WEBVTT - Beware of procrastivity

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to beware of activity that is posing is productivity,

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<v Speaker 1>but is actually procrastination. So we've probably all had a

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<v Speaker 1>task we needed to complete, or an important project we

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<v Speaker 1>needed to start, but that we kept delaying because it

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<v Speaker 1>was hard or intimidating. As productive people, we don't like

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<v Speaker 1>sitting around twiddling our thumbs, So if we are looking

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<v Speaker 1>to avoid something, we often do something else that looks productive.

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<v Speaker 1>That might mean preparing extensively for a meeting this afternoon

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<v Speaker 1>that isn't really all that important, instead of returning a

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<v Speaker 1>call from a prickly colleague. It could be getting to

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<v Speaker 1>inbox zero instead of editing a book chapter. I have

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<v Speaker 1>seen this referred to as procrastivity, a mashup of productivity

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<v Speaker 1>and procrastination, and I'm guessing we have all been guilty

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<v Speaker 1>of this at one point or another. I also think

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<v Speaker 1>it is helpful to give this behavior a name. When

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<v Speaker 1>a behavior has a name, it is easier to recognize

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<v Speaker 1>it and redirect ourselves. So if you realize you are

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<v Speaker 1>doing something that is not especially important in order to

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<v Speaker 1>avoid something else. Ask yourself, is this procrastivity? If you

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<v Speaker 1>have to say yes, it is time to make some choices.

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<v Speaker 1>One option is to just decide to do your high

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<v Speaker 1>priority task, or at least the next step for it,

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<v Speaker 1>before you do anything else. Just get it done. If

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<v Speaker 1>that seems like more than you can do, decide on

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<v Speaker 1>a specific amount of time you will work on the

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<v Speaker 1>priority task before you do anything else. Maybe you will

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<v Speaker 1>spend ninety minutes planning an important presentation you've been putting off.

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<v Speaker 1>After ninety minutes, you can decide whether to keep going.

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<v Speaker 1>If you opt to shift gears to do something else,

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<v Speaker 1>you make a plan for when you'll return to the original,

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<v Speaker 1>more difficult task. Or maybe you decide that you are

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<v Speaker 1>not going to do the high priority task now and

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<v Speaker 1>you will do it at some specific time in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>In that case, stop doing the procrastivity and do something

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<v Speaker 1>enjoyable or truly productive instead. Un Tell it is the

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<v Speaker 1>appointed time for the priority task. When you can recognize

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<v Speaker 1>and name procrastivity, you can avoid it. There is no

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<v Speaker 1>point doing fake work. Either do what you are supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to do or choose what you want you'd actually like

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<v Speaker 1>to do in the moment. My guess is that it

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<v Speaker 1>isn't organizing your spice draw. What's something you have done

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<v Speaker 1>is procrestivity while avoiding something else. I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>about it. You can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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