1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to deal with those nagging 4 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: tasks that linger on your to do list. For any 5 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: given task, think through the benefits of doing it and 6 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: the costs of not doing it. That can help you 7 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: get motivated to get it done, or you might decide 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: it's not worth your time after all. On my other podcast, 9 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: Best of Both Worlds, we received a listener question about 10 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: getting motivated to deal with a nagging task. My co 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: host Sarah heart Unger proposed a helpful thought process that 12 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: I am sharing as today's tip. Sarah suggested thinking through 13 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:00,959 Speaker 1: the benefits of tack cling the to do and then 14 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: the consequences of not doing it, and then considering whether 15 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: or not it is worth it. We can put several 16 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: sorts of nagging tasks through this rubric. Maybe you have 17 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: got a weird spot on your hand and you think 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: that maybe you should schedule a dermatologist appointment to get 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: it checked out. If you do this task, it will 20 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: take some time and effort to make the appointment, to 21 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: go to the appointment, and then potentially deal with the outcome, 22 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,039 Speaker 1: but you will most likely find out whether the spot 23 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: is just weird or potentially cancerous. On the other hand, 24 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: not doing the task will save you some time and 25 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: potentially money in the near term, depending on your insurance situation. 26 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: But it's not that much time, and you could definitely 27 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: lose that time to wondering and worrying or having some 28 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: worse outcome, in which case the same of time and 29 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: money would not be much consolation. I think in most 30 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: cases people would probably decide to make that appointment, but 31 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: maybe the same rubric will produce a different answer for 32 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: something else. You have a nagging sense that you should 33 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: clean out your attic. What happens? If you do well, 34 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: you will eventually have a clean attic. Maybe we'll find 35 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: some cool stuff that you have completely forgotten about. On 36 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: the other hand, doing the clean out will definitely take 37 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: a big chunk of your discretionary time, which might be 38 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 1: limited during this phase of your life. Are you planning 39 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: to do something with that clean attic? You could also 40 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: decide to not clean it out If you need to 41 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: move at some point, you would then just have to 42 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,239 Speaker 1: box the stuff up and move it to the next attic. 43 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: Or if we want to be morbid about it. You 44 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: might die with a full attic and then it would 45 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: no longer be your problem. I don't know what the 46 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: right choice is for you, but you can think through 47 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: all the options, which will help you realize that you 48 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: do have options. Many tasks can be done but don't 49 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: absolutely have to be done. We can make choices. So 50 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: the next time you have a nagging task you are 51 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: not looking forward to doing, ask yourself, what if I do? 52 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: What if I don't? This might help you gain clarity 53 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: and maybe help you either do the task or decide 54 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: to let it go. In the meantime, this is Laura. 55 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 56 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 57 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 58 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 59 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast 60 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email 61 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast Podcasts at I heeart media dot com. 62 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 63 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 64 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For 65 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 66 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 67 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: favorite shows.