1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to finish the job. Once you have 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: already picked something up, it often just takes a few 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: extra seconds to completely deal with it. While in general 6 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: it is good to batch the little things, if you 7 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: have already taken the first few steps toward action, you 8 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: might as well get too done. Today's tip is inspired 9 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: by listener j c who rode in with a suggestion 10 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: about that common adage touch it once. She notes that 11 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: early in my career I learned the touch at once 12 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: rule when it came to filing and paperwork. That is, 13 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: you should deal with a document once and be done 14 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: with it. That's all fine for work, but Jace noted 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: that I found that it can apply to a variety 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: of quick tasks at work and at home. The idea 17 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: is that once you touch a dirty dish or an 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,839 Speaker 1: object out of place, deal with it so you don't 19 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: have to come back to it now. As with everything, 20 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: there is a caveat here. In general, I believe in 21 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: batching the little things. That is actually tranquility by Tuesday 22 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: rule number eight for my most recent book, don't pay 23 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,199 Speaker 1: bills as you get them, pay them in one fell 24 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: swoop at a low energy time. Respond to all your 25 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: low priority emails at once, rather than as you get them, 26 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: because if you respond to them as you get them, 27 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: you will basically never do anything else. That said, once 28 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: you've engaged in a process halfway, say you have pulled 29 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: out your check book to start paying a paper bill, 30 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: it would make no sense to stop after writing the 31 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: check before putting it in the envelope. You will just 32 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: have to take another minute later to finish the job. 33 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: So better get it stamped and ready to go out 34 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: the door. Now it seems obvious, but we often make 35 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: more work for ourselves by not following through. The Other day, 36 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: I found some art supplies in the wrong place in 37 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: the house. I carried them all the way up the 38 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: stairs to the closet where we keep such things. Then 39 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: I put them down outside the closet door. As I 40 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: look back on this, now, this doesn't make a whole 41 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: lot of sense. It would have taken maybe ten seconds 42 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,119 Speaker 1: maybe less to open the door and chuck the supplies 43 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: in there. But instead of doing that ten second task, 44 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: I left the supplies out in the hallway, even though 45 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: that risked some little person in my household moving them 46 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: to the wrong place again, or somebody tripping over them, 47 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: or who knows what. Maybe I was hoping that someone 48 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: else would take the ten seconds to put them away 49 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: so I wouldn't have had to devote the ten seconds 50 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: to moving them. But sadly, the most likely outcome is 51 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: that this wasn't going to happen, and so when I 52 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: was next up there, I would eventually have to get 53 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: around to putting them in the closet. Better to finish 54 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: the job the first time, So the next time you 55 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: start a job, think about how you can finish it. 56 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: I recently read a decluttering book where the author pointed 57 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: out that disorganized people create all sorts of piles while decluttering, 58 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: and so the room never winds up looking much better. 59 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: The author recommended actually carrying misplaced objects to where they 60 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: go immediately. Is this efficient? Well? Probably not. There may 61 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: be six toys in the kitchen that have to go 62 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: to a kid's bedroom, and if you do see a handful, 63 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 1: grab them all before you go. But the problem with 64 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: making a pile to go up is that the pile 65 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: may still be sitting there a week later and it 66 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: feels like you are making no progress. Better to make 67 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: two to three trips to the room and actually have 68 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: the kitchens start to look better. Most of us need 69 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:24,359 Speaker 1: more steps and activity these days. Anyway, Finish the job 70 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: and you can in fact be finished. That is better 71 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: than constantly living somewhere around halfway done. In the meantime, 72 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 73 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: the moods of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to 74 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 75 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 76 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast hot that's B the number four, 77 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me 78 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,359 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. 79 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 80 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:16,599 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 81 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For 82 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 83 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 84 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: favorite shows.