Discussing Travel, Self-Love, and Time Management
Host: Eric Chow · Guest: Annie Lai · August 22, 2019 · Episode 4 · 45 minutes
Transcribed from the episode audio and edited for names and terms. Speaker labels are assigned automatically and can occasionally place a line with the wrong speaker; the episode itself is the record.
Eric Chow
What is up everybody? Welcome back to the Eric Chow Empowers Podcast in this episode I sat down my good friend Annie Lai to discuss a variety of topics. We begin by sharing some experiences and lessons learned from traveling including self-confidence and self-love among several other things. We talk about how we sometimes get caught up in dealing with the little things and we complain instead of spending our time doing the things that really matter to us. We share two amazing ideas. Annie shares the five seconds rule to action and I share the $86,400 a day analogy and then we move on to time management, uh, sing up a task system including a calendar, scheduling breaks, bulking work, and understanding work patterns.
There is a lot of practical advice in this episode that I hope you will be able to apply in your life. It was really fun to sit down with Annie and chat with her and get some tips from her experiences and combine them with my own. And I hope that it brings you guys value because I know it did for me. Without further ado, this is episode four. Enjoy. Okay, so you said you've been on a kick lately. Okay, so... Oh my gosh, where'd I even start? So I just got back from New York. I was at a conference at NYU for this lab that I work at.
Annie Lai
It's like the UCSB Music Cognition Lab. And we basically just researched how people narratively interpret music and how it affects them emotionally, mentally, physically, how they have responses to it based off of certain, like... Musical techniques or things like that and also how cultural context influences music perception It's music conditions like everything under the sun. So basically this is my first time going to an academic conference And then it was awesome like I was in New York my school paid for it. I got to eat so much food Wait, they paid for the food too. Yes. Oh my god. Love free things love for ever.
Hell yes, so um Basically this is my first thing in New York And this is my first time like kind of traveling on my own doing whatever I want like the conference was the first half of the weekend I was just chilling I was running around New York. I literally like wore down the soles of my band Cuz I walked around the city so much and the subway is so cheap. It's like it's not charged by dissiling bar It's only 275 per trip. You know where we want like oh my god. It's amazing I have just felt so free and then like just the whole time I was just like super happy and I was like oh my god like this is the place I need to be here like for a longer time than a week.
It's just like everyone I met there I met people all over the world at the conference like they see them from Hong Kong see them from Paris there's people from like Sydney I met people from India like it was incredible and they're just like all these like Different culture like cultural context that just came together and then we're all setting the same thing But we interpreted in different ways. I thought that was so cool and it's like one of the things I'm turning 20 in February Okay, that's terrifying One of my things is like as I'm going into my 20s, which makes you sound so old.
Eric Chow
Oh my god. It just feels like so adults.
Annie Lai
Yeah, I have a car loan and a student loan. Yeah. Yeah, it was not fun. No, basically my goal is to make my 20s traveling 20s. So every school break I have, I'm going to travel somewhere, whether it's like out of the country or like across the United States, they're just gonna road trip with my friends or something like I'm gonna go see a different part of the world. Because I feel like a really big part of the human experience is just getting cultured, going places, definitely at a comfort zone, meeting new people, trying all these new things. Like, if you stay in the same place forever, you're never gonna grow.
Totally agree. So that's like my, that's my kick. Like ever since I'm out from New York, I see so much like potential in myself and other places. Like, I'm gonna go there and figure it out. Especially like while I'm still in school. I don't have to like me tie down to like my work commitments true or like I don't have a family yet Or like I don't know how's yet like things like this like I'm not tethered to anything really a second. Just kind of go wherever I want. Yeah Yeah, I just feel so inspired like everyone's like me or just like the city of dreams new guys where you find yourself I found myself Eric I found myself and I have to go back like I want to go back energy of the city is amazing.
I've never felt like A city has encompassed me as a person so well. Like, very long as in my home. I work at San Francisco like a ball of time. I started to think like, ooh, maybe San Francisco's my city, but this is letting people my age. Watching New York, boom, there it is, people my age. I feel like, oh my God, it just feels like me, it just feels like me, it's so much music everywhere, this is much art, this is so much like cheap food, so much ice cream. Me. Me. All in. Yeah. I just, yeah, that's my kick. So I feel like...
Before you go on a crazy journey to find yourself You have to like yourself first You can't focus on other things if you're at war with yourself Definitely like I do not think I would have been able to go on this trip like a year ago I did not like myself as much a year ago as I do now and then going on that trip helped me realize like hey I have a bad bitch. I'm really cool. Like oh yeah accomplished I'm capable of doing awesome things. A year ago was not in that mindset. So I would not have been able to enjoy the trip as much as I did.
I would not have been able to meet other people. I met so many strangers in New York that were super friendly. And like, oh my god, a year ago, I like on the subway. I'm like, oh my god, I just think I look stupid. Like, I'm wearing stupid shoes. My eyelashes like dumb. My eyebrows look like sharpies. It was just, yeah, I worried too much about myself to be able to focus on cultivating relationships with other people. That was a huge thing. Oh my god. Yeah, that's definitely huge. That's definitely huge. For the most people who even realize it either, it's like most of your self-hate is like being caused by yourself.
Other people are not nearly as critical as... Oh yeah, you were so much more critical. Oh yeah, there's a thing called negativity bias that I learned in my communication class. It's just like... You think everyone else is more negative than you are and you're like, oh yeah, I'm chilling. We're good. But then everyone else is so negative. Super dark, super gloomy. Like, but you realize like you're the one who's negative. You're just projecting your negativity to other people. Yeah. Yeah. That was an interesting part of my communication class in spring. Um, I just, yeah, if you don't like yourself, you can enjoy. being with yourself. Yeah, that's super true.
Eric Chow
You know what I want to do? I want to travel on my own. Like just complete solo. It's amazing. I want to go like a foreign country and stuff. It's amazing. Like I really want to do it. Unfortunately, I don't have the fight ads. That is okay. But at some point I really want to go to like a foreign country.
Annie Lai
You're going to go find me. Oh, don't into your go fund me.
Eric Chow
Yeah, that's actually a pretty good idea. Yeah. That's a pretty good idea. I got my passport set to go.
Annie Lai
Perfect. I'm done. Like I'm... I mean, I'm sure like this has like scholarships and grants you can apply for that.
Eric Chow
I just need to pick a country. That's too many countries. Singapore. Singapore. Oh, that would be good.
Annie Lai
Oh, that would be good. Those are two of the best I want to go before I die. Yo, my list of places I want to go to go. Greece. Oh, yeah, 100%. Japan. Yes. I have to go to Taiwan like 15 more times.
Eric Chow
Love Taiwan. My list is so long. It's ridiculous. You know there's 196 countries, it's crazy. In the world? Wow. If I touch like 40, I'll be like, oh my god, I'm amazing. That's okay. Forget 196. No, but I think you're absolutely right. Like if you, I mean you can definitely like this one level where you can just like go to a place and you just like... We're at while these people looking at me. They must be judging me right now and then there's totally not the level we're just like enjoying yourself You're enjoying the place you're cultivating new relationships. I mean, you know like Let's see when I was in Last summer I was in Italy and we had this tour group a giant tour group and I mean I was talking with everybody like it was great like those these people from like Bermuda.
I think I'm pretty sure they were talking about Bermuda like triangle levels, but I don't even I don't know they were amazing. They were dope people. It was awesome. I met some people from What's that Montreal no Canada? Yeah, Canada. It was like I don't think I was like Quebec maybe might have been Quebec Yeah, anyway like that area of Canada like they were amazing I met this family two families from Australia like we were chatting like it was incredible. I'm still in contact with a like a chatting person though.
Annie Lai
That's true. I feel like it's very approachable. You're very conversational. It's easy for you to strike up conversations with these random people.
Eric Chow
That's probably true. But I think that has to come a lot with like self confidence. Yeah. Yeah, because I mean if I wasn't as conversational, as self-confident. I want to just be sitting there and like with my friends. Literally like, or chatting with my sister.
Annie Lai
I'm a serious little teenager and a family vacation.
Eric Chow
Literally. Literally. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so it was really funny because like, okay, so we got everybody got on a bus and we're like going somewhere. And first, right? No, like it was like everybody was talking with who they knew. Like I wasn't even chatting. I fell asleep. Gone. Gone. But we went to that first area. We toured the city. We got back into the bus. I was chatting with my sister. I was held aloud. I was chatting with this girl, a random girl behind me. No idea who she was at that point. Like, this is incredible. My mom's chatting. Like, it's ridiculous.
Annie Lai
It's crazy. This summer after fifth grade, I went on a trip to Canada without parents. It was like the thing for like... I was super overachieving even in the fifth grade, okay?
Eric Chow
So I joined the talk about people to people student ambassadors, apparently like Reagan endorsed or something. Yeah, like I got like a medal from the White House or something from being part of this. I was a fifth grader, I didn't even matter. Like, no kids, you got a medal from the White House.
Annie Lai
Come on. Like, it was just like people to people student ambassadors and just like a small group of kids. like fifth grade age, they have like different grade programs and then like a group of kids goes to somewhere else and then a group from like place B comes back to like the United States. So we went to like Canada and went to like Northwestern Canada and stuff and it's like Victoria, Vancouver. Oh my god, I remember the names. This is so long ago. But like where it was pretty cold and then like a group of Canadian kids came to like San Francisco area. And so we're just learning about the culture. We say tepees and stuff. I buffalo meat.
Eric Chow
I went to a glacier and drank glacier water.
Annie Lai
That's awesome. I love the ones. We did like high tea or something at some fancy hotel. What was the point of me talking about this? Oh, I traveled with my parents. Yeah, I want to do that. I started traveling on my own without my parents in the fifth grade. And then so like the summer after that trip. No, I think it was the same summer just come months after in the same like span of summer time. Yeah, I flew to China by myself Yeah, and then so like my dad lives in China So I went to like stay with him and stuff there and then I flew for China to Taiwan by myself And then I flew from Taiwan back to the United States by myself. Amazing. Yeah, I Was in fifth grade like who thinks like it's okay to sit in fifth grade on a plane by themselves.
Eric Chow
Yeah, sometimes I'm on trips that I'm just like this kid is definitely alone.
Annie Lai
I got to sit in first class I paid for an economy ticket, but the phone was going to be like me, so they first bought me the business, and then towards the second half of the flight, hey, hey, do you want to sit in the first class? I was like, hey! So I figured I was bawling on a budget. Hell yeah! Yeah, and I mean I didn't like... Traveled China and Taiwan by myself but like flying there by myself was like the first step. Yeah, of course I was really lucky like I don't think many parents were willing to do it with their kids. Yeah, I'm not gonna pay for like three people's tickets just to send you So expensive $16 flight of whatever it is.
Yeah, it's not gonna pay for that So she just sent me on that and then after that I just definitely like in second grade I did like a sleepwave girl. So I can't I lived away from home for like two weeks in the woods of Santa Cruz step on a couple bananas slugs Hell yeah. That would be, you know. Yeah, I did that and then I just kept traveling on my own. Like most of my traveling has been by myself. Amazing. Throughout like the course of my short life so far. Yeah. What have you gotten from that? Oh my God, so much. I like traveling myself more honestly because you know how parents are super like.
Yeah. Neurotic and like nervous. I was like, do you have this? What do you have this? And then we'd be like six kinds of jackets, like 18 water bottles, three bottles of sunscreen. Like, I don't need all this. Absolutely do not. Like traveling on your own, like, I learned how they were independent. I like had better time management. It's like plans going to leave without you if you're not there. Like, so I suck. And like being frugal because airport stuff is so expensive and it's like. Having to think ahead like can I bring this like is this the right size like do I really need to bring this much of this?
Yeah, like everyone over packs and then like pack properly Yeah, and then Learning like how to distinguish between do I really need to buy this tourist to souvenir? Like can this other small things still substitute for like the intention of buying this like souvenir souvenir?
Eric Chow
Yeah, and then I think just like learning to go with the flow not freaking out like oh I missed my bus I can't go to this attraction that I planned on my itinerary my seven-item itinerary literally yeah yeah when I was in New York I'd like never planned anything for the day I was just like in the morning I was like we're not gonna go today okay we'll take how do I get to the map like yeah I just did it and then I just walked I just like literally spent like five hours in the Met with a stranger I was just like making fun of all the art in the Met which is so uncultured you know I'm talking about culture so uncultured but like yeah I just that was my day that day And just yeah, okay, how about the beating the strangers part?
So how do you do that? How did you end up doing that? Oh god, this is probably so bad. I used Tinder. Love it. I love this.
Annie Lai
I feel like my Tinder experiences are not dating experiences for the most part. It's fine. I'm just meeting people.
Eric Chow
I'm so sorry, mom. Your mom bought this. It's great. If you want, I can cut it.
Annie Lai
No, it's okay. You put it in. A little sandering. But I just feel like dating people on Tinder is weird, but most people on Tinder are not ill-intentioned. I've made a bunch of friends through, not a bunch. Not a bunch. I have made some friends through Tinder that I still keep in touch with. And cool, my first time I went to the Met with, we only hung out for that five hours that day. But then we took the subway together, he was from the neighborhood of my Airbnb was in. We have a lot of movies and TV show tastes in common. We listened to similar music.
We had the whole Apple music versus Spotify debate. We basically became really good friends. We still talk now. It's been like two weeks and a half since I got back from New York. We still send each other's songs and stuff. And then sometimes I don't know, like approaching strangers. It's not so much like I'm afraid, but I don't want to freak them out. So then I don't really tend to talk to Shrink but if there is like, one thing I try to do every day is like find a stranger to compliment. It's like I like your shoes or I really like your earrings. I like your earrings is the easiest one to do because it's just like your cashier.
You're just looking like I like your earrings. I'm like, oh thanks. Like easy. Or like I like your shirt or like, oh my gosh, your back work is so cool. Like I like the pins where you get that pin. Like. That kind of stuff. Love it. That is my way to talk to strangers about being a complete creep. We're like, your kid is so cute. That's my favorite one. Like, when our people have babies in the subway or on the bus, your kid is so cute. I love your kid. I hope your kid is a good day. Like, I do that all the time. When I was in Washington Square Park.
There's a dad he was just like pushing his little son on a stroller and then they like kind of park the stroller next to me and then I kept looking at the kid and he kept looking at me and the dad there and he's like, all right Gabriel, what do you say to pretty girls? And then the good little baby's like, hey baby doll. Oh my god. Me? I like the whole day. I love that kid. The kid is so cute. That is so awesome. I hope he has a good day today.
Eric Chow
That is so awesome. Yeah. Yeah, those are really great. That's probably way better than what I'd used to do. I okay, so every stranger I've met on a trip Okay, not every but almost all of them. I make fun of them Like like you're roasting them low. Yeah, like one roast, but that's it. Okay, and then I'm out Okay, like that's a you're so big and then just walk away No, like okay, so literally one of them was like okay She was waving her hand like this. The listeners won't even know what I'm talking about. When you're fanning yourself. When you're fanning yourself, it was really hot.
But I'm just like, okay, that's not gonna help. So I walked up to her and I was like, you know, I somehow don't think that's gonna help you very much.
Annie Lai
That was my first line. Was she in your travel group?
Eric Chow
Yeah. Okay, okay. That's how I started it. We ended up chatting for a while. It was great. It turned out great.
Annie Lai
I feel like that's not a very ill intentioned kind of thing.
Eric Chow
Right, you know, it's not like actually like be me.
Annie Lai
It's like damn, you look like a whale right now. I would cry. I would not want to talk to you.
Eric Chow
I would not even. So I think your strategy is much much better than mine. It's like, you know, putting a foot in the door versus punching a hole through the door. Yeah, I think I think listeners, if you're going to do that, do her strategy and not mine. I don't think mine is not a nothing. I'm lucky it's working out, but I think I need to switch. I think it's one way to do it. It is. There's multiple paths to get to the destination.
Annie Lai
One day I might get punched though. That would be a good story to open with for someone else. That would be a really good story. Hey, don't punch me but...
Eric Chow
I think that's the move. I think that's the move. That's what I'm gonna punch you though. Yeah, I don't think that's a I really want to do that I really I really think that's a good idea I met someone today So here's the lesson Yeah, that would be really bad Yeah, no, I don't think that's a move Okay, so so let's see so let me ask you this okay How do you live your life to better yourself? I feel like it's a huge problem. You can take it wherever you want. Okay. I feel like there's a lot of ways to go about this.
Annie Lai
But me personally, I'm a very impulsive person. I'm a very like fuck it, just do it person. And one of the things I've been working on this past year, I think since starting college is like trying to not be so sensitive and to just realize like this doesn't matter. I should not be spending time freaking out about this. like whether it's been like school getting bad grades or like dates not working out or like I kind of look a little fat today or like I'm just not having a good day and then like that whole thing just like spirals and then it's just like like once more thing like oh my god I spilled coffee in myself turns and like my whole day sucks my life is the worst I'm worth nothing I don't deserve a place on this earth I get very worked up very easily like my temper is very very like Mmm, I get mad so fast and I can also just like overreact really fast So I've been trying to just like realize okay, this doesn't matter as much You like have so many other things you need to do your energy your energy is only so limited You need to like spend your energy and other things versus working out about this super trivial Supermini school does not matter in five years kind of thing.
Yeah, and so I feel like being capable of Kind of taking a step back from the situation and realize like this is not benefiting me is one of the best ways to think like better just like better your life mindset I guess it's like if you spend so much time worrying about all the little things all the big things are gonna pass you by and then you won't realize until they're gone which is like such a such like a broad thing to say it's like very vague you can't pinpoint it but it's just like I feel like I spent so much time worrying about little things that like I didn't realize like this matters nothing to the big picture like at the end of the day like you either part of it or you're not and it's like how did you choose when you're time for that day like you have only 24 hours, you need to sleep, you need to eat, like you have like 16 hours to really do things and there's so many things you have to do but instead of accomplishing things and like getting a step ahead you probably like put yourself back by just complaining about everything and like being super negative and just beating yourself down and holding yourself down when no one else is trying to restrict you and then like it's different when like other people are kind of pulling you back and restricting you that's kind of out of your control and I feel like In that situation, you just kind of have to make the best of it, try to get out of it, like do your best to just do your best and not worry about what other people are doing.
But when you're kind of in full control of your own situation, like those people that just complain all the time about the situation and don't do anything to change it, one of my biggest pet peeves. Like man, if you just spent like 5% of the effort you're using to complain to create like Achieva solution right your life would be so much better you would be so much happier But you're instead choosing to put a hundred percent of your energy into just complaining. Yep. You're not accomplishing anything. Oh man He's so angry. It's like you have so much potential But you're just sitting here and complaining and wasting it.
What's the point like oh my god makes me so mad it's like Your life you could just be so much happier if you took a step back and Just made like took one step to get towards you like your ultimate goal like I have a friend in mandrel He's like super inspiring to me. He's like really just kind of gotten into something to really like healthy mindset And he's just like living his life to the way he wants like he's just going for it He has this thing called the five-second rule, which I think is great. It's just like you want something or you want to do something?
Within five seconds you have to make a move towards accomplishing that. You're gonna talk to somebody, okay, within five seconds start walking towards them. You don't have to figure out what to say, but you start walking towards them. Or it's like, oh, you want to get more educated on a subject, like you're curious about it, okay, within five seconds open, just have on Google and search it up. Like go to the library, find a book about it. I think that's great. Yeah, and it's just like, or he like, he's really into environmental science. So then he like got himself an injury, like he got himself a job in like the USC environmental science office this summer.
And like, that's not his major, he's just into it. He just did it because he likes it and he cares about it. And I think that's great. For music majors, one of the big things about being a system music major is just going for it. Asking the person, hey, do you have an open spot in your band? Hey, can I take a lesson with you? Hey, can I ask you about your research? Making the move to go accomplish something, even if you don't successfully do it. Maybe you kind of sidetracked and you go into a direction from what you intended, but at least you made the move.
And at least you're like practicing the discipline to better yourself and like go for what you want and not hold yourself back due to your own personal stubbornness.
Eric Chow
Yeah. Okay, so in the beginning you mentioned something which I like which you're very impulsive. And I think that's just self-awareness. And I think what's cool about that is since everyone's different, what you've learned about that may be different from someone else. And so I think it starts with being self-awareness. So like, okay, are you easy to get angry? Are you or what upsets you often? Things like that, I think are huge places for people to identify where they can start growing from. And then something else which you said, which was just like priorities and time. Like we all have the same 24 hours, huge.
I was reading something yesterday and it was by Gary Vaynerchuk and he said, It's not about how much you sleep. It's not about the time you wake up. It's not about any of that. It's what you do while you're awake and I love what you were saying like how are you gonna spend your time like why waste it? We all have I mean, here's here's a nice little analogy someone said imagine you woke up every day and you got eighty six thousand four hundred dollars deposited in your bank account and at the end of the day all of it's gone So you have to spend it you can spend it you can invest it in something you can you have to put it to something or it's gone Yeah, okay So 86,000 $400 and then it's gone at the end of the day and then the next day you get a brand new 86,000 $400 a specific number That's because it has a specific purpose.
So obviously we don't get that in the bank account which would be really nice. Oh my god, you can plug this ever happened. Oh my god, yes, student loans, gone, whole semester college, gone, traveling, gone, the carpet, all of it gone. Like that would be amazing. We don't get that, but what we do get is 86,400 seconds.
Annie Lai
In a day? In a day. I love that. So it's a dollar a second.
Eric Chow
Yeah. Okay. Unfortunately, it's not as cool as a dollar, but you know, whatever. We lose it every single day. We don't get time back like with money, right? We can always go and earn more money. Yeah, but with time it gone. Yeah, so there you go. I like that money is cyclical time is linear Yeah, so we have to spend time doing what we want to spend like all like you were saying like obviously sometimes you have to spend time doing things we don't really want to do You have to do chores, we have to take care of financials. Running errands. Running errands, yeah.
Annie Lai
Like there's tons of things we have to do. Wait to the DMV? That sucks. I hate the DMV.
Eric Chow
DMV's trash. Everyone that works then looks like they want to die.
Annie Lai
They look too tired to die, that's what they were like.
Eric Chow
But like we can also, I mean we still have tons of time in the day. How do you want to spend it? You can choose how you want to spend it. Why not pick something that's going to make you happier, make you more productive, maybe be something that you're curious about? Yeah, absolutely. And then, uh, let's see. And then when you were talking about the five second rule, oftentimes for me, I know this to be true for me, when I'm scared of something, it takes a few minutes or not minutes, but like a few moments for me to be like, okay, no, I'm not going to do that.
So like I'll realize like, oh, that's a great idea. Few moments later, I'm like, you know, why would you think that that's a horrible idea? I've been in that situation many times. So many times, right? Yeah, and it like sometimes like a big thing sometimes it's like that tiniest like it doesn't even matter sort of thing But I love that five second rule because it's just before your fear can kick in before your doubt can kick in just go and do it and obviously like Not always like if you're in the middle of something you're not just gonna yeah dip and like go do that.
You should do that. You can't forget the rest of the priorities right you gotta you gotta prioritize but You know if you have the chance like before you have the chance to doubt yourself Because you know instead of wasting like willpower or anything trying to face your fear just go and do it and then afterwards you're gonna show like I was a hundred percent gonna be scared of that But no, look, that turned out amazing. Or, you know, it didn't turn out amazing. But, you know what? That was a nice moment. You learned from it. You faced your fear. It's amazing. Yeah, I absolutely love that rule.
I think I should probably try applying that. And then the other one was complaining. This one's funny because I complain a lot. Me too. I'm such a whiner. Oh my God.
Annie Lai
God damn it. I feel bad for some of my friends sometimes and I'm really upset about something. Just go off about it. Yeah. I'm sorry.
Eric Chow
But it's cool because we still do something about it. Like we're not wasting. Like even though like for example I complained to my parents a lot whenever they're like oh go do this. I'm like oh my god really right now like damn it.
Annie Lai
Why? I'm almost like so you want to move out? You want to start doing that? I'm like okay I'm sorry I'm sorry. Okay, yeah, she has it done that to be thank goodness I'm gonna start trying to a cleaning fee fee room. Oh God messy and if you continue this level with mess you're gonna start paying rent Yeah, thank you Thank you, I love you
Eric Chow
What's I saying? So yeah complaining but even though like I'll complain all the time especially to my mom I'm still gonna do it. Yeah, I might do it with like ah dang it But I'm gonna do it. Yeah, I'm gonna take care of it because I know that if I just spend time complaining I'm gonna what I'm gonna get more yelling at me Yeah, which sucks But also I'm wasting more time. Usually when my mom's asking me to do something, it's not that hard.
Annie Lai
Taking out the trash takes like five seconds. It takes like at least 15 seconds. You're bright.
Eric Chow
Yeah. And it's like, yes, it sucks. Yes, I'm in the middle of something. Sure. But why not just take care of it? Get it done and then spend the rest of my time doing something. Exactly. Get her off my back for a little bit.
Annie Lai
And then do my thing. Oh my gosh, like complaining takes like three times the amount of time it usually takes to do the thing you're complaining about.
Eric Chow
Right, and it's not even from just small things. Like if you're complaining about a big thing, like if you if you spilled something on yourself, you can spend like 15 minutes complaining. Just clean it up and move on with your life. Like it's done. It's in the past. You can't change anything. Maybe you can tell yourself, OK, maybe a little more careful on this next time or something. And then just move on. Get out. You have 86,400. I think it's 400. I'm already forgetting. 400 seconds. Why waste anymore on things that don't really matter? OK, time management was another topic we can talk about. OK.
Because, I mean, it's like we were saying, 86,400. We have to manage our time really well. Yeah, so let's talk about that Okay first I'm I managed my time.
Annie Lai
Okay, so I keep a really really precise calendar not so much during the summer But definitely in school like I have my calendar with all my classes all my sections if I'm gonna like take a nap I put the time in studying for the time in I'm on the publicity chair for like UCSB's Taiwanese organization. We have meetings so put the time in going to the gym Even meals, like if my friends want to get food, I'll be like, oh yeah, I have like one day at six, do you want to get dinner? I can't just really let's get food right now, usually. And then I just plot everything out.
Like, it's really bad. Like, spring quarter, I was taking like 23 units, I had like three jobs, and it just took so much time. Like, I, oh my God, I would have forgotten everything I didn't have calendar, and then like, I put in like, I count for travel time, and it's just like, I always look at my calendar the night before. just to see like, oh, what to naturally get, what I have to do tomorrow, like just like what do I have to pack and things like that. And then so all like I plan for things like weeks in advance, like essentially during school like oh my gosh, it's okay.
I'm free three Saturdays from now. Cause it's just like I'm so busy all the time. And then oh my gosh, it's so draining sometimes. But then I think I would be more drained if I didn't stick to my calendar religiously. And then I use the reminders app. for like things I'm going to do is like, oh, take your medication or oh, I'm turning this essay. I love for my years. Yeah, and then I'll have it, like set alerts to remind me at certain times of the day. And then like there's this thing and like the reminder is up on my iPhone, like my iPhone. And then it's like, you can have it remind you daily at certain time.
And I just do that. Like for medication every day, I just click it off at like 9 p.m. It's just yeah, I love time management. Like I used to hate it in high school. I never kept the planner I would write in a fluctuitous like two days a week and then forget our every three weeks. I did do that. Like, but like now I just oh my gosh apple calendars has saved my life like I use it so much. It's terrible. I just I talk about all the time too.
Eric Chow
I think that's great. No, I think that's great.
Annie Lai
It makes me so happy. I'm gonna have a calendar, you know, but I do.
Eric Chow
If you have a schedule like that you need a calendar. Yeah, for me My calendar is not nearly that complicated because I just don't have that much on my plate at least not at the moment But usually like yeah, I'll put in like a couple events there like okay if I'm Doing something that's gonna block out a couple hours. I need to put him if I know that I'm it's in my calendar for sure because I never run double book, you know exactly.
Annie Lai
Yeah, exactly. Oh fuck. I realize I'm sorry like I kind of cancel. Like, who do another day? Like, it's the worst. I hate flaking on people.
Eric Chow
I can't do it either. So if I have something that's going to block out a couple hours, I'm putting it on the calendar. So for example, all my podcast recordings, all in my calendar, every single one. I also have a to-do list. I use a map on my phone for the to-do list. So I'll put all my tasks. And so that's not scheduled because I don't have a specific time I'm going to do it, but it's all there laid out. So I never had a I never use the planner.
Annie Lai
I hate planners. I don't want your writing things.
Eric Chow
It's just typing in so much easier. Exactly. And then plus for me, I always I used apps that like sync everywhere. Me too. So I can access on my computer. I can access it on your phone if I want to. I can exactly. So, you know, I can cross off whatever I need to cross off if it's not going into my calendar. Love reminders. Oh my god. I'm so much Right everything like and then like it's funny too cuz like my mom will be like hey Eric. Can you do this? And I'll be like yeah, yeah, yeah, and uh remind me Yeah, I know me too.
Annie Lai
I was like who are you talking to? Oh, I'm just on my phone. It's just Siri mom. Oh, you're on your phone.
Eric Chow
We're not doing what I told you to do like so annoying, but yeah user reminders absolutely. Yeah I think one thing that I forgot exactly what was said, but our brains are not met. Okay. Oh, okay. Here's what it was. So internet came out and now we have way more information than we used to have. Our brains are not supposed to be storage systems. They're just not meant for that. But since the internet came out and like we started to have so much information flying at us, social media, life, everything. Using systems like calendars, file management, to-do lists are so great because instead of remembering everything, like you said, made us a mess.
Literally a mess. Oh my god! That's gonna be a great, great damn it. So like putting everything into a some sort of system so you no longer have to remind yourself about it so that something reminds you instead lets you focus on other things. and it's so helpful. Sometimes I'll be like, it's really funny because sometimes I waste my time. So like I'll put it in my to-do list, I'll have it on a whiteboard. I also have a whiteboard in my room, so sometimes if I don't put in my to-do list, like if it's a really small task, I'll just write it on my whiteboard or like on a note in my desk.
And then it'll be really funny because like I'll go through my day and I know it's there. Like I know it's in some system that I have. Yeah, but I'll be like thinking about like okay, so tomorrow I still need to do this and this and all I need to do is like grab my phone and like go tomorrow and like it's right there like it's right in front of me I'll be like what do I have to do tomorrow like what am I what's okay? So I have that tomorrow at noon and then I have that and I'm like just check your day system, but Yeah, I think having everything in the system is great. Yeah What else on time management for you
Annie Lai
I think it's just like having the self-control to realize like if I'm doing something I like taking a nap like Bending YouTube like oh yeah, I've been doing this like three hours. It's time to stop Yeah, I used to just be like no I'll start at 3 30. Oh, it's 3 29. Okay, maybe we'll do it 3 45. It's so bad I'm the worst but then lately it's just been like man like this is like weighing on me that I like I need to write this paper like it's a big part of my career and I cannot keep putting this off. So and then like it feels I just think about how I'm gonna feel after I do it like this weight is gonna be gone.
I'm gonna feel so much lighter. So just like getting to that feeling is my new motivation versus just like I just gotta get it done just gonna check it off like I don't care about checking it off. I don't want to feel like this. So just get it done so I don't have to feel like this stressed anymore. I just hate feeling like weighed down by things and this is actually when they're important and I just keep putting them off it just keeps like eating at me like day by day So I just the goal is just get things done. I didn't ever feel like things were weighing on me So now I'm like hyperactive.
I'm trying to get everything done as soon as possible Which is kind of annoying to some people. It's like oh my god. Why are you going to say for like three weeks in advance?
Eric Chow
I don't want to do it. I don't want to write this paper Veronica leave me alone Yeah Veronica's like hey excuse me One thing I do is I schedule, well I don't really religiously schedule it, but I usually have a good idea of what my brakes are. So I might be, so I might do like for example, I might have four days where in the week where I'm just like, I'm gonna work so hard, I'm gonna get everything done, I'm gonna take like maybe like an hour break, like I'm gonna make sure I rest, I get my, but I'm not gonna like really like say chill and watch YouTube for example or watch Netflix or whatever.
Four days work really hard. Three days, I'm not gonna do crap. I'm just gonna chill. I'm not gonna worry about anything I don't like I'm gonna just push it push it to the next day It's fine. So I'll schedule days like that sometimes I did that for a lot of this summer And then other times it'll be like yeah, actually like bulking days like that So I'll just have like also like with my content even like for the past few weeks It's just been like I'm a I pump I work on a lot of content for three four days And then I do nothing Literally nothing I would grind for the four days and then I can't do this.
Annie Lai
I'm burnt out. I think it's good strategy.
Eric Chow
Honestly, it's worked out well for me so far. It's like just bulking everything. Are you a long-term kind of worker?
Annie Lai
I know it's different kinds of work styles. Me personally, I have spontaneous bursts of energy. So I can work really well for like half an hour to an hour than I need to break. Like I can't do like the four hours of studying at once like it's too hard. Because I just start losing focus.
Eric Chow
Yeah. I think for me I'm probably more long-term. I'm the type of person who if I start something and I get into it I have to finish it. I'm not gonna Either that or like if it's a really long project, obviously I'm not gonna finish it, but I'll just be like, okay, I'm satisfied at this point. This is enough. This is plenty. I've done a lot today. I'm okay. So usually I'll be working for a while after I get started. Problem is getting started. Yeah. I know it's scheduling breaks. So I also do the days, but I also do with time of day as well.
So usually I'm gonna take my YouTube break or like net if I'm watching something that break is usually at night, okay, that's just cuz I don't know it just works really well for me I'll also tend to do my quote-unquote creative work That also happens in the evening or in the morning if I'm doing in the afternoon, it just I'm not really as I don't feel as creative If I have like a really Like if I have a lot of math to do, that also tends to be sort of morning, early afternoon sort of time. So like I- Can you math in the morning? If I have like a lot of assignments, that's what I'll do.
Oh my gosh. If it's only like one assignment, I can- I usually do it in the evening. But like, I don't know, first- like, well this is at least for this past year, senior year. Um, but I just try to figure out like times like that when I know I'm really good at something. Or I know like this is a good time for me to work on this. And that's all scheduled around that just to make myself a little bit more efficient.
Annie Lai
Okay. Yeah. I never thought about that timing and with my subjects or my topics to a certain time of day.
Eric Chow
And it's interesting because I didn't do that consciously. Like I just started doing it and then I found out that it works. And so I just stick with it. Yeah.
Annie Lai
Huh. I'll keep in mind. Yeah. Just I just do everything at night because like my class schedule I prefer for it to be like. I'll start like a 9 a.m. in the morning and then I'll end by 3 p.m. So the rest of like my days my time to work out right now. Yeah, I want to go to the gym like eat I'll cook or whatever and then like do laundry, run errands and also like studying whatever the library. Yeah, if it's like during the day it's like I couldn't be in class right now because who wants to go to class like eight at night like no one's to do that.
So I like try to just get all my like I try to get certain Trunks of things done so all classes done at once. Yeah, then all homework done at once. That's great. Like all errands done at once like I won't really kind of spread it out during the day Yeah, I just like get it done.
Eric Chow
Yeah, I do that too Yeah, I usually bulk all my schoolwork together. Mm-hmm Yeah, and then like my own person Yeah, especially like I booked my schoolwork and then my own Any personal projects that I want to work on which could be something like my content or it could be something just like reading a book whatever so I'll book those together as well Yeah, I like because I think separating that is really good because like my brain is thinking in a certain way and I want to switch it to something else just that just creates like It just doesn't work. I don't know there we go. I was thinking of an act. I was thinking of a term. I don't know. I don't know what I was trying to think.
Annie Lai
It means like a cognitive load is when you have too much like information being processed by one part of your brain and the resources are like just not enough to like understand everything so it causes like you know like a significant delay in reaction time where you just really can't comprehend it yeah.
Eric Chow
Talking to flow. I like this. I like this term. And I think with that tip it is a perfect time to end this episode. All right everybody thank you so much for listening to episode four of the podcast. Listen I had so much fun sitting down and chatting with Annie. for this episode and I hope that the tips and insights that we shared bring value to your life. Maybe it made you want to travel more. Maybe it will help you deal with the time wasters that happen. Maybe it will make you want to take action instead of complaining so much. Maybe it will help you manage your time by setting up a system for yourself.
Whatever your big takeaway is please do let me know I would love to know What you are going to use from this episode and I also would love to know your thoughts and the fact that we're even listening to this part right now meaning you listened through to the end Let me know that you've done so so I can thank you You can connect with me on social underscore chow Eric and you can also find any socials in the episode description Thank you so much for listening. Have a fantastic rest of the day.