Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is that behind is not a feeling. While
Speaker 1: people often lament feeling constantly behind, this isn't a helpful mindset.
Speaker 1: When you know what you are responsible for, then either
Speaker 1: you are behind or you are not behind. Is a fact,
Speaker 1: not a feeling, and facts turn out to be easier
Speaker 1: to deal with. Long time listeners know that I advocate
Speaker 1: planning your weeks in reasonable detail. You want to know
Speaker 1: what you need to accomplish and when you will do it.
Speaker 1: When you do this, it is a straightforward question of
Speaker 1: whether or not you are are on track. If it
Speaker 1: is Wednesday morning and you have accomplished the tasks you
Speaker 1: assign yourself from Monday and Tuesday, then you are on schedule.
Speaker 1: That's great. If you haven't finished the presentation you intended
Speaker 1: to get done on Tuesday morning, then you are behind.
Speaker 1: This is a simple fact. It is not an existential
Speaker 1: take on life, and since it is a simple description
Speaker 1: of the mismatch between expectations and events on the ground,
Speaker 1: you can take steps to deal with it. You could
Speaker 1: work a little later to do that presentation. You could
Speaker 1: request an extension. You could ask your deputy to take
Speaker 1: a stab at a first draft. Any of these solutions
Speaker 1: might work, but all of them are taking concrete steps
Speaker 1: to solve a specific problem. No need to draw conclusions
Speaker 1: about anything concerning your competent sense or the state of
Speaker 1: the world in general. It's wise to break long term
Speaker 1: projects into incremental steps, with a plan for when you'll
Speaker 1: complete each of the steps. Perhaps you figure out what
Speaker 1: you'll get done each month, and then each month you
Speaker 1: schedule out the steps for each week, and then each
Speaker 1: week you map out what you'll do each day. If
Speaker 1: you make your way through long term projects with a
Speaker 1: plan and a schedule, they don't have to loom over
Speaker 1: your head. A project is a race to be run,
Speaker 1: not a nebulous threat to be feared. You have facts
Speaker 1: about what you need to do and a plan for
Speaker 1: when you'll do it. But if you don't have a
Speaker 1: plan for a long term project, or for the week
Speaker 1: or for the day, you may get an anxious feeling.
Speaker 1: You worry that you haven't done something you should have,
Speaker 1: or that there's more to do between now and the
Speaker 1: end of the day or the week or the year.
Speaker 1: Then you can manage. You may say that you feel behind,
Speaker 1: but what you feel is out of control. So get
Speaker 1: some facts, figure out what you need to do, and
Speaker 1: make a plan for doing it. Your anxiety will go
Speaker 1: down and your sense of purpose will go up. You
Speaker 1: won't say you feel behind anymore because you'll have a schedule.
Speaker 1: You are either on track or you are not on track.
Speaker 1: And if you are behind schedule, you can calmly figure
Speaker 1: out what you need to do to get back on
Speaker 1: schedule or if the timelines need to be revised. When
Speaker 1: you know what you need to do and when you
Speaker 1: need to do it, then behind is not a feeling.
Speaker 1: It either is the case or it isn't the case.
Speaker 1: There is no need to give the facts more power
Speaker 1: than that. In the meantime, this is ra Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Yea.