WEBVTT - Save the little tasks for later

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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 save the little tasks for later in

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<v Speaker 1>the day. Small easy tasks will give you a boost

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<v Speaker 1>later in the day when you need it, because it

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<v Speaker 1>gets harder to do big tasks as you run out

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<v Speaker 1>of steam. So one of the most important principles of

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<v Speaker 1>productivity is to match the right work to the right time.

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<v Speaker 1>While people are different, most people have more energy at

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<v Speaker 1>the beginning of the day. After that first cup of coffee,

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<v Speaker 1>you feel ready to conquer the world. Alas that feeling

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<v Speaker 1>tends not to last. Many people experience a significant energy

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<v Speaker 1>dip by mid afternoon. This is when you find yourself

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<v Speaker 1>reading the same email six times in a row. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>you can rally right before quitting time if there is

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<v Speaker 1>something that has to be done before you walk out

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<v Speaker 1>the door, but in general, this pattern of higher energy

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<v Speaker 1>earlier in the day and lower energy in the afternoon

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<v Speaker 1>is pretty common. This means that you want to match

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<v Speaker 1>the work that requires a lot of energy and discipline

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<v Speaker 1>and focus to the time when you have energy and

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<v Speaker 1>discipline and focus. Unfortunately, many of us take a different approach.

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<v Speaker 1>We have dozens of things on the daily to do list,

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<v Speaker 1>so we start with the easy stuff. Since it is

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<v Speaker 1>well easy, we get excited as more and more items

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<v Speaker 1>on the list are crossed off. But while it's true

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<v Speaker 1>that you do need to respond to Jake about that

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<v Speaker 1>meeting and book your conference room for tomorrow and fill

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<v Speaker 1>out that form for HR, none of that requires your

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<v Speaker 1>best self. Other things, like coming up with new ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or thinking about what could go wrong with a project

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<v Speaker 1>or writing a tricky memo do require you to call

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<v Speaker 1>upon more of your mental faculties. You will become less

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<v Speaker 1>and less able to do these things as the day

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<v Speaker 1>goes on. Better to start the day with the tricky stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>But since the little things do need to get done,

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<v Speaker 1>one way to organize your day is to purposefully save

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<v Speaker 1>these tasks for later. When your energy starts falling in

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<v Speaker 1>mid afternoon and you feel like you can't do anything, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I bet you can still do those little tasks even

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<v Speaker 1>if you are tired. You can still book that conference

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<v Speaker 1>room and fill out that form and respond to Jake

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<v Speaker 1>about the meeting. So do those things, cross them off

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<v Speaker 1>the list, and enjoy feeling like you are still very productive.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the principle holds for the week as well.

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<v Speaker 1>We often have more energy at the start of things

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<v Speaker 1>than at the end of things. It is really hard

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<v Speaker 1>to start anything big on Friday, and particularly on Friday afternoons.

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<v Speaker 1>But you could keep a list of tasks to run

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<v Speaker 1>through on Friday, stuff that has to get done but

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<v Speaker 1>isn't all that urgent. Then, when you start to feel

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<v Speaker 1>like you are not getting much done but it's not

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<v Speaker 1>quite acceptable to leave yet, outcomes the list. You match

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<v Speaker 1>the right task to the right time and feel better

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<v Speaker 1>about work in general. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, idea is or feedback, you can reach me

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<v Speaker 1>at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please

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<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

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