Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to consider whether an effort comes with sufficient reward, or,
Speaker 1: as the saying goes, is the juice worth the squeeze.
Speaker 1: So often, when we are deciding whether to take on
Speaker 1: a project, we ask ourselves a series of questions. First,
Speaker 1: does this seam appealing? If we are wise, we may
Speaker 1: also ask ourselves whether we have the time and bandwidth
Speaker 1: to take on the project. We might also consider whether
Speaker 1: we'd have to give something else up, like another project
Speaker 1: or potential leisure time. All of these are good things
Speaker 1: to consider, but sometimes we wind up asking all these
Speaker 1: questions separately. If the project is appealing the answer is yes,
Speaker 1: or if we have a lot of open space for
Speaker 1: some reason, we say yes to anything that comes along,
Speaker 1: or if we are swamped we say no to everything.
Speaker 1: It is better to ask these questions concurrently and find
Speaker 1: out whether the potential payoffs are proportionate to the time invested.
Speaker 1: That is, is the juice worth the squeeze? After all,
Speaker 1: a project that's reasonably appealing may require a huge effort,
Speaker 1: or it might require minimal effort, and a project that
Speaker 1: we have time for may be incredibly valuable, or it
Speaker 1: might be not especially valuable. That's why we need to
Speaker 1: ask about the appeal of the project relative to the
Speaker 1: effort required. How hard is it to do this project
Speaker 1: and how sweet will be the reward. Your boss may
Speaker 1: have offered you a project with a fascinating client that
Speaker 1: would let you build lots of new skills, and that
Speaker 1: you know is going to require a lot of late nights,
Speaker 1: so do you do it? Or maybe your favorite yoga
Speaker 1: teacher now teaches at a studio thirty minutes away, and
Speaker 1: that studio charges ten dollars more per class than the
Speaker 1: studio right around the corner from you. Is your favorite
Speaker 1: teacher that much better than the more convenient and less
Speaker 1: expensive option. Or maybe a nonprofit you support is considering
Speaker 1: hosting a silent auction, an event that will definitely be fun,
Speaker 1: but that will also require a large number of volunteer hours.
Speaker 1: Will it raise much more after expenses than a direct
Speaker 1: mail campaign? There is no one right answer to any
Speaker 1: of these questions. If you ask yourself whether the juice
Speaker 1: is worth the squeeze to you, you can make a
Speaker 1: decision about whether the effort, however big or small, is
Speaker 1: worth the payoff. Let me be clear that my message
Speaker 1: is not to avoid doing hard things. Life is richer
Speaker 1: when we choose wisely about how to invest our energy
Speaker 1: and enjoy the rewards of our efforts. My point here
Speaker 1: is really about other temptations. We should avoid saying yes
Speaker 1: to everything that seems fairly easy, as sometimes the easy
Speaker 1: things aren't worth even the minimal effort required. We also
Speaker 1: want to say no to hard things that don't have
Speaker 1: a payoff that is commensurate with the effort we will
Speaker 1: need to put into them. So ask yourself if the
Speaker 1: juice is worth the squeeze, and point your efforts to
Speaker 1: opportunities that will yield rewards that are sweet relative to
Speaker 1: the time and energy you invest in the meantime, This
Speaker 1: is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the
Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia
Speaker 1: dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. I don't
Speaker 1: know get I get