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 remind yourself about what you need
Speaker 1: to do at a time when you can get it done.
Speaker 1: That way, you're less likely to forget. There are a
Speaker 1: lot of things people need to do in a day,
Speaker 1: like pick up the dry cleaning, reschedule a dentist appointment,
Speaker 1: get your boss's thoughts about an upcoming presentation. The list
Speaker 1: goes on. If you are listening to this podcast, I
Speaker 1: am guessing that you don't try to keep track of
Speaker 1: all these obligations in your brain. You have a to
Speaker 1: do list, a planner, a calendar. That is all great,
Speaker 1: but sometimes the tasks need to be done at a
Speaker 1: time when you aren't looking at any of these things.
Speaker 1: What then you need to figure out how to remember
Speaker 1: what you need to do when you can take immediate
Speaker 1: action to do it. For many things, this is straightforward
Speaker 1: if it requires some creativity. For instance, if you want
Speaker 1: to pick up the dry cleaning on the way to work,
Speaker 1: put the pickup slip on the driver's seat of your car.
Speaker 1: Then when you get in the car, you'll remember. Do
Speaker 1: you that you need to go pick up the dry
Speaker 1: cleaning on your way to work. If you need to
Speaker 1: reschedule your dentist appointment during regular business hours, you could
Speaker 1: set an alarm for ten thirty am. When it goes off,
Speaker 1: you'll remember, oh, yes, dentist. If you can't call right
Speaker 1: then you can just snooze the reminder so you will
Speaker 1: be reminded again in a few minutes. If you want
Speaker 1: to check in with your boss about an upcoming presentation,
Speaker 1: you might put a post it note reminder to yourself
Speaker 1: on another document that you need to give her. Then
Speaker 1: when you drop off the document, you will see the
Speaker 1: post it and be reminded to ask her about the
Speaker 1: presentation at the same time. In addition to practical tasks
Speaker 1: like picking up the dry cleaning, we might have priorities
Speaker 1: we want to follow through on, like choosing a healthy lunch.
Speaker 1: Despite our best intentions, we can forget about these in
Speaker 1: the moment. Now that might seem silly, really you're going
Speaker 1: to forget to order the salad. But in her book
Speaker 1: How to Change, Katie Milkman reports that forgetting is actually
Speaker 1: a really common reason that people don't follow through on
Speaker 1: behaviors they intend to do. Like voting or reading to
Speaker 1: their kids. Milkman explains that reminders can help with priorities
Speaker 1: like these two, especially if the reminders are immediately actionable.
Speaker 1: Just as placing the dry cleaning ticket on your car
Speaker 1: seat will remind you to go to the cleaners, you
Speaker 1: can remind yourself to read to your kids by keeping
Speaker 1: their toothpaste in a basket on top of their bookcase.
Speaker 1: When you go to the bookcase to get the toothpaste
Speaker 1: to brush their teeth. You can also choose a book
Speaker 1: to read when everyone's done brushing. If you want to
Speaker 1: eat healthy lunches when you're at work, maybe set a
Speaker 1: calendar reminder for yourself at noon every weekday that says
Speaker 1: I love salad or eat well, feel well, or whatever
Speaker 1: will make you choose the healthy meal that you want
Speaker 1: to choose instead of forgetting and just ordering what you
Speaker 1: always do. In any case, the big idea is the same.
Speaker 1: Consider the moment when you need to act on your
Speaker 1: intentions and create a reminder for that moment. Any other
Speaker 1: time is not going to be so helpful, but the
Speaker 1: moment when you can act that is golden, and a
Speaker 1: good nudge increases the chances that you follow through In
Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: too making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. Eight