1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: tip is to develop a taste for quality. You can 4 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: make your work better by surrounding yourself with good work, 5 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: even if it is not all in your immediate field. 6 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: Today's tip, like another one this week, is inspired by 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: Cal Newport's new book, Slow Productivity. In this book, Cal 8 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: talks about how you can achieve great things without burnout. 9 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: One of the ways to be productive over the long term, 10 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: he says, is to obsess over quality. Now, that doesn't 11 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: mean become a perfectionist. Nothing is ever perfect, and eventually 12 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:04,759 Speaker 1: we have two publish, perform ship, or otherwise get things 13 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: out into the world where the work can be critiqued 14 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: and thus we can approve. But it is better to 15 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: at least try to produce really good work. And that 16 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: means getting better over time. So how do you get 17 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: better over time? There's practice and being prolific, but another 18 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: tool in the toolkit is to surround yourself with really 19 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: good stuff. If you want to be a painter, you 20 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: want to see what the best painters are doing. You 21 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,400 Speaker 1: also want to see what the best painters at your 22 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: level are doing you want to learn from them, and 23 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: that makes sense, But sometimes it can be a little 24 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,919 Speaker 1: disconcerting to look at amazing work when you are still 25 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: growing in your career. Cal describes reading great nonfiction writing 26 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: and getting white knuckled over whatever those writers are doing 27 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: that he is not doing. So in addition to studying 28 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 1: your field, sometimes it is helpful to look at great 29 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: stuff in slightly different fields. Cal writes that he decided 30 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: to become something of an amateur expert on cinematography. He 31 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: read books on what good looks like in the movies, 32 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,919 Speaker 1: and he studied great movies like Reservoir Dogs somewhat obsessively 33 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: to understand how a great director tells a story. Nonfiction 34 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: writers are telling stories too, so there is a benefit 35 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: to studying an adjacent field without that same sting of competition. 36 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: I like this idea, and I think it's something that 37 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 1: anyone can do. You can learn a lot about public 38 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:57,239 Speaker 1: speaking by studying something like Broadway musicals. You can learn 39 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: a lot about strategy by studying historic US matches or 40 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: perhaps the greatest football games of all time. You can 41 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: learn a lot about communication by studying great revival preachers. 42 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,519 Speaker 1: Now Obviously, if you are in corporate strategy, you also 43 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: want to study the strategies of your immediate rivals. You 44 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:21,519 Speaker 1: shouldn't skip that part. But by surrounding yourself with quality 45 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: in other areas too, you gain an appreciation for good 46 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: whatever good happens to look like. Plus, it just makes 47 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: your leisure time more fun. We are only going to 48 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: see so many plays or read so many books in life. 49 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: Why not focus on the best. We develop more discriminating 50 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: tastes and maybe wind up with some tools for getting 51 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: better at our own jobs too. In the meantime, this 52 00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to make the 53 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. 54 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach 55 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast 56 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, 57 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 58 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.