WEBVTT - How not to overcommit

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

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<v Speaker 2>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's tip is about one way to keep yourself from

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<v Speaker 2>over committing. By thinking through each week ahead of time,

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<v Speaker 2>you can see what is already happening or needs to happen,

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<v Speaker 2>and so you won't add on anything new unless there

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<v Speaker 2>is a really good reason, because most likely there won't

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<v Speaker 2>be any space. On Friday, a few weeks ago, I

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<v Speaker 2>was planning my upcoming week as I usually do, and

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<v Speaker 2>I was reminded that it was going to be a

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<v Speaker 2>tight week. I was gone much of Monday and Tuesday.

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<v Speaker 2>Wednesday was booked solid with local events. I had Thursday

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<v Speaker 2>and Friday to be at my desk, but we were

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<v Speaker 2>leaving Saturday for a family trip, so all the packing

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<v Speaker 2>would have to fit in there too. In other words,

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<v Speaker 2>I had approximately half a week to fit in not

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<v Speaker 2>only the stuff from that week, but anything that had

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<v Speaker 2>to happen in advance of the week i'd be gone

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<v Speaker 2>as well. When I saw that, I quickly opted not

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<v Speaker 2>to schedule a phone call that I wanted to do

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<v Speaker 2>but didn't need to happen immediately. It could take place

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<v Speaker 2>after I was back at my desk two weeks later.

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<v Speaker 2>At least that was one fewer things stacked onto the pile.

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<v Speaker 2>I am guessing that you too, wind up with weeks

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<v Speaker 2>like that. Every minute is accounted for or will need

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<v Speaker 2>to be spent preparing for something happening in the near future.

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<v Speaker 2>The problem happens when we don't realize we are going

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<v Speaker 2>to house such weeks. If I were just making things

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<v Speaker 2>day by day, I might have seen that I was

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<v Speaker 2>free after three pm on Wednesday, so that would be

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<v Speaker 2>a good time for the call. But at three pm

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<v Speaker 2>on Wednesday, I was going to need to do all

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<v Speaker 2>the work that didn't happen Monday and Tuesday, and likely

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of the stuff I would have done on

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<v Speaker 2>Thursday and Friday too, since those days wound up booked

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<v Speaker 2>up with calls that did need to happen. We over

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<v Speaker 2>commit when we don't know exactly what is on our plates.

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<v Speaker 2>If you plan your weeks ahead of time, though, and

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<v Speaker 2>see what's going on personally and professionally, you will be

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<v Speaker 2>able to make more rational choices about what fits and

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<v Speaker 2>what doesn't. You might still decide to take something on,

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<v Speaker 2>but you will know you are squeezing it in and

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<v Speaker 2>you will know that most likely something else will need

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<v Speaker 2>to go. I like to do this weekly planning on

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<v Speaker 2>Fridays for a lot of reasons. But whenever you do.

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<v Speaker 3>It, make sure you look at everything that is happening

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<v Speaker 3>in the upcoming week. Make sure you know what it is.

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<v Speaker 3>Then look ahead a little and see if you are

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<v Speaker 3>about to face any crunches coming up. If so, figure

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<v Speaker 3>out what you need to do to get ahead of those.

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<v Speaker 3>Then you can see what space is left. My guess

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<v Speaker 3>is that many times the answer is not much. So

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<v Speaker 3>that can nudge you to not take on optional things

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<v Speaker 3>or to push things forward if they can be pushed forward.

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<v Speaker 3>When you do that, you'll have a lot on your plate,

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<v Speaker 3>but you won't be over committed, and that increases the

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<v Speaker 3>chances that everything that needs to get done will get

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<v Speaker 3>done in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 3>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>Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters, thanks so much, should I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the

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<v Speaker 1>favorite shows. A head girl, mm hmm