WEBVTT - Second Cup: Get it out of your head

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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 to get it out of your head. That is,

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<v Speaker 1>write down anything you're not going to do, write this minute.

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<v Speaker 1>In a previous episode, I talked about keeping your to

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<v Speaker 1>do list short. The reason to do this is that

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<v Speaker 1>there's no point putting something on a to do list

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<v Speaker 1>and then not doing it. It's just as undone as

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<v Speaker 1>if you'd never put it on the list in the

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<v Speaker 1>first place. Only now you feel bad too. Better to

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<v Speaker 1>have expectations meet reality. The only way to guarantee that

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<v Speaker 1>happens is to keep your list short. I mentioned that

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people really resist this idea. That's because

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<v Speaker 1>we're responsible for more than three to five things in

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<v Speaker 1>the universe. So what do you do with the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of this stuff? How do you keep it from clogging

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<v Speaker 1>up your brain? How do you make sure you'll remember

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<v Speaker 1>it in the future. Well, As Before Breakfast listener Holly

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<v Speaker 1>put it in an email to me, you get it

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<v Speaker 1>out of your head. Holly wrote in her note that

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<v Speaker 1>while she was going through some very stressful times in

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<v Speaker 1>her personal life, she began writing down various images and

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<v Speaker 1>memories that came to her, so she'd have them somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>but wouldn't have to dwell on them. She later realized

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<v Speaker 1>that this process was useful for things beyond her ruminations.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a good idea for managing to do lists

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<v Speaker 1>in general. So now I have a small notebook and

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<v Speaker 1>each page has a subject line, she writes, And on

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<v Speaker 1>that page, I create a list of things I need

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<v Speaker 1>to remember, things that I need to do, and things

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<v Speaker 1>I want to do. This takes them out of my

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<v Speaker 1>head and into a place I can look over several

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<v Speaker 1>times a day to see what I can tick off.

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<v Speaker 1>That is, when she finds herself with some extra time.

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<v Speaker 1>She noted that these lists also hold her accountable for

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<v Speaker 1>steps toward bigger projects. It shows progress, it shows achievements,

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<v Speaker 1>and it shows goals. She says, So what kind of

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<v Speaker 1>pages does Holly have in her notebook? She sent me

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<v Speaker 1>a partial list with all of them. She has pages

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<v Speaker 1>for tracking holidays taken at work, notes for her lawyer,

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<v Speaker 1>notes for her doctor, notes about money general category. Here,

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<v Speaker 1>she says, I put things I need to do but

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<v Speaker 1>having gotten around to, such as getting the cat microchip,

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<v Speaker 1>to meeting up with so and so, etc. She has

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<v Speaker 1>a page for her podcast, a page devoted to holiday destinations,

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<v Speaker 1>page devoted to therapy that might encompass things to cover

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<v Speaker 1>in sessions or exercises she needs to do, shopping lists, makeup.

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<v Speaker 1>She says, I keep a list of the shades and

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<v Speaker 1>brands I love so I don't forget, a destination, bucket list,

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<v Speaker 1>a list for her car which includes general info and

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<v Speaker 1>renewal dates things like that, a Christmas gift ideal list,

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<v Speaker 1>a dream journal, birthday list, social appointments, etc. Holly writes

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<v Speaker 1>that this may seem like a lot, but each time

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<v Speaker 1>I need to make room in my head or life,

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<v Speaker 1>or I'm worried I'll forget a date or a piece

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<v Speaker 1>of information, I just flip to that page and note

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<v Speaker 1>it down. It has given me back control and allowed

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<v Speaker 1>me to stop procrastinating. What Holly discovered is that just

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<v Speaker 1>because we're not going to do something right now doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>mean we don't want to know about it or think

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<v Speaker 1>about it in the future. So, for instance, I just

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<v Speaker 1>made a list in my planner that I'm calling this

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<v Speaker 1>summer fun list. These are things I want to do

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<v Speaker 1>over the summer that makes summer feel like summer to me,

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<v Speaker 1>I put things like eating ice cream at days in

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<v Speaker 1>Ocean Grove on the New Jersey Shore, going to a

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<v Speaker 1>Phillies game, going to a beer garden, and listening to

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<v Speaker 1>music outdoors. None of these things are on my to

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<v Speaker 1>do list for tomorrow or even for the next week.

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<v Speaker 1>But as I'm going into summer weekends and thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>what I might like to do, I'll have this list

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<v Speaker 1>to look back on. I also have an ongoing list

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<v Speaker 1>of home projects that we should probably do at some point.

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<v Speaker 1>If I put clean out the closet on my to

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<v Speaker 1>do list for this weekend, well, it probably wouldn't get

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<v Speaker 1>done because it's a full weekend, and then I'd feel bad.

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<v Speaker 1>But at least now it's somewhere, and when I do

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<v Speaker 1>feel like I have some time and want to tackle

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<v Speaker 1>a project, I know which ones I've identified as being

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<v Speaker 1>worth doing. I'd also definitely recommend keeping a TBR list

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<v Speaker 1>that stands for to be read. Anytime you hear a

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<v Speaker 1>good book recommendation, don't assume you'll remember it. You won't

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<v Speaker 1>remember it. Put it on the TBR list. Then when

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<v Speaker 1>you find yourself stuck with a weight somewhere, you can

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<v Speaker 1>look at the list, order the ebook on your phone

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<v Speaker 1>and start reading it in your eReading app. Our brains

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<v Speaker 1>can do all sorts of amazing things, but remembering stuff

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<v Speaker 1>we need to do in the future is not really

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<v Speaker 1>one of those things. Or worse well, remember the thing

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<v Speaker 1>at a time when we can do nothing about it.

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<v Speaker 1>I really should call my accountant about that tax issue

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<v Speaker 1>is just not a helpful thing to wake up and

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<v Speaker 1>mull over at three am, So get it out of

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<v Speaker 1>your head. Then your head will have room for all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of other amazing ideas. I'd love to hear about

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<v Speaker 1>the lists you make. Do you make a lot of them,

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<v Speaker 1>like Holly, or just a few? Do you keep them

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<v Speaker 1>in a notebook or an app or somewhere online. You

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<v Speaker 1>can email me with your ideas at Before Breakfast Podcast

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<v Speaker 1>at iHeartMedia dot com. 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. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me an email at

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

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

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