1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to send handwritten notes. You may be 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: wondering why this is a productivity tip. I know that 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,639 Speaker 1: writing notes takes time. It's always quicker to send a 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: text or email, but sending handwritten notes doesn't take a 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: ton of time, and precisely because so few people do it. 8 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: Using pen, paper and stamps can create a strong enough 9 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: impression that you come out ahead. I've always liked stationary 10 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: and pens, but I really saw how special people consider 11 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: handwritten notes about a year or so ago, when I 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: was trying to get people to pre order a previous 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: book of mine called Off the Clock. Lots of authors 14 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: do these preorder campaigns, and in my case, if people 15 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: ordered a hardcover version of the book before the release 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: date and sent in their address through before on my website, 17 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: I said I'd mailed them assigned book plate. This is 18 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: basically a fancy sticker that they could put inside the book, 19 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: so even though the book was coming from Amazon or 20 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble or somewhere like that, it would be 21 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: signed and made out to them. Simple enough. Then I figured, 22 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: since I was signing a sticker and my team was 23 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: getting it into an envelope, why not write a note 24 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: thanking people for buying my book? So I did. Most 25 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: of my notes just said something real quick along the 26 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: lines of thank you so much for pre ordering off 27 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: the clock, I appreciate the support. I hope you enjoyed 28 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: the book. I stuck these notes in the mail. Then 29 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: a funny thing happened. People kept taking photos of the 30 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: notes and posting them on social media. Apparently it was 31 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 1: cool enough to get a handwritten note that it was 32 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: worth posting alongside photos of avocado toast or cappuccino. Fom art. 33 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: People who liked my books were sharing news about my 34 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: new book with their friends. I did not write these 35 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: thank you notes to create a social media campaign, but 36 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: it was an effective one. In the past year or so, 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: I've spent some time thinking about why this is. I 38 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: realized that handwritten notes stand out because almost no one 39 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: sends them. Even the Christmas cards I get these days 40 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: are often just a photo with no note. When I 41 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: look at the mail I get, it's usually ads or 42 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: solicitations for nonprofits or bills. Whenever I do get a 43 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: handwritten note. I opened it immediately, I get a warm 44 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: fuzzy feeling about the person. I bet other people do 45 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: the same. It just feels special to get a note, 46 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: and that warm fuzzy feeling can go a long ways. Indeed, 47 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: I bet a handwritten note creates at least ten times 48 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: the impression of an email, but it doesn't take ten 49 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: times as long to write. Since the Before Breakfast podcast 50 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: is all about being efficient and effective, that seems like 51 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: a big win right there. So if you're listening to 52 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: this podcast and would like to start sending handwritten notes, 53 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: how can you build this into your already busy life. First, 54 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: you can make handwriting notes take less time by keeping 55 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: supplies on hand. I buy boxes of pretty thank you 56 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: notes and large batches. These can wind up being to 57 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: fifty cents a piece in bulk every year or two. 58 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: I also order several hundred note cards with my name 59 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: on them and matching envelopes with a nice interior design. 60 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: They look really fancy, but if you order enough, you 61 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: can get them for two dollars or less a piece 62 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: that's cheaper than a greeting card but looks a lot 63 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: more impressive. I also keep stamps and return address labels 64 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: in my top desk drawer. This means that grabbing a 65 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: note card and an envelope and a stamp takes just 66 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: a few seconds. Writing a few lines can take just 67 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: a minute or two. The whole process doesn't need to 68 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: consume more than five minutes. You can do this while 69 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: you're waiting for a conference call to start. You might 70 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: challenge yourself to start by sending one note a week. 71 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: You can probably come up with one occasion a week 72 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: if you think about it. One idea look on social 73 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: media to see who has a birthday coming up. Sure 74 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: it's easy enough to post happy Birthday on their feed, 75 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: but why not send a card to write a short 76 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: note with a memory from the past year or previous birthday, 77 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: and then wish the person many happy returns of the day. 78 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,799 Speaker 1: Or you could send a thank you note. Maybe something 79 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: happened recently as a result of an introduction someone made 80 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: for you a long time ago, why not thank the 81 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: person now. Or maybe something memorable happened in your life 82 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: around this time of year many years ago. Think about 83 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: the friends or relatives who are with you when the 84 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: memory happened. Why not send a note saying you're thinking 85 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: about the person and you hope he or she is 86 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: doing well. I know that because everyone relies on electronic 87 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: communication these days, you might not even have the person's 88 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 1: physical mailing address, but you can get them pretty easily. 89 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: Even if you don't have a massive holiday card file. 90 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: You can mail your note to the person's office I 91 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: mean corporate addresses, or you real pretty easy to find. 92 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: You could google the person's name in the town where 93 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: they live and the address will often pop up because 94 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: property purchases tend to be public records. Or if that 95 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: sounds a little bit creepy, then just shoot the person 96 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: an email and say you have something to drop in 97 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: the mail, ask if you can get his or her 98 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: mailing address. Most people reply quickly to an email like 99 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: that because they're pretty excited to get something other than 100 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: bills in the mail. So take a few minutes today 101 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: and order some note cards and start thinking about who 102 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 1: you'd like to write. I promise it will be worth 103 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: your time, because, guess what, people are a good use 104 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: of time, and handwriting notes is a good way to 105 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:46,599 Speaker 1: show people that they map. In the meantime, this is Laura, 106 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 107 00:05:49,880 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 108 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,119 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 109 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 110 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast 111 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email 112 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast. At i heeart media dot com 113 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 114 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 115 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For 116 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 117 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 118 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:41,480 Speaker 1: favorite shows.