Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to recast an unpleasant task. If you
Speaker 1: can figure out something good that you are getting out
Speaker 1: of something you have to do, you will feel far
Speaker 1: better about it and maybe won't even find it so
Speaker 1: unpleasant after all. So I recently went through the annual
Speaker 1: ritual of sending all my text information to my accountant.
Speaker 1: While the usual deadline is spring, we always have some
Speaker 1: forms that come late, so we file an extension to
Speaker 1: the fall. Since I am recording this in late, that
Speaker 1: means I was dealing with my finances from I log
Speaker 1: all my income as it comes in, but I use
Speaker 1: a credit card for all my business expenses. Then when
Speaker 1: it's time to do my taxes, I look at the
Speaker 1: statements to add up allowed deductions. I am sure there
Speaker 1: is a more efficient system, but for my one person business,
Speaker 1: this has mostly worked. That said, I never enjoy going
Speaker 1: through all my credit card receipts from twenty two to
Speaker 1: ten months prior. I put this off every year, and
Speaker 1: I often have to promise myself vast rewards for doing it.
Speaker 1: But then when I was procrastinating and bemoaning this issue,
Speaker 1: I had a revelation. I actually had a choice in
Speaker 1: the matter. I could simply report my income. I didn't
Speaker 1: have to add up my expenses. I just wouldn't be
Speaker 1: able to detect them. Then I could theoretically do my
Speaker 1: taxes in five seconds. Of course, that would be stu
Speaker 1: pid because I would miss out on many deductions and
Speaker 1: thus pay far more in taxes than I needed to.
Speaker 1: But this mindset shift changed everything. When I recast the
Speaker 1: task of adding up my expenses as doing an optional
Speaker 1: activity that was earning me a very high per hour rate,
Speaker 1: I felt different about the whole thing. I was kind
Speaker 1: of excited. This was good money. The task was the same,
Speaker 1: but doing it felt far more rewarding. In any case,
Speaker 1: if you have some sort of unpleasant task you are facing,
Speaker 1: see if you can recast it as something more pleasant.
Speaker 1: If you are stuck on a call you do not
Speaker 1: wish to be stuck on, maybe you can go for
Speaker 1: a walk outside while you're listening. If you are waiting somewhere,
Speaker 1: make sure you have a good book, hopefully one that's
Speaker 1: good enough that you don't mind the delay. Save a
Speaker 1: favorite podcast or audiobook for a long drive. Now. Of course,
Speaker 1: sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to find
Speaker 1: the recasting angle. Maybe a certain aunt expects everyone's attendance
Speaker 1: at a holiday dinner where the food is let's just say, challenging.
Speaker 1: Rather than focus on the unpleasant food, or even more
Speaker 1: challenge in getting your kids not to complain about the
Speaker 1: unpleasant food, you can recast this task as a chance
Speaker 1: to ask three older relatives about their favorite stories from childhood.
Speaker 1: The event is a success when you get those stories.
Speaker 1: You can always take your part of the clan out
Speaker 1: for pizza afterwards or even before. While unpleasant tasks are
Speaker 1: part of life, suffering is optional. So think about how
Speaker 1: you can recast an unpleasant task to be less unpleasant.
Speaker 1: You will probably find yourself feeling a lot happier about
Speaker 1: life in general. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.