WEBVTT - Abandon a project

0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:07.560
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:14.160
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:17.880
<v Speaker 1>This week, we're going to be talking about several productivity

0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:21.759
<v Speaker 1>strategies I learned from my friend Gretchen Reuben. Gretchen is

0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.639
<v Speaker 1>the co host, with her sister Elizabeth Kraft, of the

0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:29.200
<v Speaker 1>podcast Happier. She's also the author of several books, including

0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:33.600
<v Speaker 1>The Happiness Project and Better Than Before. Today's tip that

0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.519
<v Speaker 1>she wanted to share with Before Breakfast listeners comes from

0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:40.680
<v Speaker 1>her most recent book, Outer Order. In her calm, the

0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:46.560
<v Speaker 1>tip abandon a project, Gretchen explains one source of clutter

0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:49.400
<v Speaker 1>in our homes and offices and a significant drain on

0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:54.640
<v Speaker 1>our energy, is the uncomfortable presence of unfinished projects. Whenever

0:00:54.680 --> 0:00:57.360
<v Speaker 1>I see evidence of an unfinished project, I get a

0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.200
<v Speaker 1>jolt of annoyance or guilt. I should organize those shelves,

0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:05.720
<v Speaker 1>or I need to finish alphabetizing those books. She says

0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.800
<v Speaker 1>that unfinished projects are irritating in themselves, and they also

0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.000
<v Speaker 1>contribute to clutter because we often leave them out in

0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:17.200
<v Speaker 1>the open as a reminder to finish them. So, according

0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:21.360
<v Speaker 1>to Gretchen, the quickest, easiest way to complete a project,

0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:25.600
<v Speaker 1>abandon it, decide you're never going to knit that sweater,

0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.120
<v Speaker 1>and get that stuff off your shelf and off your conscience.

0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:33.080
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure we all have projects like these. I've got

0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:35.920
<v Speaker 1>a cross stitched Christmas stocking in my office right now

0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:39.680
<v Speaker 1>that I began decades ago. I keep it on a

0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:41.800
<v Speaker 1>table because well, I know, as soon as I put

0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:43.600
<v Speaker 1>anything in a drawer, it may as well be dead

0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:46.120
<v Speaker 1>to me. I actually had a bag of my favorite

0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:49.120
<v Speaker 1>candy sitting in my top desk drawer for months, untouched.

0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:52.440
<v Speaker 1>I wish this was a sign of my willpower, but

0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:55.440
<v Speaker 1>alas it's more a sign that for me, out of

0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:59.600
<v Speaker 1>sight means out of mind. Clutter doesn't bother me that much.

0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.080
<v Speaker 1>But I of that for some people, having a decade

0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:05.280
<v Speaker 1>long project sitting somewhere you could see frequently would be

0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:09.919
<v Speaker 1>an invitation to madness. So if this is you, consider

0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:13.560
<v Speaker 1>taking Gretchen's advice. What would happen if you decided to

0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:17.359
<v Speaker 1>just quit the project. You could decide that you will

0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.120
<v Speaker 1>never get around to making your own ice cream, and

0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:23.160
<v Speaker 1>you could donate, sell, or toss that ice cream maker

0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:25.880
<v Speaker 1>that's been taking up real estate in your small kitchen

0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.960
<v Speaker 1>for years. What if you decided that you were never,

0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:32.400
<v Speaker 1>in fact going to learn calligraphy, so you could give

0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:34.799
<v Speaker 1>that kit to a neighbor's kid who enjoys that sort

0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.840
<v Speaker 1>of thing. The first thing you'd probably noticed is that

0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.480
<v Speaker 1>the world would not end. No one cares if he

0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:44.079
<v Speaker 1>makes your own ice cream, and it's quite possible to

0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:47.240
<v Speaker 1>live a rewarding life never having done so. You might

0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:50.720
<v Speaker 1>also feel more light when you consciously decide to abandon

0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:53.680
<v Speaker 1>a project. You might feel like you can direct that

0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:57.640
<v Speaker 1>energy to other things. Of course, if the thought of

0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:01.240
<v Speaker 1>abandoning a project feels more upsetting than anything else, then

0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.560
<v Speaker 1>maybe it's time to get real. Give yourself a deadline

0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:08.639
<v Speaker 1>and a time frame. Look at your calendar for this weekend,

0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:11.960
<v Speaker 1>figure out a time when you will buy the necessary ingredients,

0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:16.760
<v Speaker 1>read the instructions, and use that ice cream maker. Hold

0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:19.240
<v Speaker 1>yourself accountable by inviting a friend over to try it

0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:22.560
<v Speaker 1>with you. If you try it and it's great, awesome.

0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.000
<v Speaker 1>If the project still doesn't happen despite your schedule and

0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.120
<v Speaker 1>your accountability mechanism, you know it wasn't meant to be.

0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:32.560
<v Speaker 1>Or even if the project does happen and it wasn't

0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.200
<v Speaker 1>all that great, then you can feel free to continue

0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:39.520
<v Speaker 1>with the purge. What nagging projects are crowding up your life?

0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:42.960
<v Speaker 1>What can you decide to abandon so you can free

0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.680
<v Speaker 1>up that mental space In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.840
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:59.400
<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.320
<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.640
<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:12.200
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast

0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:15.360
<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:19.239
<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.

0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.760
<v Speaker 1>That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:24.479
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.400
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:36.560
<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart

0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.960
<v Speaker 1>Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:40.680
<v Speaker 1>favorite shows.