Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to remember that all but done isn't done.
Speaker 1: Do yourself a favor and take that last step. Whenever
Speaker 1: we do a multi step project, it can be tempting
Speaker 1: to bask in the glow of accomplishment a bit prematurely.
Speaker 1: I found myself doing this not long ago with the
Speaker 1: Christmas cards. I had booked a photographer to come take
Speaker 1: family photos in early November. I made sure we all
Speaker 1: had acceptable outfits. I made sure we got to the
Speaker 1: photo spot. I made sure we all survived the photos shoot.
Speaker 1: I chose photos from the proofs, I uploaded those to
Speaker 1: a photo site, and chose a card template. Once the
Speaker 1: cards actually arrived at the house, I felt like I
Speaker 1: had done all the hard parts. But of course, until
Speaker 1: I signed the cards, stuck them in addressed envelopes, and
Speaker 1: mailed them, I had not actually wished anyone a merry Christmas.
Speaker 1: All but done isn't done. So do yourself the favor
Speaker 1: of figuring out the last few little steps and actually
Speaker 1: doing them when you are thinking about them. Wrap the
Speaker 1: birthday present you bought. Just sticking a bow on the
Speaker 1: Amazon box undermines the effort you put in to be
Speaker 1: thoughtful turn in the assignment you went to the trouble
Speaker 1: of finishing, put away the tools from that do it
Speaker 1: yourself repair project. If I write a script and record
Speaker 1: this podcast, but don't actually upload it and send it
Speaker 1: to my producer, then you are never going to hear it.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter that I've done the hard part if
Speaker 1: I don't also do the final part. So don't celebrate
Speaker 1: being finished until you truly are. Now taking that final
Speaker 1: step doesn't mean that everything needs to be perfect. You
Speaker 1: can decide what the standards are for done and decide
Speaker 1: what done means to you. It's good to be realistic here.
Speaker 1: Probably you should settle for something that is doable. I
Speaker 1: saw this with my recent foray into real estate selling.
Speaker 1: We put our house on the market this fall, and
Speaker 1: after some intense decluttering, I was relieved to find that
Speaker 1: we could get our house ready for a showing in
Speaker 1: approximately sixty minutes. Now, I can't get my house immaculate
Speaker 1: in sixty minutes, but it's good enough. People were looking
Speaker 1: to buy my house, not hire me as a housekeeper.
Speaker 1: That said It wouldn't have mattered if we had cleaned
Speaker 1: the house to a shine and then we were still
Speaker 1: hanging out in the house when buyers came through because
Speaker 1: we hadn't gotten to that last step of exiting the premises.
Speaker 1: All but done isn't done, so best to get to done.
Speaker 1: Take that last little step. It often does make a
Speaker 1: big difference in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. M
Speaker 1: Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast pod. That's b the number four, then Breakfast p
Speaker 1: o D. You can also shoot me an email at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com that
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For more
Speaker 1: podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.