Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning. This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to
Speaker 1: set up recurring tasks for efficiency so they are easier
Speaker 1: the next time you do them. Many listeners in the
Speaker 1: US recently filed their income tax returns, or at least
Speaker 1: filed for an extension until October. If your finances are
Speaker 1: remotely complicated, this can involve hunting around for a wide
Speaker 1: variety of documents and then entering numbers on spreadsheets until
Speaker 1: finally you or an accountant has it all figured out.
Speaker 1: You then breathe a sigh of relief that it is
Speaker 1: all done. But now that this chore is in the past,
Speaker 1: this is a great time to consus whether you could
Speaker 1: make this process more efficient next year. Once you have
Speaker 1: filed your taxes a few times, you know what the
Speaker 1: process entails, and sure, life may throw a few wrinkles
Speaker 1: into the process, but for the most part, you know
Speaker 1: what documents you need to provide and how you need
Speaker 1: to organize them, so you can skip the chaos and
Speaker 1: go straight to order the next time. No, I am
Speaker 1: not saying you need to put everything in the spreadsheet
Speaker 1: as you go. That doesn't actually save time. But if
Speaker 1: you do keep paper records, why not set up a
Speaker 1: folder or a gallon sized ziplock for every category you
Speaker 1: keep documents for. As one comes in over the year,
Speaker 1: you put it in there, and then when it is
Speaker 1: tax time again, you don't have to go hunting for anything.
Speaker 1: If you keep digital records, move them to the right
Speaker 1: filing place as soon as you get them. Then all
Speaker 1: that's left to do.
Speaker 2: Next April is figure out another way to spend those
Speaker 2: hours that you might have spent tracking them down. You
Speaker 2: can make it easier next time for more frequent processes too.
Speaker 2: You likely go to the grocery store about every week
Speaker 2: or so, so I am guessing that you are familiar
Speaker 2: with the place. If the lemons are near the limes
Speaker 2: in your grocery store, why are lemons next to Greek
Speaker 2: yogurt and cat litter on your grocery list? Put lemons
Speaker 2: next to limes on the grocery list as well. Use
Speaker 2: what you know about the grocery store layout to organize
Speaker 2: your list more efficiently for next time. This can be
Speaker 2: as simple as folding a sheet of paper to create
Speaker 2: four quadrants and using one quadjant for let's say, produce,
Speaker 2: and one for dairy and the freezer, and one for
Speaker 2: meat and deli, and the other for grocery items on
Speaker 2: the shelves in the middle of the store. Whatever works
Speaker 2: for you. It doesn't need to be fancy, but it
Speaker 2: will be enough to save you some time and annoyance
Speaker 2: in the grocery store the next time. If you have
Speaker 2: multiple kids in your family, or cousins or neighbors or
Speaker 2: friends you share hand me downs with, you may have
Speaker 2: a system for organizing clothes. A lot of families organize
Speaker 2: clothes and bins for each size. For instance, you put
Speaker 2: all the outgrown size eight clothes into a bin labeled
Speaker 2: size eight, so when the next kid is wearing a
Speaker 2: size eight, you know just which ben to get out
Speaker 2: to find clothes that will fit. You have made clothes
Speaker 2: gathering easier for the next time. When you do a task,
Speaker 2: ask yourself if you anticipate doing this at some point
Speaker 2: again in your life. Sometimes the answer is no, and
Speaker 2: sometimes you will do the task so infrequently that there
Speaker 2: is really no need to think about it much. If
Speaker 2: I ever buy another house, I will figure out the
Speaker 2: process again then. But helping a kid get a driver's
Speaker 2: license or apply for college. I anticipate doing that five
Speaker 2: times over the next few years, so it's probably a
Speaker 2: good idea to take notes so it's easier the next time.
Speaker 2: If you know you'll be paying some bills with checks
Speaker 2: by mail every month for quite a while, it's probably
Speaker 2: a good idea to create a spot for envelopes and
Speaker 2: stamps near where you keep that checkbook. Make it easier
Speaker 2: for yourself the next time, and you might just wind
Speaker 2: up a little happier the next time as well. In
Speaker 2: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 2: to making the.
Speaker 1: Most of our time. Hey, everybody I'd love to hear from.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then
Speaker 1: Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me an email at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
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