WEBVTT - Second Cup: Get it out of your head

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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 get it out of your head.

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<v Speaker 1>That is, write down anything you're not going to do

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<v Speaker 1>right this minute. In a previous episode, I talked about

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<v Speaker 1>keeping your to do list short. The reason to do

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<v Speaker 1>this is that there's no point putting something on a

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<v Speaker 1>to do list and then not doing it. It's just

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<v Speaker 1>as undone as if you'd never put it on the

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<v Speaker 1>list in the first place, only now you feel bad too.

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<v Speaker 1>Better to have expectations meet reality. The only way to

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<v Speaker 1>guarantee that happens is to keep your list short. I

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned that a lot of people really resist this idea.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because we're responsible for more than three to five

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<v Speaker 1>things in the universe. So what do you do with

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of this stuff? How do you keep it

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<v Speaker 1>from clogging up your brain? How do you make sure

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<v Speaker 1>you'll remember it in the future. Well, As Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>listener Holly put it in an email to me, you

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<v Speaker 1>get it out of your head. Holly wrote in her

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<v Speaker 1>note that while she was going through some very stressful

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<v Speaker 1>times in her personal life, she began writing down various

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<v Speaker 1>images and memories that came to her, so she'd have

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<v Speaker 1>them somewhere but wouldn't have to dwell on them. She

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<v Speaker 1>later realized that this process was useful for things beyond

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<v Speaker 1>her ruminations. It was a good idea for managing to

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<v Speaker 1>do lists in general. So now I have a small

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<v Speaker 1>notebook and each page has a subject line, she writes,

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<v Speaker 1>And on that page, I create a list of things

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<v Speaker 1>I need to remember, things that I need to do,

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<v Speaker 1>and things I want to do. This takes them out

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<v Speaker 1>of my head and into a place I can look

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<v Speaker 1>over several times a day to see what I can

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<v Speaker 1>take off. That is, when she finds herself with some

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<v Speaker 1>extra time. She noted that these lists also hold her

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<v Speaker 1>accountable for steps toward bigger projects. It shows progress, it

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<v Speaker 1>shows achievements, and it shows goals. She says, So what

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<v Speaker 1>kind of pages does Holly have in her notebook? She

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<v Speaker 1>sent me a partial list with all of them. She

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<v Speaker 1>has pages for tracking holidays taken at work, notes for

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<v Speaker 1>her lawyer, notes for her doctor, not ites about money.

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<v Speaker 1>General category. Here, she says, I put things I need

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<v Speaker 1>to do but haven't gotten around to, such as getting

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<v Speaker 1>the cat micro chipped, meeting up with so and so, etcetera.

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<v Speaker 1>She has a page for her podcast, a page devoted

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<v Speaker 1>to holiday destinations, page devoted to therapy that might encompass,

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<v Speaker 1>things to cover in sessions or exercises she needs to do,

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<v Speaker 1>shopping lists, make up. She says, I keep a list

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<v Speaker 1>of the shades and brands I love so I don't forget,

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<v Speaker 1>a destination, bucket list, a list for her car which

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<v Speaker 1>includes general info and renewal dates things like that, a

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas gift idealist, a dream journal, birthday list, social appointments, etcetera.

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<v Speaker 1>Holly writes that this may seem like a lot, but

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<v Speaker 1>each time I need to make room in my head

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<v Speaker 1>or life, or I'm worried I'll forget a date or

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<v Speaker 1>a piece of information, I just flipped to that page

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<v Speaker 1>and no it down. It has given me back control

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<v Speaker 1>and allowed me to stop procrastinating. What Holly discovered is

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<v Speaker 1>that just because we're not going to do something right

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<v Speaker 1>now doesn't mean we don't want to know about it

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<v Speaker 1>or think about it in the future. So, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>I just made a list in my planner that I'm

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<v Speaker 1>calling the Summer fun List. These are things I want

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<v Speaker 1>to do over the summer that makes summer feel like

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<v Speaker 1>summer to me. I put things like eating ice cream

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<v Speaker 1>at days in Ocean Grove on the New Jersey Shore,

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<v Speaker 1>going to a Phillies game, going to a beer garden,

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<v Speaker 1>and listening to music outdoors. None of these things are

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<v Speaker 1>on my to do list for tomorrow or even for

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<v Speaker 1>the next week. But as I'm going into summer weekends

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<v Speaker 1>and thinking about what I might like to do, I'll

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<v Speaker 1>have this list to look back on. I also have

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<v Speaker 1>an ongoing list of home projects that we should probably

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<v Speaker 1>do at some point. If I put clean out the

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<v Speaker 1>closet on my to do list for this weekend, well,

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<v Speaker 1>it probably wouldn't get done because it's a full weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>and then I'd feel bad. But at least now it's somewhere,

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<v Speaker 1>and what I do feel like I have some time

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<v Speaker 1>and want to tackle a project. I know which one's

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<v Speaker 1>I've identified as being worth doing. I'd also definitely recommend

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<v Speaker 1>keeping a t BR list that stands for to be read.

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<v Speaker 1>Anytime you hear a good book recommendation, don't assume you'll

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<v Speaker 1>remember it. You won't remember it. Put it on the

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<v Speaker 1>t BR list. Then, when you find yourself stuck with

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<v Speaker 1>a weight somewhere you can look at the list, order

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<v Speaker 1>the e book on your phone and start reading it

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<v Speaker 1>in your e reading app. Our brains can do all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of amazing things, but remembering stuff we need to

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<v Speaker 1>do in the future is not really one of those things.

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<v Speaker 1>Or worse, we'll remember the thing at a time when

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<v Speaker 1>we can do nothing about it. I really should call

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<v Speaker 1>my accountant about that tax issue. Is just not a

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<v Speaker 1>helpful thing to wake up and pull over at three am,

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<v Speaker 1>So get it out of your head. Then your head

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<v Speaker 1>will have room for all sorts of other amazing ideas.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear about the lists you make. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you make a lot of them, like Holly, or just

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<v Speaker 1>a few? Do you keep them in a notebook or

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<v Speaker 1>an app or somewhere online. You can email me with

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<v Speaker 1>your ideas at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's B the number four, then Breakfast p O. D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H