Dying To Ask

Fidgeting To Fitness With The NEAT Method

Can you fidget your way to fitness? You can if you're a NEAT person.

We're not talking about the organized type of neat. 

NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

It's the energy you burn when you're moving about the day and *not when you're in a purposeful workout at the gym.

It's things like walking to your car, folding the laundry, pacing on a phone call, taking the garbage cans out, and yes even fidgeting.

Those are the calories a lot of us aren't burning enough and they are crucial to weight management and longevity.

A Mayo Clinic study found people who sit at a job for six or more hours a day have a 35-40% increased risk of shorter lifespan.

You can offset that by moving more.

The key is being active in small spurts all day longer and not just an hour in a workout class.

On this Dying to Ask 

• How to figure out if you're not moving enough 
• And easy ways to burn more calories by simply living your life

Why Being Lazy Is A Good Thing

Move over, hustle culture. An Ivy League school says we're not lazy enough.

Yale University researchers studied stressed-out students. They discovered that a scheduled day of doing nothing had powerful health benefits. Read more about the study here.

Students reported improvements in mood, sleep, and anxiety almost immediately.

Love being productive? That's great.

But scheduling some downtime might make you happier, healthier and ultimately more motivated to get things done.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why laziness (in scheduled doses) could be a superpower
• And a 4-step plan to doing nothing

Stop Workplace Drama With These Powerful Phrases

Say this, not that. Knowing what to say in the heat of the moment is key to defusing workplace drama.

Karin Hurt and David Dye should know. They wrote the book on it.

Karin and David are leadership experts and the founders of Let's Grow Leaders. They surveyed 5,000 people in 45 countries to gauge the most common forms of workplace conflict.

The results aren't good. Workplace conflict is more complicated than ever before, thanks to an uncertain economy, remote work and a changing workforce.

"And so that is all of that really combines to make complex conflict cocktails," says David.

Karin Hurt and David Dye are the authors of "Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict."

It offers 300 phrases to diffuse everything from micromanagers to bullies to passive-aggressive types.

"Well, the first thing you do is don't call them passive-aggressive," says Karin. "One of the most important things that you can do there is to start with a connection, you know. So start, you know, making the human connection. 'You know, hey? I know we both want the same thing here.' And then you give the thing."

It's like having a script for difficult people. The advice works for a workplace and your personal life, too.

David says, "sometimes people will say, well, you can't script a whole conversation, can you? And no, you can't, because we're human beings and we're messy. But if we can open the door with connection by introducing clarity and getting curious about the other person's perspective, then we can land on a firm commitment that opens the door to a meaningful conversation."

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why workplace conflict is up
• What to say to bullies, micromanagers, and passive-aggressive types
• Why these phrases work so well
• How to avoid what Karin and David call a "conversation cocktail."
• How to tell a boss you're not happy with something without coming off as lazy or a whiner
• And how Karin and David found the perfect partnership in work and in real life

3 Ways To Make A Habit Stick

Have you ever kept up a streak? A mini streak is a great way to start a new habit.

A mini streak is a short period of time of intense focus on a behavior you hope to make a long-term habit. It's a bite sized commitment that can be easily attainable and perhaps inspire bigger, more meaningful change at a later date.

In this re-release of a "5 with Fitz," episode, we're looking at three ways to try out a habit mini streak.

Stop Procrastination With The Pomodoro Technique

Grab a timer and get ready to say goodbye to procrastination.

The Pomodoro Method is a data-backed way of getting stuff done.

The time management technique is named after Francesco Cirillo. He was an Italian student in the 1980s who struggled with procrastination.

Francisco had a tomato-shaped kitchen timer on his desk. Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato.

He set it for 25 minutes and committed to focusing on his work until the timer went off. Then he took a five-minute break.

Timing work and break intervals had a remarkable effect on his productivity and mood.

And the Pomodoro Technique was born.

It's easy to try and very effective with getting work, homework and even household chores done.

It's easy to try and very effective with getting work, homework and even household chores done.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How pomodoro intervals work
• Why this procrastination technique is effective
• What happened to Francisco Cirillo after he developed this time management method

Other places to listen

CLICK HERE to listen on iTunes
CLICK HERE to listen on Stitcher
CLICK HERE to listen on Spotify

Tracking Time With Laura Vanderkam

All I need is three more hours in the day and life would be great.  I've told myself that a million times.  

But Laura Vanderkam says it's not the number of hours in a day that's the problem. It's how you use them.  

This episode is a re-release of one of my favorite author experts to follow on social media. Vanderkam is a time and productivity expert. 

Vanderkam is the New York Times best-selling author of eight books on time management and host of the daily productivity podcast Before Breakfast.

Her books include "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast" and "168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think."

"We all have 24 hours in a day," she said. "And many of the things we think are happening in our lives are based mostly on impressions."

Vanderkam says the easiest way to unlock free time is to keep a time log of what you actually do in a day. Often, we think we're busier than we are and can change our relationship with the clock.  Vanderkam has tracked every minute of her day for years.  

"People track their time, and they tend to realize well, maybe I do have some free time. It's probably not as much as I want, but it's some. And then once you realize that you're like well, let's figure out ways to work with this," says Vanderkam.

In this Dying to Ask:

• Where we tend to waste the most time
• How to keep a time log
• Why Fridays are the best day to plan your next week
• What is "effortful fun" and why it's worth planning some

Mentioned in the episode:

Want to see our documentary 'Always Remember Your Name?'

• Watch in 4k on YouTube here.
• Watch on KCRA.com and see lots of web extras about the Bucci family here.

Working Out With Jonny Moseley And ChatGPT

Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley's workout secret? ChatGPT.

"You can be like hey, give me a give me a six week routine for getting ready for skiing that Olympic champion Hannah Kearney would do. And it just like spits out stuff that they used to have whole departments for at the U.S. Ski Team," says Moseley.

Moseley is a two-time Olympic freestyle skier who won gold in moguls at the 1998 Nagano Games.

He transitioned easily into a TV career. Decades later, he's still active in his sport and mentors the current team of mogulists hoping to podium at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Decades after winning gold, Jonny approaches health and fitness in a totally different way than he did as a pro athlete.

"I do like high-intensity stuff. But now I have to prioritize a lot of stuff. Like the yoga comes first. Otherwise, I pay for it!" Moseley said.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How the Olympic mindset still shapes Moseley's health and fitness views
• Why restorative and mobility exercises are critical as you age
• A funny, not funny story about an injury Jonny got shooting a promo for the U.S. Freestyle Championships
• And how to use ChatGPT to hack your health like an Olympian

 

Taking The Woo Out Of Wellness With Maryam Sharifzadeh

From burned out to fired up. Maryam Sharifzadeh takes the woo out of corporate wellness.

Maryam is a corporate wellness consultant.

Companies hire her to create and implement wellness strategies to improve employee mental and physical health. Healthy employees tend to be happier employees. Happier employees tend to clock in and be productive.

"There's a lot of good research coming out that when we feel good we do better. Our work is better. We're more productive. The research is out there," says Maryam.

Maryam founded a company called Office Yoga 10 years ago. That program went global and was used in more than 475 companies around the world including Amazon, Oracle and Twitter.

The pandemic changed everything. Employers are turning to wellness programs to reinvigorate staffers and build engagement.

But, it goes both ways. Taking advantage of wellness programs can energize an employee to better manage and enjoy their personal life too.

Maryam's latest company is ZaaS. It stands for Zen-as-a-Service.

And she's sharing some simple work wellness hacks that can make a day at the office feel like a day at the spa. Kidding. But, you will feel a mood and energy boost with just a few minutes of conscious stretching or focusing.

85% of American companies offer some kind of a wellness program. If you're not taking part, you're missing out.

Maryam is an entrepreneur and endurance athlete. She's the first woman and only the second person to swim around San Francisco. And she even swam across the English Channel.

She's done big things by focusing on little things that matter. And you can too.

On this Dying to Ask:

• The true cost of burnout
• The link between mental health and the bottom line
• The number one reason corporate wellness programs fail (heads-up bosses!)
• The two minute break you can take at work that will give you energy and improve your mood

Why you can't sleep

Springing forward got you down, or up? Check out this re-release of our episode with U.S. News & World Report sleep expert Julia Forbes.

Can't sleep? You're not alone but getting some good ZZZ's could be one hack away.

The U.S. News & World Report annual survey on sleep is out. Survey says: 75% of us are too stressed out to get a good night's sleep.

Julia Forbes is the magazine's sleep editor. She says there's a lot keeping us up.

"Life stressors. You have work. You have kids. There are big world events that are top of mind that we also cover in our sleep survey," says Julia.

Julia's journey to becoming an expert on all things sleep is fascinating. And, she reports getting nine hours of sleep a night so she practices what she preaches.

Bad sleep is linked to everything from health issues to mood problems.

That phrase "everything is better after a good night's sleep?" It's legit.

Want to increase productivity? You need to sleep.

Want to be in a better mood? You need to sleep.

Having issues with your partner? Try sleeping with or without that partner.

Sleep divorces are on the rise for the third year in a row and Julia says some sleep honesty can be great for relationships and she makes a great pitch for a sleep split.

"I'm not sleeping well, I don't think you are either. So here is something. We can try to fix that," says Julia.

On this Dying to Ask:

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• How Julia became a sleep expert
• A simple hack to get better sleep tonight
• Why mattresses matter and how to pick a good one
• A deep dive into the sleep divorce trend
• And advice for people like me who work non-traditional hours on how to feel better when nine hours isn't an option

5 Reasons Why You Need A Digital Sunset

Go to bed. Saying night-night to your devices at the same time every night could do wonders for your sleep and overall happiness.

It's called a digital sunset and the new trend is easy to try.

Start by setting an alert on your phone or iPad to remind you to wind down. That's your cue to put the phone or any other device away for the night.

The goal is to set it at the same time every night at least 30 minutes before you want to be in bed.

Next, start whatever bedtime ritual you need to relax and nod off.

Yes, it's just like putting a kid to bed.

And double yes, going through your *own routine can make a big impact in your life.

On this Dying to Ask:

5 reasons you should embrace a digital sunset and a plan to pull it off