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 keep lists of things you want
Speaker 1: to discuss with the professionals in your life. That way,
Speaker 1: when you are asked if you have any questions or concerns,
Speaker 1: you will be ready to bring them up. There are
Speaker 1: probably numerous professionals you see from time to time. Your
Speaker 1: family doctor, your dentist, various specialists, maybe a financial advisor,
Speaker 1: a vet, various contractors, an arborist who knows if something
Speaker 1: big comes up in between periodic visits, you would make
Speaker 1: a special appointment. But there are plenty of questions that
Speaker 1: come up that aren't worth a visit on their own.
Speaker 1: They are simply things you intend to bring up at
Speaker 1: your next visit. To make sure that you remember these
Speaker 1: questions by the time that next visit rolls around, you
Speaker 1: need to keep a specific list of them. If you
Speaker 1: use a digital calendar, one obvious place for this list
Speaker 1: is the calendar event for the appointment. In the notes
Speaker 1: or description section of the calendar event, record any questions
Speaker 1: you would like to discuss. You can add to this
Speaker 1: over time. For your dermatologist, you might make a note
Speaker 1: about a new mole that showed up in your arm,
Speaker 1: plus the date when you first noticed it. For your accountant,
Speaker 1: you might make a note to ask about electric car
Speaker 1: tax credits if you are pondering buying one in the
Speaker 1: next year. The morning of your appointment, you can open
Speaker 1: the calendar item and refresh your memory of the topics
Speaker 1: want to discuss. If you use a paper calendar, you
Speaker 1: can record questions on a blank page in your planner
Speaker 1: or in a bullet journal, or on a sticky note
Speaker 1: affixed to the calendar page for the day of the appointment.
Speaker 1: Or you can keep a digital list of questions, perhaps
Speaker 1: on your phone, and put a note on your paper
Speaker 1: calendar reminding you to see notes. Keeping a list, whether
Speaker 1: paper or digital, can be helpful for more frequent appointments too.
Speaker 1: You may keep noticing a spot on the stove that
Speaker 1: you would like your cleaning service to try to remove,
Speaker 1: but you won't necessarily remember that when you are racing
Speaker 1: out the door to work as they are coming in.
Speaker 1: You need somewhere to remind yourself for the morning when
Speaker 1: the service always comes, or at least to remind you
Speaker 1: to text the crew leader. In my case, we are
Speaker 1: finishing up renovations on our house, and sure enough I
Speaker 1: wound up being a running list of issues to bring
Speaker 1: up with the contractors. The supervisor for the renovation project
Speaker 1: recently stopped by to check on things, and alongside the
Speaker 1: freezer leak and a plastering issue, I was able to
Speaker 1: ask about a toilet handle that wasn't working quite right.
Speaker 1: Even though I will acknowledge that perhaps the toilet handle
Speaker 1: was a bit out of his purview, he was handy,
Speaker 1: and he was here, and I had a list, and
Speaker 1: my toilet handle is now fixed. To make the most
Speaker 1: of time with professionals, we have to be ready to
Speaker 1: bring important topics to their attention when we have the chance.
Speaker 1: We are often asked if we have any questions or concerns,
Speaker 1: and it is frustrating to remember your questions and concerns
Speaker 1: in the car when you are driving home. If you
Speaker 1: record your questions and concerns somewhere you can remember them,
Speaker 1: you will be ready to bring them up when the
Speaker 1: moment arises. In the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and 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 p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah