WEBVTT - Sometimes you can sweep it under the rug

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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 that not all messes in complexity have

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<v Speaker 1>to be dealt with. Sometimes you can just sweep it

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<v Speaker 1>under the rug. I recently recorded some time makeover videos

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<v Speaker 1>to illustrate the nine time rules in my forthcoming book,

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<v Speaker 1>Tranquility by Tuesday. Most of the video was filmed in

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<v Speaker 1>readers homes, but we also filmed in my kitchen, which

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<v Speaker 1>is command central from my family of seven. You can

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<v Speaker 1>imagine what my kitchen looks like on a typical Thursday.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if we are on top of the dishes, we

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<v Speaker 1>wind up with stuff on the counter, random toys, mail,

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<v Speaker 1>and people's art supplies. So what did I do before

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<v Speaker 1>the Tranquility by Tuesday film crew arrived. I moved the

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<v Speaker 1>random stuff to a pile by the stairs and put

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<v Speaker 1>a wooden crate of papers and old magazines in the pantry. Miraculously,

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<v Speaker 1>the counter was now clear, perfect for video. As we've

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<v Speaker 1>needed things, we've dug them out, and yes, the mail

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<v Speaker 1>pile has re established itself it always does, but when needed,

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<v Speaker 1>everything was out of sight. There's a saying that you

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<v Speaker 1>can't just sweep it under the rug. Presumably you should

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<v Speaker 1>sweep messes into a dustpan and empty the dustpan into

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<v Speaker 1>the trash instead, And that's generally a good idea literally

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<v Speaker 1>and metaphorically. If you have a significant conflict with your spouse,

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<v Speaker 1>if your finances are in disarray, if you're dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>the aftermath of a traumatic experience, you probably need to

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<v Speaker 1>deal with the issue thoroughly, get to the bottom of it,

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<v Speaker 1>understand it, work through it. Some physical complexity needs to

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<v Speaker 1>be dealt with systematically too. If your attic is such

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<v Speaker 1>a disaster that you re buy things that you know

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<v Speaker 1>you have stored, you should probably clean it out. If

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<v Speaker 1>you have stacks of paper on your desk and you

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<v Speaker 1>can't get your work done because you're unable to find

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<v Speaker 1>the materials you need, you would make your life better

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<v Speaker 1>by getting organized, but sometimes that is just not necessary.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes you can deal with a mess by sweeping it

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<v Speaker 1>under the rug, like my ten minute kitchen cleaning. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>getting disorder out of sight is really all you need.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe your desktop is covered with downloaded files and documents

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<v Speaker 1>you're working on that you intend to deal with but

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<v Speaker 1>never get around to. No worries if you need to

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<v Speaker 1>screen share during a video conference, just drag all the

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<v Speaker 1>files into a folder labeled desktop and you're good to go.

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<v Speaker 1>Your kids scattered toys all around your living room really

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to be neatly organized every night. That is

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<v Speaker 1>truly a waste of time, as they are just going

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<v Speaker 1>to come out again the next morning. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>value the place looking orderly, just throw all the toys

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<v Speaker 1>into a basket in the corner for your kids to

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<v Speaker 1>find another day. Better yet, have them throw them in there.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you can sort through the basket once or twice

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<v Speaker 1>a year to give away anything they've outgrown. That's enough.

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<v Speaker 1>All the documentation for your taxes can just go in

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<v Speaker 1>a file. If you have the data in a spreadsheet,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't really matter if the paper documentation is organized.

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<v Speaker 1>If you do need to produce the documentation in the future,

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<v Speaker 1>you can dig through the file to access the documents

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<v Speaker 1>you need. Otherwise, what matters is that you have the documents,

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<v Speaker 1>not that they're perfectly organized. Before you spend a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of time organizing, think through whether the organization is necessary.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes you really can get a mess out of sight

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<v Speaker 1>and put it out of mind and save your time

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<v Speaker 1>for more important things 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 times. 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 the number four, then breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media 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. Should I look forward to staying in touch.

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