WEBVTT - Solve the right problem first

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to figure out which problem to solve first.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes your efforts will be a lot less efficient if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't do things in the right order. Long time

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<v Speaker 1>listeners know that my family moved a few weeks ago.

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<v Speaker 1>Unpacking boxes for a family of seven takes a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>While we decluttered before moving. There is always just a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of stuff and it is not always clear where

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<v Speaker 1>it can go in a new space. This has led

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<v Speaker 1>to some unpacking impasses. For instance, my daughter has a

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<v Speaker 1>huge pile of boxes still in her bedroom. Most of

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<v Speaker 1>these have toys in them. She had a shelf with

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<v Speaker 1>cubbies in the old house, but it wasn't pretty rough shape,

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<v Speaker 1>so we had to get rid of it. We ordered

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<v Speaker 1>a new one, but it turns out that it needs

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<v Speaker 1>to be assembled, so now her room has a big

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<v Speaker 1>box with unassembled furniture in it and big boxes with

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<v Speaker 1>toys in him. I tried to start unpacking the toys,

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<v Speaker 1>but realized I would go nowhere until the cubby was built,

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<v Speaker 1>so I switched my focus. I am finding a home

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<v Speaker 1>for all the stuff that is currently sitting where the

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<v Speaker 1>cubby shelves will go. Then I'm going to enlist the

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<v Speaker 1>child who is an ace with Ikea style furniture assembly

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<v Speaker 1>to build his sister's shelves over the weekend, and then

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<v Speaker 1>we will be able to unpack the toy boxes quite quickly.

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<v Speaker 1>Trying to solve this problem in any other order is

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<v Speaker 1>just going to result in frustration. Maybe you too, our

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<v Speaker 1>face sing a bit of an impasse. These can happen

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<v Speaker 1>in all sorts of situations. You want to get a

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<v Speaker 1>different job, but you think you'll need new skills. The

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<v Speaker 1>problem is that you don't have the time to learn

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<v Speaker 1>those skills because you are so busy at your current job.

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<v Speaker 1>Or your team is missing deadlines because you are understaffed.

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<v Speaker 1>But because you are understaffed, no one has the time

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<v Speaker 1>to look at resumes, so you just keep floundering around.

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<v Speaker 1>Or maybe you got so far as to bring on

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<v Speaker 1>somebody new, but no one has had the time to

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<v Speaker 1>train her, and so she is not nearly as helpful

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<v Speaker 1>as you suspect she could be. It is so easy

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<v Speaker 1>to get stuck, But when you find yourself in one

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<v Speaker 1>of these situations, take a few minutes to pause and think,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we're talking five minutes here. This isn't going

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<v Speaker 1>to be endless. List out the various issues, then look

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<v Speaker 1>at them which should happen first. It is quite possible

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<v Speaker 1>that the other problems will continue to deteriorate a bit

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<v Speaker 1>as you focus on the first problem. Maybe they will

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<v Speaker 1>deteriorate at a faster rate than they were before. But

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<v Speaker 1>which one problem would then allow you to solve the

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<v Speaker 1>others quicker? I am not sure what the answer will be, though, generally,

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<v Speaker 1>taking an hour to train someone will pay back that

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<v Speaker 1>investment pretty quickly. That's going to be a better use

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<v Speaker 1>of an hour than tromping to another status meeting to

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<v Speaker 1>report that everyone is still behind on doing their jobs.

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<v Speaker 1>When you are stuck on writing something, Figuring out the

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<v Speaker 1>thesis statement tends to help a lot solve that problem,

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<v Speaker 1>and the question of which examples you need and whose

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<v Speaker 1>expertise you need to draw upon tends to become more

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<v Speaker 1>clear as we unpack and do renovations. I have realized

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<v Speaker 1>that sometimes rooms will become messier as I solve the

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<v Speaker 1>primary problem. But once the primary problem is solved, the

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<v Speaker 1>other things go fast. So figure out which problem to

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<v Speaker 1>solve first, you will still have a mess for a while,

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<v Speaker 1>but things will be better than they were in the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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