1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to tighten your to do list. By 4 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: making your day's list short and focused, you will make progress, 5 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:32,599 Speaker 1: and progress is incredibly motivational. Figuring out what makes for 6 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: a good work day is hard enough as it is, 7 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: and this is doubly true for the millions of folks 8 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,639 Speaker 1: who have started working from home over the last year. 9 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: When you commute to an office, the act of getting 10 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: ready and going somewhere and seeing people can make you 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: feel like you've done something, even if you really haven't. 12 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: When you're at home, an unproductive or undirected day can 13 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: make you feel like you're just spinning your wheels. Plus, 14 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,479 Speaker 1: there's this question, how do you know when you're done? 15 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: If you commute to an office you do eventually have 16 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: to leave, you aren't going to sleep there. In a 17 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: home office, it can be easy to keep half working 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: all night. You're not getting anything done, but you're not 19 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: relaxing either, which is the worst of all possible scenarios. 20 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: So here's an idea. Tighten your to do list. Make 21 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: yourself a short list of three to five challenging but 22 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: doable tasks. When chosen well, this can be enough, especially 23 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: since stuff will come up. Stuff always comes up. And 24 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: when you are able to cross everything off your days 25 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: to do list, which you can when it's short, you 26 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: will be able to choose new stuff for the next day. 27 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: You will make progress and that feels amazing. Plus, when 28 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: the list is all done, the day can be done. 29 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: That gives you permission to relax. Unfortunately, over the years, 30 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: I've noticed that most people approached to do lists in 31 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: an entirely different and I would say far less productive 32 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: way they make them, which I guess is good. But 33 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: the to do list will have forty items on it's 34 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: it's more of a comprehensive list of anything you might 35 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: ever want to do. But while a forty item to 36 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: do list might make you feel important, it's actually self defeating. 37 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: You will not get through forty items in a day. 38 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: You will get through some of them, but which ones 39 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: the most important? Well probably not. It's going to be 40 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: the easiest ones or whatever is screaming loudest at a 41 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 1: particular moment, So stuff that needed to happen won't get 42 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: done or will be done under extreme time pressure at 43 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: the last moment, and you'll wind up rolling many things 44 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: over to the next day. You in the day feeling defeated, 45 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: or if you're working at home, maybe the day just 46 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: doesn't end. And what was the point of this? So 47 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,359 Speaker 1: hear me out on this one. There is no virtue 48 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: in putting something on a to do list and then 49 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 1: not doing it. It is just as undone as if 50 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: you had never put it on the list in the 51 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: first place, only now it's there, making you feel bad 52 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: for not doing it. A better approach is too tighten 53 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: your to do list down to only the things that 54 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: you absolutely intend to do that day. I mean, come 55 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: hell or high water, even if the power in your 56 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: home office goes out at ten thirty a m. Indeed, 57 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: this is actually a good way to construct a to 58 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: do list. If you were to lose power at ten 59 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: thirty a m. What would you absolutely need to have 60 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: gotten done today? When the list is tight enough, it 61 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: can become a contract with yourself you get through it. 62 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: When you do get through it, you know that you 63 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: have done important work. When the list is done, you 64 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: can relax. Everything else you do is just gravy. If 65 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: you want to to go choose some other stuff to 66 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: work on. Well, great. You can keep a maybe list, 67 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: or a rolling projects list, or some other lists somewhere 68 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: that has all the things going on that you could, 69 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: in theory do. But don't treat this unprioritized broad list 70 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: as a daily to do list, because it isn't. You 71 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: can pull things off this broad list to make your 72 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: tight daily to do list, but only if you truly 73 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: intend to do them today. So if you think this 74 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: is going to make you worry that stuff isn't getting done, 75 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: here's a variation on this theme. Some weeks, I will 76 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: make my to do list for the whole week ahead 77 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,119 Speaker 1: of time. Monday's three to five tasks are the most 78 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: set because I have a better sense of that day 79 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,719 Speaker 1: is going to look like. But I can assign a 80 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: few things to other days too. What three things do 81 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: I plan to do on Tuesday? That way, when I 82 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: remember on Monday that I don't only have three to 83 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: five things going on in my life, I can relax. 84 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,559 Speaker 1: There is a time for them later in the week. See, 85 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: I've got them on the list for Tuesday, not today. 86 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: My to do list is like a Ferris wheel. We 87 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: focus on these three to five things on Monday and 88 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: then Tuesday, it spins and we focus on a few more. 89 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: Wednesday we get to others and so on to everything 90 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: in turn. Whereas when we attempt to do all these 91 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: things all at once, the ferris wheel winds up with 92 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: ten cars at the top, and well, we've got a problem. 93 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: So today, rather than diving into a forty item un 94 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: prioritized list, choose three to five things that absolutely have 95 00:05:54,560 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: to get done today. Figure out when roughly you'll do them, 96 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: hold yourself accountable to doing them. Keep this promise to 97 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: yourself and do these things by the end of the day. 98 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: When you do this, day after day, you will find 99 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: yourself getting a lot more done. And if you're working 100 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: from home, you know that you can close your laptop 101 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: guilt free. You know that you have put in a 102 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,679 Speaker 1: good day and you will tomorrow too when you tighten 103 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 1: your to do list enough. In the meantime, this is Laura. 104 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 105 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 106 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,119 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 107 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 108 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,280 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E. The number four. Then 109 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an 110 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:07,159 Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that 111 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks 112 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before 113 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more 114 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 115 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.