WEBVTT - What if you do, what if you don't

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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 about how to deal with those nagging

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<v Speaker 1>tasks that linger on your to do list. For any

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<v Speaker 1>given task, think through the benefits of doing it and

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<v Speaker 1>the costs of not doing it. That can help you

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<v Speaker 1>get motivated to get it done, or you might decide

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<v Speaker 1>it's not worth your time after all. On my other podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>Best of Both Worlds, we received a listener question about

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<v Speaker 1>getting motivated to deal with a nagging task. My co

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<v Speaker 1>host Sarah heart Unger proposed a helpful thought process that

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<v Speaker 1>I am sharing as today's tip. Sarah suggested thinking through

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<v Speaker 1>the benefits of tack cling the to do and then

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<v Speaker 1>the consequences of not doing it, and then considering whether

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<v Speaker 1>or not it is worth it. We can put several

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of nagging tasks through this rubric. Maybe you have

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<v Speaker 1>got a weird spot on your hand and you think

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<v Speaker 1>that maybe you should schedule a dermatologist appointment to get

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<v Speaker 1>it checked out. If you do this task, it will

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<v Speaker 1>take some time and effort to make the appointment, to

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<v Speaker 1>go to the appointment, and then potentially deal with the outcome,

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<v Speaker 1>but you will most likely find out whether the spot

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<v Speaker 1>is just weird or potentially cancerous. On the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>not doing the task will save you some time and

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<v Speaker 1>potentially money in the near term, depending on your insurance situation.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's not that much time, and you could definitely

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<v Speaker 1>lose that time to wondering and worrying or having some

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<v Speaker 1>worse outcome, in which case the same of time and

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<v Speaker 1>money would not be much consolation. I think in most

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<v Speaker 1>cases people would probably decide to make that appointment, but

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<v Speaker 1>maybe the same rubric will produce a different answer for

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<v Speaker 1>something else. You have a nagging sense that you should

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<v Speaker 1>clean out your attic. What happens? If you do well,

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<v Speaker 1>you will eventually have a clean attic. Maybe we'll find

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<v Speaker 1>some cool stuff that you have completely forgotten about. On

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<v Speaker 1>the other hand, doing the clean out will definitely take

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<v Speaker 1>a big chunk of your discretionary time, which might be

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<v Speaker 1>limited during this phase of your life. Are you planning

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<v Speaker 1>to do something with that clean attic? You could also

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<v Speaker 1>decide to not clean it out If you need to

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<v Speaker 1>move at some point, you would then just have to

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<v Speaker 1>box the stuff up and move it to the next attic.

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<v Speaker 1>Or if we want to be morbid about it. You

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<v Speaker 1>might die with a full attic and then it would

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<v Speaker 1>no longer be your problem. I don't know what the

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<v Speaker 1>right choice is for you, but you can think through

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<v Speaker 1>all the options, which will help you realize that you

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<v Speaker 1>do have options. Many tasks can be done but don't

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely have to be done. We can make choices. So

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<v Speaker 1>the next time you have a nagging task you are

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<v Speaker 1>not looking forward to doing, ask yourself, what if I do?

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<v Speaker 1>What if I don't? This might help you gain clarity

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe help you either do the task or decide

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<v Speaker 1>to let it go. 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 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 Podcasts 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, I look forward to staying in touch.

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

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