Learn how to stay sane at work by taking a microvacation; an easy trick for building the best savings plan; and why sand is one of the most important materials in human civilization — and why we’re running out of it. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com — and learn about sand from author Vince Beiser — to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: To Stay Sane at Work, Try Taking Microvacations To Build the Best Savings Plan, Think of the Present Instead of the Future Pick up Vince Beiser’s book, “The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization,” on Amazon. It’s free with your Audible trial, and if you choose to make a purchase using this link, then Curiosity gets a share of the sale! If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please considersupporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! Learn about these topics and more onCuriosity.com, and download our5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable ourAlexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Learn how to stay sane at work by taking a microvacation; an easy trick for building the best savings plan; and why sand is one of the most important materials in human civilization — and why we’re running out of it.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com — and learn about sand from author Vince Beiser — to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Pick up Vince Beiser’s book, “The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization,” on Amazon. It’s free with your Audible trial, and if you choose to make a purchase using this link, then Curiosity gets a share of the sale!
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron!
Learn about these topics and more on Curiosity.com, and download our 5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable our Alexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/microvacations-why-sand-matters-and-why-were-running-out-of-it-w-vince-beiser-and-savings-plan-tricks
[MUSIC PLAYING] CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got three stories from curiositydotcom to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today, you'll learn how to stay sane at work by taking a micro vacation, an easy trick for building the best savings plan, and you'll learn from Author Vince Beiser why sand is one of the most important materials in human civilization and why we're running out of it.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity.
ASHLEY HAMER: Did you manage to get away from the office this summer? Because it's healthy to take a vacation from work. Don't feel like you missed your chance though, because we've got some advice from a time management coach that might help you use up those vacation days and stay sane at work.
CODY GOUGH: I like it.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yes. I feel like I need to take this advice.
CODY GOUGH: I feel like you do too, Ashley. Not that I don't like seeing you around the office.
ASHLEY HAMER: Sure. In 2017, 52% of American workers with paid vacation days left some of them unused. That added up to a whopping 705 million unused vacation days overall or 2 million years, which is about how long it's been since humans appeared on Earth. And working too much has been linked with heart problems, mental health issues, and a decrease in work quality in general.
But a recent study by Glassdoor found that worries about job security are the main reasons people don't take vacations. So what can you do? In an article for Harvard Business Review, Business Owner and Time Management Coach Elizabeth Grace Saunders advocates something that's brilliant in its simplicity, micro vacations. That's when you get out of the office, but you use a day or less of vacation time.
And even just one day comes with a lot of benefits. You won't have to find a replacement to handle your work, you won't come back to a mountain of emails, and you can do a micro vacation once every couple of weeks. Nobody said you can only go on one big vacation every year, you might want to avoid taking a Monday micro vacation since a lot of people send important emails on Mondays and you don't want to come back to a zillion messages in your inbox.
But how does the three-day weekend sound? Take off a Friday once in a while. And another big thing is that micro vacations can be free. You don't have to spend time making a vacation itinerary or spend money on plane tickets. If your job allows it, you could even take a half day to take a long lunch with a friend or catch a matinee of a movie you've been wanting to see. Whatever you do, don't lose your vacation days. You need a vacation. Trust us.
CODY GOUGH: The best employees take the most vacation days.
ASHLEY HAMER: That's true. You keep saying that to me.
[LAUGHTER]
I don't understand why.
[LAUGHTER]
CODY GOUGH: I'm not going to say anything.
[LAUGHTER]
Sand is one of the most important materials in human civilization and we're running out of it. If you don't believe me, that's OK. We've got an expert who might be able to convince you. We recently had the chance to talk to Vince Beiser, author of The World in a Grain-- The Story of Sand and How it Transformed Civilization. Here's what he told us.
VINCE BEISER: So we consume more sand than any other natural resource in the world except for water and air. That's how important it is. I mean, I say in the book, it's the literal foundation of modern civilization and that's no exaggeration because as you say it's-- I mean, you toss off concrete and glass, but really, if you stop and think about concrete and glass, that's, basically, what our cities are completely made of.
Every shopping mall, apartment block, every building in the modern world that gets built is made out of concrete. And that's an enormous amount. So we use about all in, we are using about 50 billion tons of sand every year. That's enough to cover the entire State of California about two inches deep, every single year.
CODY GOUGH: That's quite a bit.
VINCE BEISER: That's quite a bit.
CODY GOUGH: I have got a giant world map on my wall in my bedroom. And right in the middle, I'm sure you know what's there. It's Africa. And in the Northern part of Africa, there's a big old desert. So how can there be a shortage if the Sahara exists?
VINCE BEISER: That's a really good question. The answer is because that desert sand is basically useless to us. And the reason for that is, the grains are the wrong shape. So desert sand has been eroded by wind over thousands or millions of years, tumbling and tumbling and tumbling and tumbling, and that has made those grains rounded as opposed to the kind of sand that you find in riverbeds, or in lake beds, floodplains, even the bottom of the ocean, that sand tends to be more angular.
It's got a lot more angles and corners to it, so it locks together the way that you need it to form a stable structure. So the thing that we use sand-- by far, the most thing that we use sand for the most is concrete. And to make concrete, you need those sand grains to lock together. And desert sand just is too round to do that. It's like the difference between trying to build something out of a stack of marbles as opposed to building something out of a stack of little tiny bricks. So all that desert sand, totally useless.
CODY GOUGH: In case are new to Curiosity, you might not know that when we first launched our podcast, it was a weekly show where we interviewed scientists and authors from around the world. Well, back by popular demand, we've been producing thing brand new feature length podcast interviews for our supporters on our Patreon page. And our next episode features Vince Beiser. Our top tier supporters can already hear our uncut conversation with Vince which we uploaded as soon as we recorded it.
And when you become a patron, you'll have access to the final cut with Ashley and me in the first week of September. Learn more at Patreon.com/curiositydotcom, all spelled out, or find a link in the show notes. You might also catch some extra free stuff Ashley and I have been posting there. So even if you're not a supporter, keep an eye on our Patreon page. There's some cool stuff there. One more time, that's Patreon.com/curiosity.com all spelled out.
ASHLEY HAMER: Marketing researchers think they've figured out the secret to setting a budget and sticking with it. And it's not about thinking about the future. It's about thinking about the present.
CODY GOUGH: This is cool. And savings is pretty important.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. It's cool how they're using psychology to help people save more money.
CODY GOUGH: I love psychology and money. It's the perfect combination.
ASHLEY HAMER: It's like peanut butter and chocolate.
[LAUGHTER]
Based on research, if you want to save money, then your focus should be on the process and not the end goal. A small shift in strategy could be huge for your bank account. In a 2014 study, participants were introduced to two different savings styles. The first group was told to save with the traditional linear approach. That is, budgeting based on what you think you'll need in the future.
The second group was told to think cyclically. This saving style bridges the gap between your present and future self. How? The future is hypothetical, but the present is actionable. If you do something now, like save money, you're more likely to do the same thing next month. Current actions predict future actions.
And participants in the second group who budgeted cyclically saved 78% more than the future-oriented linear group. So don't think of saving money as a means to an end. Like if I put away money from this paycheck, I'll have a better cushion for when I go on vacation in a few months. Instead, think of it as a regular habit like flossing your teeth or paying your bills.
If you save this month, you'll probably save every month. And your bank account will thank you down the line. And hey, if you save enough money, then maybe you can take a full vacation next year. Not just a micro vacation.
CODY GOUGH: Although those are good too.
ASHLEY HAMER: They are.
CODY GOUGH: Yesterday we asked you to review our flash briefing skill if you are an Amazon Echo user and wow, did you deliver. Thank you so much to M. Esters and Mel for leaving us thoughtful and positive reviews. We really appreciate it. And thank you Paul Norwood for recently leaving us an awesome five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Ashley and I read every bit of feedback that comes our way-- positive and negative. And believe us when we say it's super helpful. And that we're listening.
ASHLEY HAMER: Read about today's stories and more on curiositydotcom.
CODY GOUGH: Join us again tomorrow for the Curiosity Daily, and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Stay curious.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.