WEBVTT - Don't do just one more thing

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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 stop trying to squeeze in just

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<v Speaker 1>one more thing. Instead of being more efficient, you generally

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<v Speaker 1>just make yourself late, which is no fun for anyone.

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<v Speaker 1>Since I write and speak about time, I've spent a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of time studying other people's relationships with time, including

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<v Speaker 1>what time we show up for things. As I'm writing

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<v Speaker 1>this episode, many of us haven't left the house for

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<v Speaker 1>a while. But as life opens back up, we'll start

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<v Speaker 1>needing to get from one place to another. We'll need

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<v Speaker 1>to get to these places at certain times. I am

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<v Speaker 1>almost comically punctual to things myself, as you might imagine,

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<v Speaker 1>and there are upsides to this, though there are also downsides.

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<v Speaker 1>I show up awkwardly early to parties. I could be

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<v Speaker 1>on the verse urge of solving my most important business problem,

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<v Speaker 1>but I will stop working on it two minutes before

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<v Speaker 1>reaching a solution to call someone right at ten am,

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<v Speaker 1>just because that's the time on my calendar. I know

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<v Speaker 1>that other folks find themselves chronically late to things, and

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<v Speaker 1>so I've tried to study why that is. With an

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<v Speaker 1>open mind, I know that in many cases it's not

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<v Speaker 1>actually because the person is engaged in some sort of

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<v Speaker 1>weird power play to demonstrate that his or her time

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<v Speaker 1>is more important than everyone else's. It turns out that

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<v Speaker 1>late people are wildly optimistic. They think it takes twenty

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<v Speaker 1>minutes to get to work because it did one time

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<v Speaker 1>five years ago, and that has now become the remembered standard,

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<v Speaker 1>even though it's taken closer to thirty or thirty five

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<v Speaker 1>minutes every other time since. Another way this optimism plays out,

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<v Speaker 1>late people think they can fit in just one more

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<v Speaker 1>thing before they leave. They can send one more email,

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<v Speaker 1>they can tidy up the kitchen. It's just a little

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<v Speaker 1>thing and won't take much time, and then they've taken

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<v Speaker 1>this task off their plates for the future, so it's

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<v Speaker 1>all a win, right. Well, No, the email winds up

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<v Speaker 1>taking more than one minute to write, and then you

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<v Speaker 1>see something hot in your inbox and have to look

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<v Speaker 1>in Boom, there goes twenty minutes. Now the buffer for

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<v Speaker 1>anything going wrong is gone. As for freeing up some

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<v Speaker 1>imagined time in the future, well, has there ever been

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<v Speaker 1>a time when the kitchen is clean for good or

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<v Speaker 1>you are completely done emailing. These are tasks that expand

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<v Speaker 1>to fill all available space. You haven't saved time for

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<v Speaker 1>yourself later by trying to squeeze them in. You've just

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<v Speaker 1>given these tasks more time and made yourself rushed and

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<v Speaker 1>harried in the process. So if you find yourself falling

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<v Speaker 1>into this trap next time you've got two minutes before

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<v Speaker 1>you need to be out the door, just go. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>think of this as wasted time. Think of it as

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<v Speaker 1>sanity space. And by the way, the time won't wind

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<v Speaker 1>up existing anyway. Chronically, late people tend to be very

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<v Speaker 1>bad at time estimation. You think it takes ten minutes

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<v Speaker 1>to get to church, so when you see it's services

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<v Speaker 1>start at ten, you think, brilliant. Time to take out

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<v Speaker 1>the trash. But it doesn't take ten minutes to get

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<v Speaker 1>to church. It takes fifteen because you have to get

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<v Speaker 1>everyone in the car, and then you can't actually leap

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<v Speaker 1>straight out of the car into the pews. You have

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<v Speaker 1>to park and walk in. And since you took out

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<v Speaker 1>the trash too, now you're really late in life. It's

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<v Speaker 1>good to be efficient, but it's even better to be effective.

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<v Speaker 1>The tendency to squeeze in just one more thing results

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<v Speaker 1>in feeling like there isn't enough time. We're more productive

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<v Speaker 1>in life when we feel that time is abundant rather

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<v Speaker 1>than scarce. Stop trying to squeeze in just one more

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<v Speaker 1>thing and you'll feel more sure of this abundance in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, at

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

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, 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 i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.