WEBVTT - How to recognize and pivot when things don't go as planned

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that it is okay to end it.

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<v Speaker 1>If something isn't proving to be a wise use of

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<v Speaker 1>anyone's time, it is best to acknowledge that and move

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<v Speaker 1>on rather than continuing to devote time to it. I've

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<v Speaker 1>been talking in a few recent episodes about how to

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<v Speaker 1>be more resilient with time mastering. Time management is all

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<v Speaker 1>about creating a schedule that works with life as it is,

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<v Speaker 1>not as we wish it would be. I mean, when

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<v Speaker 1>does anything go perfectly? With investments, we talk about not

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<v Speaker 1>throwing good money after bad. Once money is spent, it

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<v Speaker 1>is spent, and sometimes a little bit more can help matters. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>you should probably pay for that five car repair or

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<v Speaker 1>rather than spend thirty dollars on a new car, but

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<v Speaker 1>economists warn to be where these sunk cost fallacy. If

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<v Speaker 1>no one is excited about a new product your business

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<v Speaker 1>thought about launching, and it looks like launching it will

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<v Speaker 1>require a lot more investment, well, probably better to walk away,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you've spent a lot on the process. Already

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<v Speaker 1>spending more won't get that money back, because nothing will.

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<v Speaker 1>It's sunk. Better not to make more losses now. The

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<v Speaker 1>same is true with time. If you have booked an

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<v Speaker 1>hour to meet with someone and it is clear within

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<v Speaker 1>the first few minutes that the two of you cannot

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<v Speaker 1>accomplish what you set out to do, there is no

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<v Speaker 1>point hemming and hawing and trying to rescue the conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>The fact that you booked an hour doesn't mean you

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<v Speaker 1>need to spend an hour. Same with your personal life.

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<v Speaker 1>If you really aren't enjoying a movie, it's okay to

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<v Speaker 1>stop watching it. I mean, maybe the movie will redeem itself,

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<v Speaker 1>but most likely you will be happier using the time

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<v Speaker 1>to go for a walk or read a book instead.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are training for a race and you are

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<v Speaker 1>supposed to run ten miles but you feel terrible after two,

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<v Speaker 1>it is okay to stop and try again another day.

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<v Speaker 1>The key is to see the red flags for when

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<v Speaker 1>something is an unproductive or generally bad use of your

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<v Speaker 1>time and figure out how you can be flexible rather

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<v Speaker 1>than rigid with your plans. In general, to do this,

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<v Speaker 1>it helps to have a purpose for any such chunk

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<v Speaker 1>of time. What is this meeting? Supposed to accomplish. What

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<v Speaker 1>are you trying to do during this block of deep

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<v Speaker 1>work time? And yes, you can have a purpose for

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<v Speaker 1>leisure time as well. You want to relax and decompress

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<v Speaker 1>in the ninety minutes after your kids go to bed

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<v Speaker 1>and before you go to bed, is what you're doing

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<v Speaker 1>accomplishing that? If so? Great, But if you are watching

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<v Speaker 1>a show you don't like, or reading a book you

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<v Speaker 1>don't like, or halfheartedly checking email, you can acknowledge that

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<v Speaker 1>this is not contributing to that goal and you can

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<v Speaker 1>stop doing it. There is no point in being sad

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<v Speaker 1>about the time already spent. The future is still yours

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<v Speaker 1>to redirect. Now. I know this is one thing with

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<v Speaker 1>a TV show or book, or even a bad meeting,

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<v Speaker 1>it's another if you are considering abandoning something big, like

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<v Speaker 1>writing a novel or building a side hustle. It can

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<v Speaker 1>be hard to recognize what is a red flag that

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<v Speaker 1>this is an unproductive use of time, and what is

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<v Speaker 1>just being busy or discouraged. So here's an idea for

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<v Speaker 1>things like that. Give yourself a deadline for when you

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<v Speaker 1>can officially decide to quit, making sure that the deadline

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<v Speaker 1>is just a little bit in the future. This will

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<v Speaker 1>help you determine if this is the equivalent of a

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<v Speaker 1>car repair or if it's more like a dollar car

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<v Speaker 1>repair on a car that is worth far less than that.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you have set a goal to write five

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<v Speaker 1>thousand words a week on your novel and it just

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't seem to be happening, commit to this goal for

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<v Speaker 1>two more weeks. Right the next ten thou words, how

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<v Speaker 1>do you feel about them? Maybe you will pull yourself

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<v Speaker 1>out of a slump and be excited to keep going.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you still want to walk away, fine, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>know this is not just a momentary blip. Same with

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<v Speaker 1>the side hustle. Decide that you will decide at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of the order go full in until then then

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<v Speaker 1>you can continue or end it. While people can make

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<v Speaker 1>more money, we cannot make more time. Once time is spent,

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<v Speaker 1>it is gone and we will never get it back.

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<v Speaker 1>This is true for other people just as much as

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<v Speaker 1>it is true for you. So if a meeting isn't

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<v Speaker 1>going well, it is actually a gift to give other

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<v Speaker 1>people their fifty minutes back. Yes, it might have been

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<v Speaker 1>a mistake to commit this time. We can learn from

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<v Speaker 1>this mistake in the future. But once the lesson has learned,

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<v Speaker 1>there is no point in continuing to spend the time.

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<v Speaker 1>We can do great things with that time as long

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<v Speaker 1>as we aren't choosing to do things that aren't worth

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<v Speaker 1>the bother. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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

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<v Speaker 1>Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 1>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 1>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart

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