WEBVTT - You have as much time today as you ever will

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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 assume that you have as much

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<v Speaker 1>time today as you ever will. It's tempting to put

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<v Speaker 1>tasks aside until there's more time for them, but more

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<v Speaker 1>often than not, the extra time we see in the

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<v Speaker 1>future is just a mirage. We're better off being realistic.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have a stack of unread books sitting on

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<v Speaker 1>your night sand Do you have items on your to

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<v Speaker 1>do list that keep getting transferred to tomorrow? How about

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<v Speaker 1>big home projects you keep thinking you should tackle, like

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<v Speaker 1>repainting the garage. All of us have tasks that may

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<v Speaker 1>be valuable but aren't urgent in the face of more

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<v Speaker 1>pressing priorities. The tasks get put off again and again.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll get to them when life calms down. We'll get

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<v Speaker 1>to them next month, next year, when the kids are older,

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<v Speaker 1>when life is somehow different. It's understandable, and sometimes life

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<v Speaker 1>will be different in the future. I do imagine that

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<v Speaker 1>my life will look different in twenty years, when I

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<v Speaker 1>don't have five children under my roof. I imagine it

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<v Speaker 1>will look different in a few months, once the stay

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<v Speaker 1>at home COVID nineteen restrictions end, But there are two

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<v Speaker 1>drawbacks to kicking tasks forward. The first drawback is that

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<v Speaker 1>the tasks may never get done. If they're worth doing well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a loss. The second drawback, which is more pernicious,

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<v Speaker 1>is that the tasks hang over our heads for days

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<v Speaker 1>or weeks or months on end. Loose ends create anxiety

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<v Speaker 1>and consume mental bandwidth. We can operate much better in

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<v Speaker 1>the present when we're not distracted by nagging two does

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<v Speaker 1>so what can we do about this? By recognizing that

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<v Speaker 1>we have as much time today as we ever will,

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<v Speaker 1>we're able to make more realistic choices about what tasks

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<v Speaker 1>we choose to take on and what we will let

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<v Speaker 1>go in the moment. This may mean recognizing that you

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<v Speaker 1>are never going to do something and letting it go

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<v Speaker 1>from your list. If you haven't painted in a decade,

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<v Speaker 1>you probably aren't going to that virtual workshop on watercolor

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<v Speaker 1>paintings that your local library is hosting, so toss the flyer.

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<v Speaker 1>On the other hand, sometimes recognizing that we have as

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<v Speaker 1>much time today as we ever will can prompt us

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<v Speaker 1>to knock out a task immediately. Go ahead and call

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<v Speaker 1>your doctor's office. About that billing error. You need to

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<v Speaker 1>address the issue at some point, and there's no reason

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<v Speaker 1>to think you'll have more time for that tomorrow, so

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<v Speaker 1>don't let it linger now. To be sure, sometimes you

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<v Speaker 1>may find it hard to let go of tasks that

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<v Speaker 1>don't warrant doing today or scheduling for a specific time

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<v Speaker 1>in the near future. When that's the case, you might

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<v Speaker 1>create what David Allen calls a Someday maybe list. As

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<v Speaker 1>the name suggests, this is a running list of ideas

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<v Speaker 1>to pursue someday. Maybe you aren't committing to do them,

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<v Speaker 1>but you're keeping track of them, so you can peruse

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<v Speaker 1>the list every now and then and pick up any

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<v Speaker 1>ideas you suddenly feel strongly about. This list creates a

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<v Speaker 1>middle ground for stuff that sounds nice but doesn't fit

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<v Speaker 1>into your life right now. But just know that there

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<v Speaker 1>is not going to be a magical time in the

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<v Speaker 1>future when you feel more like calling the doctor's office

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<v Speaker 1>about that billing issue, or when you have so much

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<v Speaker 1>energy that you can organize the entire garage before breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>In the future, you will be pretty much the same

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<v Speaker 1>as you are now. And maybe that sounds depressing, but

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully it's liberating. People waste tons of time obsessing about

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<v Speaker 1>stuff that they're never going to do, and that's a

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<v Speaker 1>waste of time that could be spent enjoying life as

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<v Speaker 1>it actually is. So the next time something comes up

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<v Speaker 1>and you say to yourself that you'll get to it

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<v Speaker 1>later after this busy season passes, think again. You have

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<v Speaker 1>as much time today as you ever will, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>wise to be thoughtful and realistic about how you choose

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<v Speaker 1>to spend it in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 1>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 1>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart

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