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It is Flashcards Friday here at Math Science History, where we take big ideas and pack

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them into a small, powerful podcast. I'm Gabrielle Birchak. I have a background in science,

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math and journalism.  And today we are flipping through the math and the science behind one

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of life's biggest challenges, saving time. Because here's the truth. Time is the only

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thing you can't manufacture.  You can't clone it and you can't buy back. But before we begin,

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a quick word from my advertisers. So let's dig into a little math and a little science

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and a little bit of wisdom and see how we can help you save your most precious non-renewable

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resource.  Time. First, math teaches us to optimize. Optimization is a math concept.

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That's really just a lavish word for finding the best path with the least effort. Or as I

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sometimes call it, the path of least resistance. So, think of the shortest path problem in

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mathematics.  Usually it's an exercise that shows an object's displacement. We are given an exercise

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involving a triangle. In my exercise, it's a house, a light post and a tree.  A jogger walks

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out of his house and jogs to the light post, which is 300 feet north. He then jogs to the tree,

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which is 400 feet to the west. Then he decides he wants to jog straight back to the house instead

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of going all the way back to the lamppost and then the house, because that would be 700 feet.

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So, he jogs 500 feet southeast to the house and it's a perfect 3-4-5 triangle. Each of those

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distances is the object's displacement and that 500 feet is the shortest path from the tree back

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to his house. So, math in this case certainly teaches us that we can optimize our morning

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workouts.  The jogger took the path of least resistance, unless it was uphill. Okay, instead

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of tackling chores randomly, think about batching activities together by location, purpose or energy

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level. Parents get this one.  For example, you're out running errands, plan your route so you can

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make a circle, not a zigzag. If you're making dinner, double your recipes and freeze the extra

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to save time later. If you need to answer emails, dedicate one focused 30-minute block instead of

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answering every time one pings.  Saving time isn't about rushing. It's about working smarter, not

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harder, just like an efficient algorithm. Okay, flash card number two.  Science reminds us about

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energy management. Energy is a key player in both physics and everyday life. Science teaches us that

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energy can't be created or destroyed, only transferred.  Your personal energy works the same

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way. If you waste your time on distractions, low-value tasks and endless contemplation known

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as decision fatigue, you have less left for what really matters. And that's why scientists and

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productivity experts alike recommend the Pareto Principle.  It's also called the 80-20 rule and it

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says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. In other words, not all tasks are created

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equal. When you focus your efforts on the most impactful 20% of your endeavors, you can reach

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better results.  And you applied only 20% of concentrated energy. So focus on the few actions

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that create the biggest impact and ask yourself daily, what is the one thing I can do today

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that will make everything else easier or unnecessary? Managing your energy wisely is like

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tuning a machine. You operate more smoothly, powerfully and efficiently.  Okay, flashcard number

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three, real-life time-saving techniques. And so in this flashcard, I'll have three flashy flashcards

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because I want to share three time-saving techniques that you can use immediately. First,

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the two-minute rule.  If something takes less than two minutes to do, like replying to an email,

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putting a dish away or jotting down a note, do it immediately. This prevents small tasks from

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stacking up and overwhelming you later. Okay, here's another one, time blocking.  Just like a

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scientist books lab time or a podcaster sometimes books recording time because the construction

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outside won't stop. Block your calendar for focused work, for breaks and even for thinking.

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Treat it like an appointment you can't cancel.  It works. This builds a rhythm into your day

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and fights off distraction. All right, finally, habit stacking.  There's a really good book that

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I highly, highly recommend. And this is not a paid advertisement. It's called Atomic Habits

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by James Clear.  He explains habit stacking perfectly. He recommends pairing a new habit

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with an existing one to make it stick. For example, when you climb into bed, spend two minutes

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reviewing tomorrow's priorities.  It's a tiny new thing, but when you repeat it over time, it adds

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up to a lot of time saved. The concept behind this is that little habits stack up and eventually

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become a lifestyle of efficient living. So after you get that new habit down, you pick up another

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one like you exercise in the morning, say 20 minutes.  So now you have two habits stacked.

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Here's the fun part. When you combine the logic of math and the laws of science, you actually

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create a kind of personal time travel.  You are moving faster towards your goals. You are skipping

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unnecessary steps, and you are preserving energy for what really matters. Mathematicians, physicists,

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and inventors all use one secret weapon to make giant leaps forward.  They think about systems.

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When you treat your life like a system, something you can tweak, upgrade, and optimize, you create

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more time inside the same 24 hours. And since I love time travel and I really wish I had a

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time machine, I consider this process the closest to time travel we will ever get.  So for a quick

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recap, here are our three flashcards. One, math teaches us to optimize. Find the fastest, smartest path.

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Two, science reminds us to manage energy, not just minutes. And three, everyday techniques like the

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two-minute rule, time blocking, and habit stacking help turn theory into practice. When you combine

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math and science in daily life, you unlock the real magic of making time work for you.  Because

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time isn't just something we count, it's something we can craft. That, in and of itself, is time

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travel. I'm Gabrielle Birchak.  Thank you for listening to Math Science History. Here's to

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saving time and savoring every second you save. Until next time, carpe diem.