WEBVTT - Little goals keep big ones on track 

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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 that little deadlines keep big ones on track.

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<v Speaker 1>Whenever you are staring down a big project professionally or personally,

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<v Speaker 1>it helps to map out intermediate goals set wisely. These

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<v Speaker 1>can make the project feel far more doable. I recently

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<v Speaker 1>finished the research for my next book, which will be

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<v Speaker 1>called at least for now Tranquility. By Tuesday. I had

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<v Speaker 1>people learn about new time management strategies for nine weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>and I measured how their time satisfaction changed over the

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<v Speaker 1>course of the project. I'm excited by my findings, but

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<v Speaker 1>of course now I have to actually, you know, write

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<v Speaker 1>the book. Book writing is always daunting, but fortunately over

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<v Speaker 1>the years, I've learned that it doesn't need to be

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<v Speaker 1>too daunting. I have my chapter outline, nine chapters, plus

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<v Speaker 1>an intro and conclusion. I'm giving myself one week per

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<v Speaker 1>chapter over the summer. I made sure to not schedule

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<v Speaker 1>chapters for any weeks when I'm on vacation or I

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<v Speaker 1>don't have much childcare. I have noted every Friday intermediate

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<v Speaker 1>deadline in my calendar. If I stick with this schedule,

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<v Speaker 1>I should finish my draft a month before the first

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<v Speaker 1>draft is too, which will give me time to edit it.

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<v Speaker 1>This schedule has helped me feel far more tranquil, if

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<v Speaker 1>you will, about the project. If I simply said, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>this summer I write a book, I might try to

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<v Speaker 1>cram a lot at the beginning, and then I'd get

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<v Speaker 1>burned out and have to take a break, and then

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<v Speaker 1>it might be hard to start back up again. Or

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<v Speaker 1>I'd put it all off until things got framed it later.

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<v Speaker 1>Better to march twenty miles every day, then forty some

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<v Speaker 1>and zero on others. Perhaps you too are staring down

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<v Speaker 1>a big project. I'm thrilled to see that some races

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<v Speaker 1>are starting up again for the fall. If you want

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<v Speaker 1>to run a marathon in October, well, best to get

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<v Speaker 1>those sixteen weeks blocked out on the calendar. Now you

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<v Speaker 1>see what mileage you need to hit each week. You

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<v Speaker 1>know that if you stick with these smaller intermediate goals,

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<v Speaker 1>you will be trained in the fall. Or maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>are trying to save a certain amount of additional money

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<v Speaker 1>by the end of the year. If you just say, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>by Christmas, I want three thousand dollars extra in my

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<v Speaker 1>emergency fund. Well, every purchase could wind up as a

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<v Speaker 1>source of stress. Does this work with my goal? Does

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<v Speaker 1>this not work with my goal? Or you might put

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<v Speaker 1>it out of your mind until November and then feel

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<v Speaker 1>the goal is impossible. But if you break this bigger

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<v Speaker 1>goal down into intermediate goals, saying I need to put

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<v Speaker 1>away one dollars a week for thirty weeks, well this

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<v Speaker 1>could seem more doable. Not necessarily easy, depending on your finances,

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<v Speaker 1>but doable. If you participate in big projects at work,

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully people have created project timelines. I'd like to think

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<v Speaker 1>that we figured that out, but often we are less

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<v Speaker 1>able to do this for our own professional projects that

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<v Speaker 1>we don't have to do what we would like to do.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you'd like to score a big raise come your

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<v Speaker 1>annual review in December. What would you like to document

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<v Speaker 1>by December to make that seem logical? What steps would

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<v Speaker 1>you need to take? And then when would you like

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<v Speaker 1>to take these by? Mark down these dates, make sure

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<v Speaker 1>you put them somewhere that you'll remember them, and when

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<v Speaker 1>you plan your weeks. On Fridays, which I imagine as

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<v Speaker 1>a book for breakfast listener, you might be doing you

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<v Speaker 1>can set these intermediate goals as priorities for the upcoming week.

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<v Speaker 1>This exercise also helps you see what goals are reasonable

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<v Speaker 1>and what goals are not. If you're trying to save

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<v Speaker 1>three thousand dollars over thirty weeks, this is one thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Saying you want to save up thirty thousand dollars for

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<v Speaker 1>a down payment on a house over thirty weeks is

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<v Speaker 1>something else. Entirely, you would need to add a zero

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<v Speaker 1>to your weekly target. And if you don't see a

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<v Speaker 1>way to put away an extra one thousand dollars a week, well,

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<v Speaker 1>then you need to reevaluate. Likewise, while I know I

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<v Speaker 1>can write a five thousand to seven thousand word chapter

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<v Speaker 1>every week, if I were on the hook for, say

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<v Speaker 1>a four hundred thousand word epic over ten weeks, that

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<v Speaker 1>would be forty thousand words a week, which is not

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<v Speaker 1>reasonable at all. Intermediate goals keep us honest. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you are looking at a big project you'd like to complete,

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<v Speaker 1>take some time today to set up a schedule of

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<v Speaker 1>intermediate goals. You'll make the project seem far more doable,

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<v Speaker 1>or you'll realize that you know what, it's not doable.

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<v Speaker 1>But either way, you want to be clear so you

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<v Speaker 1>can decide how to move forward. In the meantime, This

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart meat

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.

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

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