WEBVTT - Before you finish that first cup

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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 decide in advance what task you will

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<v Speaker 1>finish before your first cup of coffee. You will start

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<v Speaker 1>your morning with a sense of accomplishment that will energize

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<v Speaker 1>you for the rest of the day. We have probably

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<v Speaker 1>all heard the advice that we should never check email

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<v Speaker 1>in the morning, as Julie Morgan Stern would say, and

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<v Speaker 1>to put first things first, as Stephen Covey recommends. And

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<v Speaker 1>this is wise advice, but still plenty of people grab

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<v Speaker 1>a cup of coffee, sit down at their desks and

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<v Speaker 1>immediately start processing email and reacting to what comes in.

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<v Speaker 1>It is understand I mean, maybe you work with people

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<v Speaker 1>in different time zones and you want to catch up

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<v Speaker 1>on what has happened. But by the time you check

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<v Speaker 1>what has come in, more will come in. Then it

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<v Speaker 1>will probably be time for your morning meetings. It's easy

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<v Speaker 1>to get to lunchtime or even the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>workday having kept all the balls in the air, but

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<v Speaker 1>not having moved anything forward. You feel busy, but you

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<v Speaker 1>don't feel like you're getting much done. Sound familiar One

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<v Speaker 1>way to stop that habit is to decide at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of the workday what you will do before you

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<v Speaker 1>finish your first cup of coffee the next morning. It

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<v Speaker 1>could be helpful to choose a project that will take

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<v Speaker 1>half an hour or so and that you know you

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<v Speaker 1>will have the energy and resources to get done right away.

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<v Speaker 1>The satisfaction you get from completing that first coffee project

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<v Speaker 1>will give you momentum to proceed productively through the day. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>everyone's coffee projects will be different, of course. I often

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<v Speaker 1>like to draft a blog post. Someone else might plan

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<v Speaker 1>the agenda for an important meeting. Someone else might review

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<v Speaker 1>a report or look at all the sales data from

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<v Speaker 1>the last month so you can bring some new insights

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<v Speaker 1>to your next meeting on that. But whatever it is,

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<v Speaker 1>you are going for a small to medium sized task

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<v Speaker 1>that you can knock out first thing. Ideally, it's something

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<v Speaker 1>you can do without needing information or guidance from a colleague,

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<v Speaker 1>because I don't want you hunting through your inbox and

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<v Speaker 1>without having to wait for a stroke of inspiration. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>if you are like me, your first cup of coffee

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<v Speaker 1>at work is not actually your first cup of the day.

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<v Speaker 1>I tend to drink one while getting the kids off

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<v Speaker 1>to buses as well. That said, I think it might

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<v Speaker 1>be wise to aim to complete a low stakes, fairly

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<v Speaker 1>quick coffee project at home too, before you head to

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<v Speaker 1>work or start the morning drop offs. At home, your

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<v Speaker 1>coffee project might be writing morning pages or engaging in

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<v Speaker 1>a spiritual practice. It might be reviewing your calendar or

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<v Speaker 1>planning your day. If you accomplish something before you finish

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<v Speaker 1>your first cup of coffee at home, and something else

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<v Speaker 1>before you finished your first cup of coffee at work,

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<v Speaker 1>you are checking at least two tasks off your list.

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<v Speaker 1>Whatever else happens in your day, you know those tasks

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<v Speaker 1>will be done. You are being proactive instead of reactive,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is a good mindset to take through the

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<v Speaker 1>next few hours. So if you are sipping that first

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<v Speaker 1>cup of coffee right now, consider what project you could

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<v Speaker 1>finish before your first cup is empty, and at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of the day, decide on a coffee project for tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>When you start with a sense of accomplishment, you set

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<v Speaker 1>yourself up for success 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, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.