WEBVTT - Your brain is not an alarm clock

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

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that your brain is not an alarm clock.

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<v Speaker 1>If there is something you need to remember, get it

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<v Speaker 1>out of your head and onto your calendar, task list,

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<v Speaker 1>or some other system that you can trust. Today's tip,

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<v Speaker 1>like another recent one, comes from Kelly Nolan. Kelly, a

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<v Speaker 1>former litigator who invented the Bright Method of time management,

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<v Speaker 1>was a guest on my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds.

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<v Speaker 1>In her interview with my co-host, Sarah Hart Unger, Kelly

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<v Speaker 1>talked about how remembering to follow up consumes mental bandwidth.

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<v Speaker 1>You either keep thinking about the thing you need to remember,

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<v Speaker 1>or you worry that you will forget. Kelly's solution is

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<v Speaker 1>to get the reminder onto your calendar. She described the

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<v Speaker 1>relief that comes from calendaring follow-up. You don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>remember the thing anymore. You can say to yourself, as

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<v Speaker 1>she does, my brain isn't the alarm clock in this.

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<v Speaker 1>Your calendar can be the alarm clock. And your calendar

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<v Speaker 1>is much better at this than you are. Want proof?

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<v Speaker 1>Just think about the stress you feel when you are

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<v Speaker 1>trying to keep track of too many things. Like, I

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<v Speaker 1>need to be on the lookout for the uniforms I

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<v Speaker 1>ordered for my kids in case we need to exchange

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<v Speaker 1>them for a different size. Or Caroline said she'll send

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<v Speaker 1>me feedback on the presentation draft on Monday. So I

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<v Speaker 1>need to be expecting that. And then incorporate her feedback.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, and Max asked when we could have dinner

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<v Speaker 1>with their family. And I suggested next Friday or the

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday after that. And hopefully he'll confirm one of those

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<v Speaker 1>soon because I'm looking at some other things for those

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<v Speaker 1>windows as well. I need to be sure not to

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<v Speaker 1>schedule anything else at those times if it's going to happen. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>sound familiar? All of this consumes mental time and energy,

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<v Speaker 1>but it doesn't need to consume nearly as much if

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<v Speaker 1>you get all of that out of your brain. As

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly suggests, one option is to put any follow-up you

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<v Speaker 1>need to do or next steps you need to take

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<v Speaker 1>or expect right onto your calendar. So if you are

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<v Speaker 1>planning to hear from somebody on Monday afternoon, schedule a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes on Monday afternoon for looking for that response

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<v Speaker 1>or reaching out if you don't get it. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are hoping to hear from Max about dinner soon, put

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<v Speaker 1>a note on Wednesday's calendar to follow up with Max

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<v Speaker 1>in a time to do it. If he hasn't responded

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<v Speaker 1>by then, you call him up and get an answer.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also record the follow-up as a task in

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<v Speaker 1>whatever form you keep your to-do list. Maybe that is

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<v Speaker 1>a task management app or maybe it's a spreadsheet where

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<v Speaker 1>you have tasks, dates and statuses like to do or

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<v Speaker 1>anticipate this. Or like me, you might just use a

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<v Speaker 1>paper to do list. Maybe you use a note on

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<v Speaker 1>your phone. If you use a dated paper planner, you

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<v Speaker 1>could put the follow up you need to do or

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<v Speaker 1>expect on the day for that page in your planner.

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<v Speaker 1>In my case, if I know I just need to

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<v Speaker 1>follow up in the next week or so, I put

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<v Speaker 1>it as an entry on my weekly priority list. Regardless,

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<v Speaker 1>the point is to get whatever you need to do

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<v Speaker 1>or expect out of your head and into a system

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<v Speaker 1>that you know you will check. Now, if you don't

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<v Speaker 1>know you're going to check your system, that is an

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<v Speaker 1>entirely different matter. But hopefully, if you are listening to

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<v Speaker 1>this show, you have at least one regular source of

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<v Speaker 1>truth you look at frequently. Externalizing reminders frees up your

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<v Speaker 1>brain for other things. It makes you more reliable and

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<v Speaker 1>it makes you less anxious. And both of those are

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<v Speaker 1>real wins. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you.