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 that if there is something important you need
Speaker 1: or want to do, don't count on remembering it. Pick
Speaker 1: a time and plan it into your schedule instead. Over
Speaker 1: the past few months, I have run several challenges where
Speaker 1: I have people try out different strategies that can hopefully
Speaker 1: help make their days more enjoyable. I often share the
Speaker 1: strategy and then have people brainstorm how they will build
Speaker 1: it into their lives. I ask people to anticipate any
Speaker 1: challenges they might have with the strategy. Then after a
Speaker 1: week or so, I ask whether they faced any challenges
Speaker 1: in implementation. Inevitably, one of the most anticipated and experienced
Speaker 1: challenges is actually remembering the strategy. Now, I get that
Speaker 1: change is hard. So much of our time unfolds habitually,
Speaker 1: and it is hard to build a new habit when
Speaker 1: existing habits and routines are ingrained. Most of my listeners
Speaker 1: lead really full lives, which makes it even harder to
Speaker 1: do something new. Some challenges are truly difficult and require
Speaker 1: getting a partner's buy in, or creating more support at home,
Speaker 1: or asking a manager to do something different. But the
Speaker 1: challenge of remembering to implement a strategy or remembering to
Speaker 1: do anything really is much more solvable. If you find
Speaker 1: yourself thinking that you would like to do something but
Speaker 1: that it is hard to remember, or even if you
Speaker 1: hear yourself saying I need to remember to do such
Speaker 1: and such, just stop. Reframe your intention. You don't need
Speaker 1: to remember to do anything. You can make a plan
Speaker 1: to do it and then perhaps compliment that plan with
Speaker 1: a reminder. Then your brain is free for other things
Speaker 1: besides keeping track of all your to dos. So remembering
Speaker 1: to water your plants may not go so well. Instead,
Speaker 1: choose a time and create a recurring calendar item or
Speaker 1: set an alarm on your phone that reminds you to
Speaker 1: go water your plants. Remembering to ask your work friend
Speaker 1: how her daughter's dance performance went may lead to you
Speaker 1: forgetting to ask about it, But planning to ask about
Speaker 1: it could be accomplished with a calendar item or an
Speaker 1: email to your work account that you will see as
Speaker 1: soon as you open your email Monday morning, which is
Speaker 1: right before you see your friend. Then you can be
Speaker 1: sure you will ask about the performance. If you hear
Speaker 1: yourself talk talking about remembering to do something. Pause and
Speaker 1: adjust your language, say plan to instead, and then adjust
Speaker 1: your approach. Figure out when you will do the thing,
Speaker 1: and then set a specific reminder that will nudge you
Speaker 1: to do it at that time. You don't have to
Speaker 1: remember remembering is hard. You've built out a plan with
Speaker 1: reminders so you can be confident you will follow through
Speaker 1: on the action in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.