WEBVTT - What's most consequential?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that when you realize you can't complete everything

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<v Speaker 1>on your to do list, identify any tasks that would

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<v Speaker 1>result in serious consequences if you left them undone. This

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<v Speaker 1>provides a quick way to figure out what to do first.

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<v Speaker 1>I was reminded of this tip to ask what is

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<v Speaker 1>most consequential recently while reading through Dick Seller's book Successful

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<v Speaker 1>Time Management for Dummies. As longtime listeners know, I advise

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<v Speaker 1>considering your to do list a contract with yourself. When

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<v Speaker 1>you put a task on the to do list for

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<v Speaker 1>the day or week, you are promising yourself that it

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<v Speaker 1>will get done. But occasionally our days go wildly off

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<v Speaker 1>the rails. A very sick kid needs your careen presence.

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<v Speaker 1>A dramatic plumbing emergency means there is water everywhere, or

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<v Speaker 1>let's just hope it's water. An important work project lands

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<v Speaker 1>on your desk with a very tight deadline. Suddenly the

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<v Speaker 1>reasonable to do list that you are planning to complete

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<v Speaker 1>becomes impossibly long, so you have to regroup. When you

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<v Speaker 1>need to choose what to do from your to do list.

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<v Speaker 1>Zeller advises asking what if not done today will lead

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<v Speaker 1>to a significant consequence. I think this is a wise question.

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<v Speaker 1>When you are feeling stressed, it is tempting to look

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<v Speaker 1>at your to do list and choose the simplest or

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<v Speaker 1>fastest tasks to complete. We all want to check things off,

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<v Speaker 1>but if you aren't going to do everything, then this

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<v Speaker 1>impulse is problematic because whether or not you fill out

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<v Speaker 1>that form for HR today doesn't really matter if it

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<v Speaker 1>is not due until next week, and it may not

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<v Speaker 1>matter all that much at all. Doing it will take

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<v Speaker 1>time away from doing more pressing things. It is much

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<v Speaker 1>wiser to evaluate the items on the to do list

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<v Speaker 1>to identify that any that will cause big problems if

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<v Speaker 1>they aren't done today. Just run through your list and

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<v Speaker 1>ask yourself, will terrible things happen if this doesn't get

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<v Speaker 1>done today? So, for instance, will terrible things happen if

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<v Speaker 1>I don't send back that big proposal that the client

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<v Speaker 1>wants by the end of the day, Well we won't

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<v Speaker 1>get the project in that case, and if we really

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<v Speaker 1>want that project, that would be a bad thing. What

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<v Speaker 1>will happen if I don't pick up that medication that

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<v Speaker 1>I need and that I am completely out of well,

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<v Speaker 1>that would also be bad. What will happen if I

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<v Speaker 1>don't pick up my shirts at the cleaners? Well, if

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<v Speaker 1>you have other shirts, not much, so that is probably

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<v Speaker 1>okay to reschedule. You get the idea, consider what harm

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<v Speaker 1>would actually come from not completing a task. As you

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<v Speaker 1>do this, you may realize that some tasks don't ever

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<v Speaker 1>need to be completed. That is good to know. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>That's said, just because not completing a task today isn't

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<v Speaker 1>harmful doesn't mean it won't eventually become consequential. Nothing bad

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<v Speaker 1>will happen if you don't submit your taxes by April

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<v Speaker 1>tenth here in the US, but something bad may happen

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't submit them by April fifteenth. Likewise, Zeller

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<v Speaker 1>gives the example of a presentation. The day before a presentation,

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<v Speaker 1>you really do have to prepare for it, but that

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<v Speaker 1>task may not have been urgent a week earlier. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>in general, we do want to do things before the

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<v Speaker 1>last minute. But it is also true that if you

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<v Speaker 1>can't get to everything and you need to triage, then

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<v Speaker 1>it is better to do the things for which last

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<v Speaker 1>minute is right now than the things for which last

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<v Speaker 1>minute is sometime off in the future. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.