Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to batch small tasks so they don't take
Speaker 1: over your whole schedule. Like a lot of people who
Speaker 1: listen to this show, I love to make to do lists,
Speaker 1: and I really like crossing things off the list. I
Speaker 1: have been known to put things on my to do
Speaker 1: list after doing them, just so I can cross them off.
Speaker 1: I don't know why this feels so satisfying, but I
Speaker 1: know that it does. Now this might seem harmless, but
Speaker 1: here's the problem. Everything on the to do list occupies
Speaker 1: an equal line in terms of space. All feel equally
Speaker 1: satisfying to cross off, but not all are equally important.
Speaker 1: Writing the chapter abstracts for a book proposal and spending
Speaker 1: an hour editing my novel, and ordering a birthday present
Speaker 1: for a weekend party might all be on the list.
Speaker 1: The first two are going to require a lot of
Speaker 1: focused thought and work, the latter not so much. So
Speaker 1: it's very easy to find myself over on Amazon feeling
Speaker 1: really good that I cross that item off, and doing
Speaker 1: other little things on the list, like scheduling an interview
Speaker 1: or paying a bill. Now, yes, these have to get
Speaker 1: done at some point, but when I spend too much
Speaker 1: time on them, I take time and energy away from
Speaker 1: bigger things. I can definitely order a birthday present off
Speaker 1: Amazon when my energy is at a level two on
Speaker 1: a ten point scale, I probably won't dream up those
Speaker 1: chapter abstracts at that time. So if you truly want
Speaker 1: to get things done, structure your schedule so you don't
Speaker 1: get lost in the small stuff. Indeed, i'd suggest not
Speaker 1: even doing this small stuff until the big stuff is done.
Speaker 1: Carve out a time in the afternoon when most people's
Speaker 1: energy dips, for any small tasks that might otherwise derail you.
Speaker 1: If a small task occurs to you at some other point,
Speaker 1: put it on the list for that two pm slump,
Speaker 1: but do not do it until the big stuff is
Speaker 1: crossed off. I realize some of this is just mental.
Speaker 1: Like I said, on many to do lists, everything gets
Speaker 1: one line, which means that calling your biggest client to
Speaker 1: address a complaint looks equal to printing off the return
Speaker 1: label for that package that needs to go back to
Speaker 1: the retailer. So here's a little trick to get around that.
Speaker 1: When you're making your list, put all of your small
Speaker 1: things on one line. Just write order present, Comma, print label,
Speaker 1: Comma pay vendor, Comma email Joe. That way, crossing out
Speaker 1: one of the big things looks like you've done far
Speaker 1: more than one of the little things. The little things
Speaker 1: only get a tiny cross through a small portion of
Speaker 1: a line, whereas the big stuff gets a full one.
Speaker 1: Now is this silly, Yes, but putting time and energy
Speaker 1: into import and stuff is serious business. Anything you can
Speaker 1: do to nudge yourself in the right direction is smart.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
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