1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: tip is to try to get it all down. If 4 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: you feel like you have a million things going on, 5 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: spend a little bit of time capturing as many of 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: those things as you can and writing them down somewhere. 7 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: You will start to get a better sense of what 8 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: is actually on your plate and what needs to be 9 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:43,919 Speaker 1: done now and what can wait for later. So, if 10 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: you are managing multiple projects or managing work and a household, 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: the sheer volume of tasks can start to feel overwhelming. 12 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,959 Speaker 1: You will be thinking of one thing, like I need 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: to fill out those tax forms, and then you will 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: remember that you need to set up that physical therapy 15 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: appointment and maybe get an extra bookcase for that room 16 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,680 Speaker 1: where stuff is just piled up. Also, it would be 17 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: good to reach out to Bob about whether he's going 18 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: to that conference next fall. Jen asked you to look 19 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: over that article she's submitted to your industry journal, and 20 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: when did you last go to the dentist. It is 21 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: true that eventually every task needs a time, but sometimes 22 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: the swirling mess of impending tasks makes it hard to 23 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: prioritize what needs to be done now, what needs to 24 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: be done soon, and what needs to be done at 25 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: some point, but it's not truly pressing. In order to 26 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: figure out a plan for all of this, and to 27 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,479 Speaker 1: keep it from popping into your brain unannounced, it helps 28 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: to get it all down somewhere. I like to think 29 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: of this as a brain dump. Take a few minutes 30 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: to write down every pending task you can think of. 31 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: You will probably have to come back to this list 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: a few times during the day because more things will 33 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: occur to you. So just keep this list open in 34 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: a notebook or an electronic document and keep adding to it. 35 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: Devotees of David Allen sometimes call this a someday maybe 36 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: list things you might need to get to at some 37 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: point but you're not exactly sure when. When you've captured 38 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: a lot of it, the list will look daunting, but 39 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: that is okay. This is not your daily to do list. 40 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: It is just a list of potential tasks that you 41 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: could do, or might want to do, or should do 42 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: at some point. Go ahead and accept the length life 43 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: is complicated. Then go through and figure out which ones 44 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: truly do need to be done very soon. These deserve 45 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: time on your calendar in the next few days. But 46 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: and I kind of think this is the fun part. 47 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: You can then also choose one to two things that 48 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: are not pressing and might be kind of citing or 49 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: motivational to add to your list. Go ahead and order 50 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: that extra bookcase. Email Bob about the conference, because hey, 51 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: you like Bob and you'd like to hear from him, 52 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: even if the conference isn't for quite a while. There 53 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 1: is some pretty good evidence that happiness at work is 54 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: associated with a sense of progress. It feels good to 55 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: cross things off the list. As you start pulling some 56 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: of these nice to do things off the list, it 57 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: will feel shorter and you will feel more motivated. Plus 58 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: you won't forget the stuff that truly does have to happen. 59 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: You will have a source list for creating your daily 60 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: and weekly to do lists, and that can make you 61 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: feel much more on top of things. In the meantime. 62 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making 63 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before Breakfast. 64 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach 65 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast 66 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, 67 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 68 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.