WEBVTT - Now is good

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that when you are trying to figure out

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<v Speaker 1>when to do something, consider the present. Often now is

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<v Speaker 1>as good as any other time, and when you do

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<v Speaker 1>something now, you will go ahead and get it done.

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<v Speaker 1>Busy people often aim to schedule things as far into

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<v Speaker 1>the future as possible, perhaps imagining that their future selves

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<v Speaker 1>won't feel nearly as stretched as their present selves. Next month,

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<v Speaker 1>you won't have a big presentation looming, or treework that

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<v Speaker 1>needs to be adjurently scheduled, or a sick kid. And

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<v Speaker 1>that may be true. But next month you may be

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<v Speaker 1>cover ring for a colleague who is out on medical leave,

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<v Speaker 1>or perhaps dealing with the flu yourself, your future self,

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<v Speaker 1>may have just as much on her plate as your

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<v Speaker 1>present self does. That's why I like to say now

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<v Speaker 1>is good whenever I can. If your partner says he

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<v Speaker 1>wants to compare calendars sometime to figure out when you

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<v Speaker 1>can host his new colleague and her spouse for dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>how about comparing calendars now? Just take out your phones

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<v Speaker 1>and find some possible dates for dinner. If a colleague

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<v Speaker 1>sticks her head in your office to ask if you

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<v Speaker 1>could schedule time to talk through a question. You may

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<v Speaker 1>be tempted to suggest a time in the future when

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<v Speaker 1>you know you are free, but she already has your

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<v Speaker 1>attention and you have already stopped what you were doing

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<v Speaker 1>so see whether she could talk right. Then you could

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<v Speaker 1>just answer her questions now. Of course, if she isn't

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<v Speaker 1>ready for this conversation, you'll need to schedule for another time.

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<v Speaker 1>But after this has happened a few times, she will

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<v Speaker 1>probably get in the habit of asking for a meeting

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<v Speaker 1>only after she is prepared for it, and in some cases,

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<v Speaker 1>in the process of preparing for a meeting, she'll answer

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<v Speaker 1>her own question. If you run into your friend as

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<v Speaker 1>you are both walking into the grocery store and she

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<v Speaker 1>suggests getting together to catch up sometime, see whether she

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<v Speaker 1>wants to chat right. Then you could shop together, or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe your grocery store has a coffee shop where you

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<v Speaker 1>could chat for fifteen minutes before doing your shopping. If

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<v Speaker 1>you are not urgently racing to something else, this might

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<v Speaker 1>actually be your best chance for a while. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>you are both there, you're going to have to do

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of work to make that happen again in

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<v Speaker 1>the future. I often say that when you are asked

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<v Speaker 1>to take on a responsibility or schedule something for the future,

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<v Speaker 1>ask yourself whether you would do it tomorrow. Yes, you

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<v Speaker 1>are booked up solid tomorrow, but you will be in

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<v Speaker 1>the future too. Would you be tempted to move things

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<v Speaker 1>around or cancel things tomorrow in order to fit in

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<v Speaker 1>this new opportunity? If so, awesome, But if you don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to say yes for tomorrow, you aren't really going

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<v Speaker 1>to want to do it in the more distant future either.

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<v Speaker 1>The flip side of this truth is that if there

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<v Speaker 1>is something you do want or need to do well,

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<v Speaker 1>why not do it now. You don't necessarily need to

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<v Speaker 1>schedule for the future. You probably have just as much

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<v Speaker 1>time now as you ever will if it possibly fits now.

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<v Speaker 1>This has the benefit of not requiring an additional layer

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<v Speaker 1>of scheduling work. Your future self will be free to

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<v Speaker 1>schedule her own time in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.