489 --> 00:44:32.389
as a strategic purchase of valuable, non -renewable

00:44:32.389 --> 00:44:34.989
personal time. Buying back your weekend. As that

00:44:34.989 --> 00:44:38.059
cleaning service, Aptly put it to a client. You're

00:44:38.059 --> 00:44:40.119
not buying a clean home. You're buying your weekend

00:44:40.119 --> 00:44:43.179
back It really reinforces the underlying philosophy

00:44:43.179 --> 00:44:47.019
that money like time is a choice and often a

00:44:47.019 --> 00:44:49.739
related choice It's interesting the fact that

00:44:49.739 --> 00:44:51.860
lawn care is one of the most highly outsourced

00:44:51.860 --> 00:44:55.679
household chores in the US Apparently 30 % of

00:44:55.679 --> 00:44:59.119
households hire services suggests that men perhaps

00:44:59.119 --> 00:45:01.460
traditionally responsible for that domain have

00:45:01.460 --> 00:45:04.159
Intuitively grasped this concept of buying back

00:45:04.159 --> 00:45:06.719
time for quite a while That's a provocative thought.

00:45:06.880 --> 00:45:09.460
Okay, so let's get practical. What are some comprehensive

00:45:09.460 --> 00:45:12.480
concrete outsourcing strategies for various household

00:45:12.480 --> 00:45:15.039
tasks that tend to eat up our time? Right, let's

00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:17.639
break it down. First, consider food chores. This

00:45:17.639 --> 00:45:19.900
is a really significant time -sink for many families.

00:45:20.039 --> 00:45:22.139
Data shows married dual -income parents, for

00:45:22.139 --> 00:45:25.380
example, spend a combined average of 9 .24 hours

00:45:25.380 --> 00:45:28.159
per week just on grocery shopping, food preparation,

00:45:28.340 --> 00:45:30.440
and the subsequent cleanup. Over nine hours!

00:45:30.519 --> 00:45:33.469
That's more than a full workday. It is. And compare

00:45:33.469 --> 00:45:35.449
that to the average time they spend actively

00:45:35.449 --> 00:45:37.269
playing with their children, which is only about

00:45:37.269 --> 00:45:39.690
three hours per week. Even stay -at -home mothers

00:45:39.690 --> 00:45:41.869
spend over three times as many minutes on food

00:45:41.869 --> 00:45:44.070
chores as they do on playing with their kids.

00:45:44.590 --> 00:45:47.750
This is clearly a major area where time could

00:45:47.750 --> 00:45:49.969
potentially be reallocated towards more meaningful

00:45:49.969 --> 00:45:53.130
connection. So what are the solutions here? Well,

00:45:53.210 --> 00:45:55.130
Sid Savara, the software developer in Honolulu

00:45:55.130 --> 00:45:57.550
we mentioned earlier, provides a good illustration.

00:45:57.760 --> 00:46:00.500
He was trying to avoid unhealthy takeout food,

00:46:00.840 --> 00:46:03.340
but found himself spending as much as 15 hours

00:46:03.340 --> 00:46:06.679
per week on all the related food tasks. Shopping,

00:46:06.980 --> 00:46:10.639
defrosting, cooking, washing dishes despite actively

00:46:10.639 --> 00:46:13.469
disliking it. His solution. He hired a personal

00:46:13.469 --> 00:46:16.570
chef via Craigslist for just $60 per week plus

00:46:16.570 --> 00:46:19.130
the cost of groceries. The chef prepares 12,

00:46:19.130 --> 00:46:22.250
15 basic healthy meals for him. This arrangement

00:46:22.250 --> 00:46:24.530
saves him an estimated 10 hours per week and

00:46:24.530 --> 00:46:26.909
has the added bonus of reducing impulsive grocery

00:46:26.909 --> 00:46:29.309
spending. A personal chef sounds quite luxurious

00:46:29.309 --> 00:46:31.550
though. It can sound that way, but compared to

00:46:31.550 --> 00:46:34.349
the cost of frequent takeaways or wasted groceries

00:46:34.349 --> 00:46:36.949
and valuing his time, it made sense for him.

00:46:37.070 --> 00:46:39.550
There are also commercial meal delivery services,

00:46:39.610 --> 00:46:42.130
companies like Jenny Craig, perhaps Zone Chefs

00:46:42.130 --> 00:46:44.329
or New Kitchen, that can deliver pre -prepared

00:46:44.329 --> 00:46:47.750
meals in bulk. Wendy Kagan and Michael Belfiore,

00:46:47.889 --> 00:46:49.889
another couple mentioned in the research, use

00:46:49.889 --> 00:46:52.130
a vegan meal delivery service after their daughter

00:46:52.130 --> 00:46:55.070
was born because, as they put it, cooking was

00:46:55.070 --> 00:46:56.769
at the bottom of the totem pole at that point.

00:46:56.869 --> 00:47:00.210
Practical survival mode. Exactly. But for most

00:47:00.210 --> 00:47:03.050
families, perhaps the most accessible and genius

00:47:03.050 --> 00:47:06.269
time saver is strategic online grocery shopping.

00:47:06.460 --> 00:47:08.639
It allows you to do your shopping late at night,

00:47:08.940 --> 00:47:11.000
after the kids are asleep, or during otherwise

00:47:11.000 --> 00:47:13.340
wasted time, like a commute if you're not driving.

00:47:14.079 --> 00:47:16.519
It completely eliminates travel time and those

00:47:16.519 --> 00:47:19.300
tedious checkout queues. The checkout queue alone?

00:47:19.639 --> 00:47:21.880
Right. Critically, online platforms allow you

00:47:21.880 --> 00:47:24.079
to quickly refill your basket from previous shopping

00:47:24.079 --> 00:47:26.619
lists, which automates buying your regular staples.

00:47:26.960 --> 00:47:29.300
And they offer a huge plethora of ready -made

00:47:29.300 --> 00:47:31.820
foods, things like pre -marinated meats, pre

00:47:31.820 --> 00:47:34.739
-chopped vegetable mixes, decent quality frozen

00:47:34.739 --> 00:47:36.940
meals. You've mentioned yourself being able to

00:47:36.940 --> 00:47:39.119
make genuinely good, healthy, home -cooked meals

00:47:39.119 --> 00:47:41.500
in about 15 minutes using these kinds of shortcuts.

00:47:42.079 --> 00:47:44.880
Yes, absolutely. Things like a pre -marinated

00:47:44.880 --> 00:47:47.280
pork tenderloin with a quick -cooked mushroom

00:47:47.280 --> 00:47:51.000
risotto, or salmon filets with a simple soy maple

00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:54.219
glaze served with pre -washed salad and microwavable

00:47:54.219 --> 00:47:57.179
rice. Minimal active cooking time, only a couple

00:47:57.179 --> 00:47:59.840
of pots. It's about leveraging that convenience

00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:03.800
intelligently. Precisely. Briefly on dining out,

00:48:03.920 --> 00:48:05.739
while Americans spend about half their food budget

00:48:05.739 --> 00:48:08.260
in restaurants, often it's on fairly mediocre

00:48:08.260 --> 00:48:10.619
convenient food rather than a special experience.

00:48:11.420 --> 00:48:13.159
The suggestion here is perhaps make those simple

00:48:13.159 --> 00:48:16.059
15 -minute meals at home most nights and save

00:48:16.059 --> 00:48:18.420
your money and anticipation for a real dinner

00:48:18.420 --> 00:48:21.440
out maybe with a babysitter once a week or every

00:48:21.440 --> 00:48:23.619
couple of weeks. Make dining out an intentional

00:48:23.619 --> 00:48:26.300
treat, not just a default for exhaustion. Makes

00:48:26.300 --> 00:48:29.400
sense. Okay, food chores covered. What about

00:48:29.400 --> 00:48:33.380
the bane of many households? Laundry. Laundry

00:48:33.380 --> 00:48:36.500
and wardrobe maintenance. Sid Sivara, again,

00:48:36.719 --> 00:48:39.179
provides an anecdote. He found his tiny apartment

00:48:39.179 --> 00:48:41.539
washing machine simply couldn't handle his king

00:48:41.539 --> 00:48:44.119
-sized duvet. It apparently sat dirty for four

00:48:44.119 --> 00:48:46.699
months because the hassle of taking it to a laundrette

00:48:46.699 --> 00:48:49.519
felt too great. His solution was outsourcing

00:48:49.519 --> 00:48:52.719
all his laundry for about $7 per load, receiving

00:48:52.719 --> 00:48:55.500
everything back clean, fresh, and folded within

00:48:55.500 --> 00:48:58.599
48 hours. Four months for a duvet. Outsourcing

00:48:58.599 --> 00:49:01.730
sounds like a win there. For him, it was. Sarah

00:49:01.730 --> 00:49:03.989
Wagner, another working mother mentioned, also

00:49:03.989 --> 00:49:06.469
outsources laundry. Her reasoning is simple and

00:49:06.469 --> 00:49:08.989
powerful. I don't want to spend less time with

00:49:08.989 --> 00:49:10.949
my children. I want to spend less time doing

00:49:10.949 --> 00:49:14.219
housework. She rightly notes that families rarely

00:49:14.219 --> 00:49:16.500
wax nostalgic about memories of sorting piles

00:49:16.500 --> 00:49:18.360
of laundry together. For those with a higher

00:49:18.360 --> 00:49:21.260
budget, services like personal shoppers or stylists,

00:49:21.400 --> 00:49:23.239
such as Lindsay Weiner who helps clients find

00:49:23.239 --> 00:49:25.599
clothes and build wardrobes, can save countless

00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:28.079
hours of shopping time and reduce decision fatigue

00:49:28.079 --> 00:49:30.019
around getting dressed. Okay, laundry. What about

00:49:30.019 --> 00:49:32.639
general housekeeping, the cleaning? Housekeeping.

00:49:33.300 --> 00:49:35.400
Professional cleaning services like Merry Maids

00:49:35.400 --> 00:49:38.480
or The Maids can offer regular weekly or perhaps

00:49:38.480 --> 00:49:40.690
bi -weekly cleaning. The cost might be around

00:49:40.690 --> 00:49:43.050
100 pounds per visit, maybe totaling about 2

00:49:43.050 --> 00:49:45.349
,500 pounds annually for a bi -weekly service.

00:49:45.829 --> 00:49:48.090
Now that sounds like a lot, but compared to other

00:49:48.090 --> 00:49:50.150
common discretionary spending, average UK mobile

00:49:50.150 --> 00:49:53.469
phone bills might be around $876 a year, cable

00:49:53.469 --> 00:49:57.170
or satellite TV, perhaps 852 nows. Viewed as

00:49:57.170 --> 00:49:59.190
an investment in reclaiming your entire weekend

00:49:59.190 --> 00:50:01.730
every other week, the cost -benefit analysis

00:50:01.730 --> 00:50:03.829
might look quite different. Framing it as buying

00:50:03.829 --> 00:50:07.250
back time again. Exactly. But even without hiring

00:50:07.250 --> 00:50:09.820
a cleaning service, A key shortcut is simply

00:50:09.820 --> 00:50:12.360
decluttering. An uncluttered house inherently

00:50:12.360 --> 00:50:15.179
looks cleaner with much less effort. The absolute

00:50:15.179 --> 00:50:17.739
key is maintaining clear, horizontal surfaces.

00:50:18.179 --> 00:50:21.300
Kitchen counters, dining tables, desks. Ricondo

00:50:21.300 --> 00:50:23.780
built an empire on this principle. There's even

00:50:23.780 --> 00:50:27.119
a fun technique called the 27 Fling Boogie. You

00:50:27.119 --> 00:50:30.099
set a timer and race to find 27 items to throw

00:50:30.099 --> 00:50:32.940
out or donate in a short burst. Making it a game

00:50:32.940 --> 00:50:35.280
can help. And for those who genuinely struggle

00:50:35.280 --> 00:50:37.980
with chronic disorganization, hiring a professional

00:50:37.980 --> 00:50:41.699
organizer is now a recognized profession. Your

00:50:41.699 --> 00:50:43.860
own experience, I believe, with organizer Janine

00:50:43.860 --> 00:50:45.820
Sarna -Jones revealed that sometimes the issue

00:50:45.820 --> 00:50:48.500
isn't true disorganization, but perhaps just

00:50:48.500 --> 00:50:51.260
laziness, or maybe overwhelm a willingness to

00:50:51.260 --> 00:50:53.219
tolerate clutter because the activation energy

00:50:53.219 --> 00:50:55.800
required to deal with it feels too high. Yes,

00:50:55.940 --> 00:50:58.340
that was quite insightful. Bags of outgrown baby

00:50:58.340 --> 00:51:00.800
clothes sitting there for months. It wasn't that

00:51:00.800 --> 00:51:02.260
I didn't know where they should go, I just couldn't

00:51:02.260 --> 00:51:04.699
face doing it. A very common feeling. Finally,

00:51:04.800 --> 00:51:07.320
under home tasks, we have what the research calls

00:51:07.320 --> 00:51:09.320
the little things that kill you. Essentially

00:51:09.320 --> 00:51:11.599
all those miscellaneous errands and administrative

00:51:11.599 --> 00:51:14.980
tasks. Death by a thousand cuts. Precisely. It's

00:51:14.980 --> 00:51:17.519
the mental overhead of managing all those random,

00:51:17.719 --> 00:51:20.260
infrequent, but often surprisingly time consuming

00:51:20.260 --> 00:51:23.159
tasks. Scheduling the plumber, returning library

00:51:23.159 --> 00:51:25.340
books, booking MOTs or dentist appointments,

00:51:25.440 --> 00:51:28.400
dealing with insurance renewals. Ed Daley, a

00:51:28.400 --> 00:51:30.780
man who cleverly branded his errand running business,

00:51:30.900 --> 00:51:33.159
The Perfect Wife, essentially turned a period

00:51:33.159 --> 00:51:36.019
of career transition into a thriving business

00:51:36.019 --> 00:51:39.179
managing exactly these kinds of household details

00:51:39.179 --> 00:51:41.800
for busy clients charging around $35 ,500. an

00:51:41.800 --> 00:51:45.219
hour. His core competency, he says, is problem

00:51:45.219 --> 00:51:47.260
-solving, making his clients' lives feel more

00:51:47.260 --> 00:51:51.260
seamless. Outsourcing these small, often underestimated

00:51:51.260 --> 00:51:53.980
tasks can free up significant mental bandwidth

00:51:53.980 --> 00:51:56.550
as well as time. It really all points back to

00:51:56.550 --> 00:51:58.869
that core message, doesn't it? For home life,

00:51:59.010 --> 00:52:00.989
it's not about abdicating responsibility, but

00:52:00.989 --> 00:52:02.889
about consciously reallocating your precious

00:52:02.889 --> 00:52:04.809
time and energy towards the things that only

00:52:04.809 --> 00:52:07.070
you can do nurturing relationships, creating

00:52:07.070 --> 00:52:09.269
memories, and the things that bring true joy

00:52:09.269 --> 00:52:11.570
and connection within your home and family. It's

00:52:11.570 --> 00:52:13.530
a strategic investment in your overall well -being

00:52:13.530 --> 00:52:16.559
and happiness. Precisely put. It's about consciously

00:52:16.559 --> 00:52:19.699
building your home team, whether that team includes

00:52:19.699 --> 00:52:22.280
paid services, other family members sharing the

00:52:22.280 --> 00:52:24.719
load more effectively, or simply implementing

00:52:24.719 --> 00:52:27.440
intentional systems and routines all designed

00:52:27.440 --> 00:52:30.019
to support your core competencies and priorities

00:52:30.019 --> 00:52:32.800
in your personal life. It frees you up to truly

00:52:32.800 --> 00:52:34.960
focus on the relationships and activities that

00:52:34.960 --> 00:52:37.340
nourish you, rather than getting constantly bogged

00:52:37.340 --> 00:52:39.780
down by low -value, high -effort chores that

00:52:39.780 --> 00:52:42.750
drain your energy. So once we've started streamlining

00:52:42.750 --> 00:52:45.070
our professional hours and re -engineering our

00:52:45.070 --> 00:52:47.550
home lives, the next big question naturally turns

00:52:47.550 --> 00:52:51.030
to our personal time, our leisure. How do we

00:52:51.030 --> 00:52:52.869
ensure that this precious time isn't just the

00:52:52.869 --> 00:52:55.429
leftover bits, or filled by default with passive

00:52:55.429 --> 00:52:58.230
consumption, but becomes truly rejuvenating and

00:52:58.230 --> 00:53:00.869
fulfilling? It's got to be about more than just

00:53:00.869 --> 00:53:03.429
escaping the daily grind, hasn't it? Absolutely.

00:53:03.969 --> 00:53:05.949
The quality of our leisure time is profoundly

00:53:05.949 --> 00:53:09.239
important, yet often neglected. And again, the

00:53:09.239 --> 00:53:11.659
perception versus reality of leisure time is

00:53:11.659 --> 00:53:14.199
quite distorted. Self -reported surveys often

00:53:14.199 --> 00:53:16.639
indicate very little actual leisure time, maybe

00:53:16.639 --> 00:53:19.260
16 .5 hours per week on average for Americans

00:53:19.260 --> 00:53:20.940
for instance. Sounds about right for many people.

00:53:21.340 --> 00:53:24.800
It does. However, those rigorous time -vary studies

00:53:24.800 --> 00:53:27.500
we discussed earlier paint a very different picture.

00:53:27.659 --> 00:53:31.139
They consistently show significantly more leisure

00:53:31.139 --> 00:53:34.460
time than people perceive, but with a huge portion

00:53:34.460 --> 00:53:37.940
of it, often 20 to 30 hours per week, recorded

00:53:37.940 --> 00:53:40.639
as the primary activity dedicated simply to television

00:53:40.639 --> 00:53:43.199
watching. 20 to 30 hours a week watching TV.

00:53:43.460 --> 00:53:45.820
As the main thing they're doing, yes. And TV

00:53:45.820 --> 00:53:48.099
tends to dominate leisure time for understandable

00:53:48.099 --> 00:53:51.099
reasons. It's relatively cheap, it makes very

00:53:51.099 --> 00:53:53.840
few demands on the viewer, and it fits incredibly

00:53:53.840 --> 00:53:56.039
easily into any unplanned gaps in the schedule.

00:53:56.280 --> 00:53:58.980
The default state for many, perhaps without even

00:53:58.980 --> 00:54:01.780
realizing it, is to become world -class couch

00:54:01.780 --> 00:54:04.960
potatoes. A rather blunt assessment. Perhaps,

00:54:05.159 --> 00:54:08.719
but the data is stark. Critically, research consistently

00:54:08.719 --> 00:54:10.900
shows that these kinds of low -engagement, low

00:54:10.900 --> 00:54:13.440
-pleasure activities like excessive TV watching

00:54:13.440 --> 00:54:16.039
often crowd out potentially much higher pleasure,

00:54:16.199 --> 00:54:18.300
more restorative activities such as actively

00:54:18.300 --> 00:54:20.519
socializing with friends, engaging meaningfully

00:54:20.519 --> 00:54:22.739
with art or music, getting physical exercise,

00:54:23.059 --> 00:54:24.960
or losing yourself in a good book. That's the

00:54:24.960 --> 00:54:27.579
real danger, having free time that doesn't actually

00:54:27.579 --> 00:54:29.400
recreate or revitalize you in any meaningful

00:54:29.400 --> 00:54:32.000
way. That's such a crucial point. If we're not

00:54:32.000 --> 00:54:33.960
mindful and proactive about how we spend our

00:54:33.960 --> 00:54:36.400
leisure time, these precious hours can simply

00:54:36.400 --> 00:54:38.719
disappear into activities that don't genuinely

00:54:38.719 --> 00:54:41.820
recharge us, leaving us feeling strangely unfulfilled

00:54:41.820 --> 00:54:45.079
even when we technically have free time. So how

00:54:45.079 --> 00:54:47.579
do we make our leisure time truly purposeful

00:54:47.579 --> 00:54:50.659
and restorative? The key really lies in structuring

00:54:50.659 --> 00:54:53.480
our leisure time with the same kind of intentionality

00:54:53.480 --> 00:54:56.500
we're advocating for work and home life. It means

00:54:56.500 --> 00:54:59.239
choosing purposeful leisure. We could focus on

00:54:59.239 --> 00:55:02.480
three key areas. Firstly, and this is non -negotiable,

00:55:02.800 --> 00:55:05.579
the one rule is that exercise is non -negotiable.

00:55:05.760 --> 00:55:08.360
Non -negotiable. Strong words. I believe it's

00:55:08.360 --> 00:55:10.719
that important. Think of regular physical activity

00:55:10.719 --> 00:55:14.360
as a critical, non -outsourcable core competency

00:55:14.360 --> 00:55:16.679
for maintaining your health, energy, and overall

00:55:16.679 --> 00:55:19.159
well -being. The official guidelines, for instance,

00:55:19.199 --> 00:55:21.039
from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention

00:55:21.039 --> 00:55:23.920
in the U .S. recommend a minimum of 150 minutes.

00:55:24.119 --> 00:55:27.039
That's just 2 .5 hours of moderate activity per

00:55:27.039 --> 00:55:29.340
week. When you think about it, 2 .5 hours out

00:55:29.340 --> 00:55:32.000
of the full 168 really isn't that much time at

00:55:32.000 --> 00:55:35.139
all. Puts in perspective. It does. Triathlon

00:55:35.139 --> 00:55:38.119
coach Gordo Byrne puts it succinctly, doing three

00:55:38.119 --> 00:55:40.260
to five hours of exercise a week consistently

00:55:40.260 --> 00:55:42.980
will massively change your health. Byrne himself

00:55:42.980 --> 00:55:45.139
is an example he apparently transformed from

00:55:45.139 --> 00:55:47.599
a rather out of shape finance professional into

00:55:47.599 --> 00:55:50.260
an Ironman Canada finisher, demonstrating what

00:55:50.260 --> 00:55:52.599
consistent focused effort can achieve over time.

00:55:52.889 --> 00:55:55.570
And you mentioned Paul Radcliffe inspiring your

00:55:55.570 --> 00:55:58.510
own running. Yes. Seeing photographs of the renowned

00:55:58.510 --> 00:56:00.829
marathon runner Paul Radcliffe continuing to

00:56:00.829 --> 00:56:02.630
run while six and even eight months pregnant

00:56:02.630 --> 00:56:05.530
was hugely inspiring. It motivated me to keep

00:56:05.530 --> 00:56:07.809
running through both of my pregnancies, and I

00:56:07.809 --> 00:56:09.710
personally felt significant benefits for the

00:56:09.710 --> 00:56:12.510
baby's health, according to my doctor, and even

00:56:12.510 --> 00:56:15.230
counter -intuitively increased speed afterwards

00:56:15.230 --> 00:56:17.769
due to what felt like training with a stowaway.

00:56:18.360 --> 00:56:21.360
It highlights that exercise really can be integrated

00:56:21.360 --> 00:56:24.820
even during demanding life phases. The key recommendation

00:56:24.820 --> 00:56:27.280
is simply to choose a physical activity you genuinely

00:56:27.280 --> 00:56:29.699
enjoy because research shows those who enjoy

00:56:29.699 --> 00:56:32.139
the process the most tend to achieve the best

00:56:32.139 --> 00:56:34.820
and most consistent results. Running is popular

00:56:34.820 --> 00:56:36.599
partly because it offers quick fitness results

00:56:36.599 --> 00:56:39.199
with minimal equipment and also because the physical

00:56:39.199 --> 00:56:41.280
impact means a normal person can realistically

00:56:41.280 --> 00:56:44.260
only run for about an hour a day maximum, making

00:56:44.260 --> 00:56:46.389
it quite an efficient use of exercise time. Okay,

00:56:46.670 --> 00:56:49.030
so exercise is rule number one. What's the second

00:56:49.030 --> 00:56:52.110
area for purposeful leisure? Secondly, pursue

00:56:52.110 --> 00:56:55.940
passions and hobbies. Beyond essential exercise,

00:56:56.760 --> 00:56:59.599
identify and actively commit to a small number

00:56:59.599 --> 00:57:01.920
of other activities, maybe just one, two, or

00:57:01.920 --> 00:57:04.820
at the very most, three that truly matter to

00:57:04.820 --> 00:57:06.579
you personally. These should be things you feel

00:57:06.579 --> 00:57:08.480
passionate about, things that are worth a significant

00:57:08.480 --> 00:57:10.940
investment of your energy to genuinely get better

00:57:10.940 --> 00:57:13.039
and get somewhere with them. If you have young

00:57:13.039 --> 00:57:15.199
children, sticking to just one or two is probably

00:57:15.199 --> 00:57:17.900
more realistic, but the key is that intentional

00:57:17.900 --> 00:57:21.380
engagement, aiming for progress or mastery. not

00:57:21.380 --> 00:57:23.400
just dabbling. Can you give an example of this?

00:57:23.599 --> 00:57:25.980
Consider Justin Honeman, a Coca -Cola executive.

00:57:26.760 --> 00:57:29.300
Despite a demanding job and presumably a packed

00:57:29.300 --> 00:57:31.940
schedule, he found his essential creative outlet

00:57:31.940 --> 00:57:34.500
in country music. He started taking lessons,

00:57:34.980 --> 00:57:36.860
began writing his own melodies during commutes,

00:57:37.099 --> 00:57:39.679
work breaks and weekends, becoming, in his words,

00:57:40.059 --> 00:57:43.119
a bit obsessed. He didn't just strum casually,

00:57:43.519 --> 00:57:46.340
he intentionally honed his craft, listening critically

00:57:46.340 --> 00:57:48.320
to popular country songs to understand their

00:57:48.320 --> 00:57:50.900
structure, working on refining his vocal technique.

00:57:51.480 --> 00:57:54.019
He then took it a step further, hiring a professional

00:57:54.019 --> 00:57:56.219
producer in Nashville to record his own album,

00:57:56.519 --> 00:57:58.699
Saturday in the South, which apparently even

00:57:58.699 --> 00:58:01.860
received some local airplay. He found that pursuing

00:58:01.860 --> 00:58:04.400
this hobby actively changed the way that I operate

00:58:04.400 --> 00:58:07.039
at work, providing a crucial creative component

00:58:07.039 --> 00:58:09.659
that energizes his entire life, not just his

00:58:09.659 --> 00:58:12.199
weekends. Country music from a Coke exec. Fascinating.

00:58:12.360 --> 00:58:14.760
Okay, exercise, passions. What's the third key

00:58:14.760 --> 00:58:18.179
area? Thirdly, and perhaps most vital for overall

00:58:18.179 --> 00:58:22.000
well -being, nurture friendships through alignment.

00:58:23.000 --> 00:58:24.980
The importance of strong social connections,

00:58:25.420 --> 00:58:27.239
of friendships for our physical and mental health

00:58:27.239 --> 00:58:30.739
is profound. Research consistently shows significant

00:58:30.739 --> 00:58:33.219
benefits from better survival rates for women

00:58:33.219 --> 00:58:35.659
undergoing treatment for breast cancer, to slower

00:58:35.659 --> 00:58:38.159
rates of brain deterioration in old age, even

00:58:38.159 --> 00:58:40.360
down to catching fewer common colds. Friends

00:58:40.360 --> 00:58:42.860
are good medicine. Literally. There's a famous

00:58:42.860 --> 00:58:44.920
hill experiment conducted at the University of

00:58:44.920 --> 00:58:47.199
Virginia that visually demonstrates this. Students

00:58:47.199 --> 00:58:49.059
were asked to estimate the steepness of a hill.

00:58:49.289 --> 00:58:51.530
They consistently perceived the hill as less

00:58:51.530 --> 00:58:53.170
steep when they were standing next to a friend,

00:58:53.289 --> 00:58:55.250
compared to when they were alone, and the effect

00:58:55.250 --> 00:58:57.550
was even stronger if it was a long -term close

00:58:57.550 --> 00:58:59.949
friend. Friendships literally seem to lighten

00:58:59.949 --> 00:59:02.929
our perceived burdens. That's amazing. But there's

00:59:02.929 --> 00:59:05.989
a paradox, isn't there? There is. Full, busy

00:59:05.989 --> 00:59:08.590
lives are often stressful. Friends help alleviate

00:59:08.590 --> 00:59:11.070
that stress. Yet finding the time to actually

00:59:11.070 --> 00:59:13.090
connect with those friends amidst our busy lives

00:59:13.090 --> 00:59:15.849
can also feel stressful. It's a real catch -22

00:59:15.849 --> 00:59:18.690
for many people. So what's the solution? The

00:59:18.690 --> 00:59:21.469
suggested solution is a concept called alignment.

00:59:22.389 --> 00:59:24.690
This is really a special form of multitasking,

00:59:24.989 --> 00:59:27.909
but one that works. It involves consciously combining

00:59:27.909 --> 00:59:30.309
activities that utilize different parts of your

00:59:30.309 --> 00:59:33.309
brain or body simultaneously, or pairing a desired

00:59:33.309 --> 00:59:35.730
activity like socializing with something you

00:59:35.730 --> 00:59:38.369
have to do anyway. This avoids the cognitive

00:59:38.369 --> 00:59:40.929
overload and reduced performance associated with

00:59:40.929 --> 00:59:43.170
traditional multitasking, like trying to write

00:59:43.170 --> 00:59:45.679
an email while on a conference call. Okay, give

00:59:45.679 --> 00:59:47.639
me some examples of alignment for friendships.

00:59:47.880 --> 00:59:50.559
Simple things, really. Sharing a meal together

00:59:50.559 --> 00:59:53.420
is a classic you have to eat anyway. Going for

00:59:53.420 --> 00:59:56.340
a run or a bike ride with a friend combines exercise

00:59:56.340 --> 00:59:59.139
and socializing. Turning necessary trips to the

00:59:59.139 --> 01:00:01.579
playground with your kids into planned play dates

01:00:01.579 --> 01:00:03.559
with other parents whose company you actually

01:00:03.559 --> 01:00:06.260
enjoy. Maybe volunteering together on a charity

01:00:06.260 --> 01:00:08.519
board or project with a friend or family member.

01:00:09.059 --> 01:00:11.039
Even just making those important phone calls

01:00:11.039 --> 01:00:13.179
to catch up with friends while you're doing mindless

01:00:13.179 --> 01:00:16.039
chores like washing dishes or folding laundry.

01:00:16.559 --> 01:00:19.039
It's about consciously weaving social connection

01:00:19.039 --> 01:00:21.960
into the existing fabric of your week, rather

01:00:21.960 --> 01:00:23.739
than seeing it as yet another separate thing

01:00:23.739 --> 01:00:26.099
to schedule. that makes a lot of sense piggybacking

01:00:26.099 --> 01:00:28.940
connection onto existing activities. So given

01:00:28.940 --> 01:00:31.980
all the demands on our time, work, home, exercise,

01:00:32.440 --> 01:00:34.840
passions, friendships, how do we practically

01:00:34.840 --> 01:00:38.099
carve out space for these vital leisure activities

01:00:38.099 --> 01:00:41.179
without feeling like we're just adding more items

01:00:41.179 --> 01:00:44.079
to an already overflowing to -do list? It sounds

01:00:44.079 --> 01:00:46.380
like it requires some strategic planning, which

01:00:46.570 --> 01:00:49.250
ironically, can feel like more work in itself.

01:00:49.630 --> 01:00:51.989
It absolutely does require planning, but think

01:00:51.989 --> 01:00:53.969
of it as high -leverage planning that ultimately

01:00:53.969 --> 01:00:56.829
creates more fulfilling time rather than just

01:00:56.829 --> 01:00:59.730
more tasks. The most effective approach seems

01:00:59.730 --> 01:01:02.510
to be block scheduling for leisure. Essentially,

01:01:02.630 --> 01:01:04.489
you advocate treating your meaningful leisure

01:01:04.489 --> 01:01:06.809
activities with the same seriousness you'd treat

01:01:06.809 --> 01:01:09.369
an important client meeting or a doctor's appointment.

01:01:09.730 --> 01:01:12.030
You plan them in advance, you schedule them for

01:01:12.030 --> 01:01:13.989
specific blocks of time in your calendar, and

01:01:13.989 --> 01:01:15.849
you prepare for them mentally so you can be fully

01:01:15.849 --> 01:01:18.730
present. Scheduling fun, doesn't that kill the

01:01:18.730 --> 01:01:21.010
spontaneity? It might seem that way initially,

01:01:21.349 --> 01:01:23.750
but the alternative for many busy people is that

01:01:23.750 --> 01:01:27.010
the fun simply never happens, because unstructured

01:01:27.010 --> 01:01:29.949
time gets swallowed by urgent demands or inertia.

01:01:30.920 --> 01:01:33.719
Scheduling ensures it gets prioritized. Consider

01:01:33.719 --> 01:01:36.760
using specific time slots. Morning blocks can

01:01:36.760 --> 01:01:39.139
be excellent. Waking up just a bit earlier, for

01:01:39.139 --> 01:01:42.139
example, Michelle Gier -Sole, a marketing consultant

01:01:42.139 --> 01:01:44.920
mentioned in the research, wakes at 5 a .m. six

01:01:44.920 --> 01:01:47.320
days a week for an hour -long walk on the beach

01:01:47.320 --> 01:01:50.360
or quiet reading time. She shifted that time

01:01:50.360 --> 01:01:53.110
from aimless late -night TV watching. Morning

01:01:53.110 --> 01:01:55.909
often provides more energy and, crucially, fewer

01:01:55.909 --> 01:01:58.510
potential distractions. Before the day's chaos

01:01:58.510 --> 01:02:01.369
begins. Exactly. For those working in an office

01:02:01.369 --> 01:02:03.309
environment, lunchtime blocks can be an ideal

01:02:03.309 --> 01:02:05.610
time for exercise. Even just eating lunch quickly

01:02:05.610 --> 01:02:07.489
at your desk two or three days a week can free

01:02:07.489 --> 01:02:09.670
up a significant chunk of time to hit the gym,

01:02:09.889 --> 01:02:12.309
go for a run, or take a walk when others might

01:02:12.309 --> 01:02:14.710
be queuing in the cafeteria. Using that midday

01:02:14.710 --> 01:02:18.739
lull productively. Yes. In the evenings, particularly

01:02:18.739 --> 01:02:21.559
for families with two parents, implementing a

01:02:21.559 --> 01:02:23.860
week -night -off system can be very effective.

01:02:24.219 --> 01:02:26.679
Each parent gets one designated evening per week,

01:02:27.059 --> 01:02:29.800
completely free for their own pursuits, hobbies,

01:02:30.420 --> 01:02:32.960
seeing friends, exercise class, while the other

01:02:32.960 --> 01:02:34.539
parent takes sole charge of the children and

01:02:34.539 --> 01:02:37.300
household duties for that evening. This requires

01:02:37.300 --> 01:02:39.559
clear communication and mutual commitment to

01:02:39.559 --> 01:02:42.690
avoid scorekeeping or resentment. but it guarantees

01:02:42.690 --> 01:02:45.469
dedicated personal time for both partners. That

01:02:45.469 --> 01:02:48.550
sounds like a fair system. And finally, weekend

01:02:48.550 --> 01:02:51.130
planning. Don't let your precious weekends just

01:02:51.130 --> 01:02:53.230
disappear into a haze of errands and chores.

01:02:53.769 --> 01:02:56.030
Spend just a few minutes sometime on Friday evening

01:02:56.030 --> 01:02:58.750
or Saturday morning. To intentionally plan one

01:02:58.750 --> 01:03:00.789
or two key activities that you want to do things

01:03:00.789 --> 01:03:02.849
that might require longer blocks of time than

01:03:02.849 --> 01:03:05.429
are available during the week. Aim for a healthy

01:03:05.429 --> 01:03:07.449
balance between some structured family activities

01:03:07.449 --> 01:03:09.889
or personal pursuits and also ensuring there's

01:03:09.889 --> 01:03:12.289
some genuinely unstructured downtime for relaxation

01:03:12.289 --> 01:03:15.289
and spontaneity too. The goal is simply to make

01:03:15.289 --> 01:03:17.309
those weekend hours count towards your fulfillment

01:03:17.309 --> 01:03:19.289
rather than letting them slip away by default.

01:03:19.500 --> 01:03:21.699
Ultimately then, what you're suggesting isn't

01:03:21.699 --> 01:03:23.679
about packing every single minute or creating

01:03:23.679 --> 01:03:26.760
some kind of rigid, joyless schedule. It's really

01:03:26.760 --> 01:03:29.119
about being mindful and intentional about how

01:03:29.119 --> 01:03:31.940
we use our non -work time. It's about ensuring

01:03:31.940 --> 01:03:34.880
our leisure time truly serves its fundamental

01:03:34.880 --> 01:03:37.960
purpose of recreation and rejuvenation, which

01:03:37.960 --> 01:03:41.539
in turn makes our entire 168 hours feel fuller,

01:03:41.780 --> 01:03:44.719
more balanced, and more purposeful. Precisely.

01:03:45.219 --> 01:03:46.940
Intentionality is the thread that runs through

01:03:46.940 --> 01:03:49.460
it all. We've covered so much ground today. We've

01:03:49.460 --> 01:03:51.059
journeyed through the surprising truth about

01:03:51.059 --> 01:03:54.019
our 168 hours, exploring how the perception often

01:03:54.019 --> 01:03:56.539
differs from reality. We've looked at how to

01:03:56.539 --> 01:03:58.940
unearth and leverage our unique core competencies,

01:03:59.219 --> 01:04:01.260
applying business strategy to our personal lives.

01:04:01.619 --> 01:04:04.219
We've discussed redefining and refining our professional

01:04:04.219 --> 01:04:07.420
lives to find or create the right job. And we've

01:04:07.420 --> 01:04:09.480
delved into strategically re -engineering our

01:04:09.480 --> 01:04:11.539
home and leisure time for greater fulfillment.

01:04:12.199 --> 01:04:13.880
It's certainly a lot to consider, but it all

01:04:13.880 --> 01:04:16.079
seems to point towards a really profound shift

01:04:16.079 --> 01:04:18.309
in mindset. doesn't it? A shift away from a feeling

01:04:18.309 --> 01:04:20.809
of scarcity toward the sense of possibility and

01:04:20.809 --> 01:04:23.610
agency. It truly does. And if we were to boil

01:04:23.610 --> 01:04:26.849
it down, the key actionable principles for anyone

01:04:26.849 --> 01:04:28.750
wanting to embark on their own personal time

01:04:28.750 --> 01:04:31.489
transformation really come down to these essential

01:04:31.489 --> 01:04:34.269
steps. Firstly, and most fundamentally, recognize

01:04:34.269 --> 01:04:37.230
you have a choice. Internalize that basic understanding

01:04:37.230 --> 01:04:39.469
that every minute presents a choice. It's not

01:04:39.469 --> 01:04:41.650
an inevitable obligation thrust upon you. You

01:04:41.650 --> 01:04:44.469
need to embrace this agency over your time. Secondly,

01:04:44.670 --> 01:04:47.239
you absolutely must know your time goes. You

01:04:47.239 --> 01:04:49.519
can't change what you don't measure. Start by

01:04:49.519 --> 01:04:51.579
keeping an accurate, honest time log for at least

01:04:51.579 --> 01:04:55.139
one full week, 168 consecutive hours. It can

01:04:55.139 --> 01:04:57.420
be, as one person who did it described it, a

01:04:57.420 --> 01:04:59.440
mortifying experience initiative. You can't imagine.

01:04:59.519 --> 01:05:02.579
Confronting reality. Exactly. But it's an absolutely

01:05:02.579 --> 01:05:04.699
essential, often incredibly enlightening first

01:05:04.699 --> 01:05:07.539
step to simply understand your current reality.

01:05:08.000 --> 01:05:10.940
Where does the time actually go? Thirdly, try

01:05:10.940 --> 01:05:13.820
to define your list of a hundred dreams. This

01:05:13.820 --> 01:05:16.099
is an exercise in articulating what you truly

01:05:16.099 --> 01:05:18.900
want out of your life, both personally and professionally.

01:05:19.519 --> 01:05:22.300
Think big, think small. These dreams become your

01:05:22.300 --> 01:05:24.840
guiding stars, your personal north star, helping

01:05:24.840 --> 01:05:26.699
you decide where you want to intentionally direct

01:05:26.699 --> 01:05:29.400
your time and energy. Fourthly, as we discussed

01:05:29.400 --> 01:05:32.400
at length, focus on your core competencies. Actively

01:05:32.400 --> 01:05:34.920
identify what you do best, what energizes you,

01:05:35.159 --> 01:05:37.699
and what only you can do effectively. These are

01:05:37.699 --> 01:05:39.300
the activities that bring you energy, meaning,

01:05:39.460 --> 01:05:41.460
and will likely have the maximum positive impact.

01:05:42.000 --> 01:05:43.639
This is where your primary investment of time

01:05:43.639 --> 01:05:46.400
should yield the greatest return. Fifthly, and

01:05:46.400 --> 01:05:48.860
this is the active pruning part, ignore, minimize,

01:05:49.000 --> 01:05:51.360
or outsource everything else. Systematically

01:05:51.360 --> 01:05:53.500
work to remove or significantly reduce all those

01:05:53.500 --> 01:05:55.619
activities that are not core competencies or

01:05:55.619 --> 01:05:57.579
that simply do not align with your defined dreams

01:05:57.579 --> 01:05:59.920
and priorities. Common culprits that consume

01:05:59.920 --> 01:06:03.320
vast? often unnoticed. Swathes of time include

01:06:03.320 --> 01:06:05.639
excessive television, unproductive housework

01:06:05.639 --> 01:06:08.420
beyond basic maintenance, random errands that

01:06:08.420 --> 01:06:11.119
could be batched or delegated, obsessive email

01:06:11.119 --> 01:06:13.940
checking, aimless puttering around the house

01:06:13.940 --> 01:06:16.360
like browsing catalogs with no intention to purchase,

01:06:16.800 --> 01:06:18.960
and even overly long personal care routines.

01:06:20.099 --> 01:06:22.780
Start with tackling these easy wins first. For

01:06:22.780 --> 01:06:25.360
example, if you realize you spend much time mindlessly

01:06:25.360 --> 01:06:27.960
scrolling social media, simply becoming aware

01:06:27.960 --> 01:06:30.579
of the pattern can help. One writer mentioned

01:06:30.579 --> 01:06:32.800
cutting her five plus daily Facebook and Twitter

01:06:32.800 --> 01:06:35.320
breaks down significantly just by noticing the

01:06:35.320 --> 01:06:38.719
time drain. And finally, number six, actively

01:06:38.719 --> 01:06:40.579
look for ways to fill bits of time with bits

01:06:40.579 --> 01:06:43.519
of joy. Make less of small activities that genuinely

01:06:43.519 --> 01:06:46.000
make you happy, feel meaningful or move you slightly

01:06:46.000 --> 01:06:48.320
towards one of your goals and that take 30 minutes

01:06:48.320 --> 01:06:50.340
or less or perhaps even less than 10 minutes.

01:06:51.019 --> 01:06:52.980
These are things you can slot into those inevitable

01:06:52.980 --> 01:06:55.869
small gaps in the day. For instance, Tathryn

01:06:55.869 --> 01:06:58.130
Murphy, a lawyer we'll mention shortly, decided

01:06:58.130 --> 01:07:00.329
to use her commute time to meditate on gratitude.

01:07:00.750 --> 01:07:03.530
Another individual redirected a habitual 50 -minute

01:07:03.530 --> 01:07:05.869
Facebook break towards spending that time on

01:07:05.869 --> 01:07:08.949
a French language learning website instead. It

01:07:08.949 --> 01:07:11.670
demonstrates how small, consistent efforts, applied

01:07:11.670 --> 01:07:13.869
intelligently to those little pockets of time,

01:07:14.349 --> 01:07:16.530
can add up to significant progress or increased

01:07:16.530 --> 01:07:18.690
well -being over the long run. These principles

01:07:18.690 --> 01:07:21.190
sound incredibly practical and empowering when

01:07:21.190 --> 01:07:23.260
laid out like that. And you've mentioned they've

01:07:23.260 --> 01:07:25.900
been put into practice by real people with real

01:07:25.900 --> 01:07:28.659
tangible results. Can you share some examples

01:07:28.659 --> 01:07:32.000
of these time makeovers? Yes. The research included

01:07:32.000 --> 01:07:34.019
several case studies of individuals who tracked

01:07:34.019 --> 01:07:36.719
their time and then worked on implementing these

01:07:36.719 --> 01:07:39.559
kinds of strategies. For example, Catherine Murphy.

01:07:39.940 --> 01:07:41.900
She was a first -year legal associate and also

01:07:41.900 --> 01:07:44.639
a new mom. She initially described feeling incredibly

01:07:44.639 --> 01:07:48.000
frustrated and in tears from a perceived total

01:07:48.000 --> 01:07:50.639
lack of time. A very relatable feeling for many

01:07:50.639 --> 01:07:53.659
new parents and demanding jobs. Absolutely. Her

01:07:53.659 --> 01:07:56.239
initial time log revealed a very busy life, as

01:07:56.239 --> 01:07:59.440
expected. Around 46 work hours, nearly 9 hours

01:07:59.440 --> 01:08:01.739
sleep per night on average, which is good, 7

01:08:01.739 --> 01:08:04.559
hours of exercise. But surprisingly, only about

01:08:04.559 --> 01:08:07.679
4 .5 hours per week spent in primary child care

01:08:07.679 --> 01:08:09.719
activity, although obviously much more time was

01:08:09.719 --> 01:08:12.199
spent around her daughter. So the focused interaction

01:08:12.199 --> 01:08:15.630
time was quite low. It seemed so. Some suggestions

01:08:15.630 --> 01:08:18.069
made for her included deliberately not fixing

01:08:18.069 --> 01:08:20.409
a broken television, which naturally led to more

01:08:20.409 --> 01:08:23.149
reading and exercise time, intentionally carving

01:08:23.149 --> 01:08:25.609
out some early morning mommy -and -me time before

01:08:25.609 --> 01:08:28.750
the workday rush, like getting up at 6 .15 a

01:08:28.750 --> 01:08:30.890
.m. to have nearly two focused hours with her

01:08:30.890 --> 01:08:33.229
daughter before heading to the office and exploring

01:08:33.229 --> 01:08:36.699
online grocery shopping to save time. The results.

01:08:37.380 --> 01:08:39.520
She reported successfully starting to cook proper

01:08:39.520 --> 01:08:42.340
home dinners twice a week, feeling she was prioritizing

01:08:42.340 --> 01:08:44.560
quality mother -daughter time better by being

01:08:44.560 --> 01:08:47.220
more present during the day, which included adopting

01:08:47.220 --> 01:08:49.899
that commute meditation practice, and generally

01:08:49.899 --> 01:08:52.039
feeling less frantic. It was about intentional

01:08:52.039 --> 01:08:54.859
presence and small strategic shifts, not finding

01:08:54.859 --> 01:08:57.239
huge extra blocks of time. Being present, that

01:08:57.239 --> 01:08:59.659
seems key. Another example. Then there's Brian

01:08:59.659 --> 01:09:02.399
Brandt. He was an executive pastor, also a coach,

01:09:02.760 --> 01:09:05.630
and a father of three children. He felt his demanding

01:09:05.630 --> 01:09:08.090
schedule left very little time for personal prayer

01:09:08.090 --> 01:09:10.770
and reflection and for nurturing his marriage

01:09:10.770 --> 01:09:13.430
Suggestions for Brian included making a conscious

01:09:13.430 --> 01:09:16.710
effort to focus during time with his wife Specifically

01:09:16.710 --> 01:09:19.409
turning off the TV and dedicating just 30 minutes

01:09:19.409 --> 01:09:22.449
to real conversation each evening Also making

01:09:22.449 --> 01:09:24.789
proactive short phone calls to her during travel

01:09:24.789 --> 01:09:27.590
time instead of just listening to the radio at

01:09:27.590 --> 01:09:30.789
work setting strict end times for meetings and

01:09:30.789 --> 01:09:32.970
actively blocking out time in his calendar for

01:09:32.970 --> 01:09:35.529
specific important projects. What were his results?

01:09:36.109 --> 01:09:38.310
He reported finding he was praying more by integrating

01:09:38.310 --> 01:09:40.449
it into daily routines like showering or mowing

01:09:40.449 --> 01:09:42.930
the lawn. He made more intentional calls to his

01:09:42.930 --> 01:09:45.270
wife. He saw a big difference in meeting efficiency

01:09:45.270 --> 01:09:48.930
at work without diluting the quality. And significantly,

01:09:49.369 --> 01:09:51.430
he finally found time to read books again by

01:09:51.430 --> 01:09:53.770
consciously shifting away from watching TV or

01:09:53.770 --> 01:09:56.220
checking emails late at night. Again, relatively

01:09:56.220 --> 01:09:58.659
small shifts in habit leading to noticeable improvements

01:09:58.659 --> 01:10:01.420
in areas he valued. Small shifts. Big impact.

01:10:01.659 --> 01:10:04.300
One more. Let's take Andrew Riley. He was the

01:10:04.300 --> 01:10:06.859
single father of three young boys running his

01:10:06.859 --> 01:10:09.760
own web company from home. He described feeling

01:10:09.760 --> 01:10:12.520
constantly stressed, always working on at least

01:10:12.520 --> 01:10:15.479
two things at once, which led to frequent interruptions

01:10:15.479 --> 01:10:18.239
from his children and frustration for everyone.

01:10:19.420 --> 01:10:21.560
The suggestions for Andrew focused on creating

01:10:21.560 --> 01:10:24.750
distinct concentrated blocks of quiet work time,

01:10:25.250 --> 01:10:27.350
perhaps utilizing after school programs for a

01:10:27.350 --> 01:10:29.869
couple of hours, or simply asking the children

01:10:29.869 --> 01:10:32.069
to play quietly in their rooms during specific

01:10:32.069 --> 01:10:35.399
afternoon periods and then Crucially, completely

01:10:35.399 --> 01:10:37.659
shutting down all work devices for dedicated,

01:10:38.020 --> 01:10:40.159
focused, undistracted time with his kids in the

01:10:40.159 --> 01:10:42.460
evenings or on weekends. Separating work and

01:10:42.460 --> 01:10:44.920
family time more clearly. Exactly. The results.

01:10:45.520 --> 01:10:47.859
By intentionally not multitasking during his

01:10:47.859 --> 01:10:49.899
dedicated family time, he reported experiencing

01:10:49.899 --> 01:10:52.479
significantly less stress himself and enjoying

01:10:52.479 --> 01:10:54.760
much more high quality positive interactions

01:10:54.760 --> 01:10:57.899
with his sons. It proved that focused Even if

01:10:57.899 --> 01:10:59.899
shorter blocks of time can be far more effective

01:10:59.899 --> 01:11:02.500
and rewarding, then longer periods where attention

01:11:02.500 --> 01:11:05.380
is constantly divided and blurred. Focus is powerful.

01:11:05.659 --> 01:11:07.680
These examples really bring it home. They do.

01:11:07.960 --> 01:11:09.979
And they also underscore that no one's schedule

01:11:09.979 --> 01:11:12.520
remains perfectly typical or optimized from one

01:11:12.520 --> 01:11:15.699
week to the next. Life happens. Managing your

01:11:15.699 --> 01:11:19.060
168 hours is an ongoing project. It requires

01:11:19.060 --> 01:11:22.439
continuous evaluation, adaptation, and that recurring

01:11:22.439 --> 01:11:25.489
theme of intentionality. The goal isn't to achieve

01:11:25.489 --> 01:11:28.550
some mythical state of perfect, rigid control,

01:11:28.810 --> 01:11:31.149
but rather to strive for continuous improvement

01:11:31.149 --> 01:11:33.609
and ever closer alignment between how you spend

01:11:33.609 --> 01:11:36.270
your time and what you truly value. It's about

01:11:36.270 --> 01:11:38.989
being flexible and responsive to life's inevitable

01:11:38.989 --> 01:11:41.449
shifting demands while still holding firm to

01:11:41.449 --> 01:11:43.510
your core priorities. That's a really important

01:11:43.510 --> 01:11:46.029
perspective. It's a dynamic process, not a static

01:11:46.029 --> 01:11:48.489
solution. I think perhaps the biggest takeaway

01:11:48.489 --> 01:11:50.890
from all of this for any professional listening,

01:11:50.989 --> 01:11:53.350
any parent, really any individual seeking more

01:11:53.289 --> 01:11:55.489
fulfillment from their days is the empowering

01:11:55.489 --> 01:11:57.329
message that you truly do have more time than

01:11:57.329 --> 01:11:59.909
you probably think. And the power to align your

01:11:59.909 --> 01:12:02.130
168 hours with your deepest values, your most

01:12:02.130 --> 01:12:04.609
important goals, your biggest aspirations, that

01:12:04.609 --> 01:12:07.569
power lies firmly within your grasp. It's a profound

01:12:07.569 --> 01:12:10.430
and hopefully motivating realization. It can't

01:12:10.430 --> 01:12:12.840
be truly liberating once you grasp it. So, we've

01:12:12.840 --> 01:12:15.840
explored the surprising reality of your 168 hours

01:12:15.840 --> 01:12:18.300
and hopefully provided a robust framework and

01:12:18.300 --> 01:12:20.239
practical strategies for harnessing them towards

01:12:20.239 --> 01:12:23.539
a life of genuine intentional living. This deep

01:12:23.539 --> 01:12:25.899
dive has aimed to offer a different lens for

01:12:25.899 --> 01:12:28.199
viewing your week not as a fixed burden to be

01:12:28.199 --> 01:12:31.300
endured, but as a rich canvas full of potential

01:12:31.300 --> 01:12:33.619
for achieving a life that truly reflects your

01:12:33.619 --> 01:12:37.319
priorities. Indeed. And perhaps a final, provocative

01:12:37.319 --> 01:12:39.140
thought for you, our listener, to carry forward

01:12:39.140 --> 01:12:42.390
and reflect upon this week. If you were to approach

01:12:42.390 --> 01:12:45.989
your next 168 hours as a completely blank slate

01:12:45.989 --> 01:12:48.729
armed with this newfound clarity, what would

01:12:48.729 --> 01:12:51.430
be the single most impactful core competency

01:12:51.430 --> 01:12:53.510
you would commit to dedicating significantly

01:12:53.510 --> 01:12:56.270
more time and energy towards? And conversely,

01:12:56.630 --> 01:12:59.270
what single non -core activity that currently

01:12:59.270 --> 01:13:01.630
drains your time or energy would you ruthlessly

01:13:01.630 --> 01:13:04.069
eliminate, minimize, or outsource starting today?

01:13:04.439 --> 01:13:06.699
A brilliant challenge to leave us with. Thank

01:13:06.699 --> 01:13:08.420
you so much for guiding us through this truly

01:13:08.420 --> 01:13:10.920
fascinating and incredibly actionable exploration

01:13:10.920 --> 01:13:13.199
of time and intentionality. Your insights have

01:13:13.199 --> 01:13:15.180
been absolutely invaluable. It's been my pleasure.

01:13:15.279 --> 01:13:17.539
It's a topic I'm passionate about. If you found

01:13:17.539 --> 01:13:20.279
this deep dive valuable, please do consider rating

01:13:20.279 --> 01:13:22.439
and sharing our show with colleagues or friends

01:13:22.439 --> 01:13:25.039
who might also benefit. Your support helps more

01:13:25.039 --> 01:13:27.319
people discover how to unlock the potential within

01:13:27.319 --> 01:13:30.140
their own 168 hours and truly live a life by

01:13:30.140 --> 01:13:31.859
design. Until next time.