1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: tip is to make your calendar your to do list. 4 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: Many people make to do lists that have little to 5 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: do with reality. Tying your intended tasks to specific times 6 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: on the calendar forces you to figure out what is 7 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: reasonable and what isn't. Today's tip comes from Jamie Sear's 8 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: new book, How to Love Teaching Again. This productivity book 9 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: is specifically aimed at teachers who want to spend more 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: time helping kids and less time getting caught up in 11 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: administrative work, but there are tips that people in lots 12 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: of different professions can use. Jamie point it's out that 13 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: for many people, to do lists are not terribly effective. 14 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: People put down everything that they might like to do 15 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: in life, and much of it appears very vague. I 16 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: mean they'll put things like math grading for teachers, or 17 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: maybe think about new clients or staffing problems with a 18 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: question mark what does that even mean? Here is the 19 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: real psychology of to do lists, Jamie writes. The list 20 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: becomes so overwhelming that your brain decides there is no 21 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: way that it can complete everything that's when you end 22 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: up using your plan time to gossip with your teacher bestie, 23 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 1: or you use your grading time to scroll through social media. 24 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: In other words, your to do list isn't a plan 25 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: for action. Instead, it's an excuse to procrastinate or set 26 00:01:54,480 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: yourself up to fail. Now, contrast a poorly constructed to 27 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: do list with a calendar. As Jamie notes, a calendar 28 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: is a list of things to do at a specific 29 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: hour or within a defined window of time on a 30 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: teacher's calendar. If it is time for teaching reading, the 31 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: teacher will teach reading. If it is time for a 32 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: meeting with a parent, the teacher will meet with a parent. 33 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: As a general rule, people do these things that are 34 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,240 Speaker 1: on their calendars, whereas there is pretty good evidence that 35 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: people do not do a great many things that they 36 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: put on their to do lists. So why not use 37 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: your calendar as you're to do list? Long time listeners 38 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: know that I advocate carving out time on Friday for 39 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: planning the upcoming week. On Friday, you make your priority 40 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: list for the upcoming week. But then, rather than just 41 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: saying you want to research a potential client, you put 42 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: it on your calendar for eleven to twelve on Tuesday, 43 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: rather than saying you want to reach out to Bob, 44 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: you note that you will do that along with a 45 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,799 Speaker 1: few other exploratory emails on Friday at one p m. 46 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: This habit does a few good things. One it acknowledges 47 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: this truth. Basically, every task takes some amount of time, 48 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: So if you are not willing to give the task 49 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: a specific time, that is a pretty good indication that 50 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: you aren't serious about doing it. So you might migrate 51 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: that to do that you don't intend to actually do 52 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: over to what David Allen calls a some day maybe list. 53 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: It is not an active intention anymore. This also forces 54 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: you to think about how long things will take. If 55 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: you have never managed to write a certain report in 56 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: less than two hours, then you will need to give 57 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: that task two hours now. Of course, at some point 58 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: it might become challenging to find spots for tasks amid 59 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: the other things that are on your calendar, like meetings, 60 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: which turn out to be tasks in and of themselves. 61 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: If these aren't tasks that you value, will maybe take 62 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: a good look and see if they need to be there. 63 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: Maybe they do, maybe they don't. But using your calendar 64 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,679 Speaker 1: as you are to do list forces you to see 65 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 1: that you cannot do eight one hour tasks plus at 66 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: ten three one hour meetings. If you arrive at work 67 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 1: at nine and need to leave at five pm for 68 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: a daycare pickup, that is not a matter of how 69 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: motivated you are or how good you are at your job. 70 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: It is just a matter of physics. Now to be sure, 71 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: Jamie adds the caveat that you are going to need 72 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,720 Speaker 1: to be somewhat flexible here life happens. A teacher might 73 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,280 Speaker 1: plan to do something before school, but a parent asks 74 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: to meet about a child who is floundering, and the 75 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: teacher wants to take the opportunity to brainstorm together. Or 76 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: maybe the fire alarm goes off during a planning period. 77 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: People in any job can experience the unexpected, So Jamie 78 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: recommends building in a few open slots on the calendar 79 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: thirty minutes here and there to absorb tasks that need 80 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: to move or unexpected ones that come up. She, like me, 81 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: tries to leave Friday's available slots as open as possible. 82 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: I think this idea can work for a great many 83 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 1: people who have fairly set schedules, like teachers, or many 84 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: people in corporate roles with a lot of meetings. It 85 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: can also be helpful for people in any sort of 86 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: role who have trouble making short to do lists. Now, 87 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: if you are a self employed podcaster who has more 88 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: control over her calendar and who has been tracking her 89 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: time for eight straight years, maybe you can do things 90 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: a little differently. But even if I don't calendar my tasks, 91 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: when I make to do lists for a day, I 92 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: never put anything on there that I do not truly 93 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: intend to do in the hours I have. That is 94 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 1: the point of using your calendar as a to do list, 95 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 1: and so we are really all getting at the same thing. 96 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: If you try using your calendar as a to do list, 97 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: let me know how it goes. And if you are 98 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: a teacher or just like productivity strategies in general, please 99 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: check out Jamie Sears's book How To Love Teaching Again, 100 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: which is newly out this month. In the meantime, this 101 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 102 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: moose of our times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear 103 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 104 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 105 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b the number four, 106 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: then Breakfast p O D. You can also shoot me 107 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com 108 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 109 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch. 110 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 111 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 112 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.