WEBVTT - Checklists save time

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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 checklists save time. When you maintain

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<v Speaker 1>a list of what you need to do on various occasions,

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<v Speaker 1>you increase your efficiency and you are far less likely

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<v Speaker 1>to drop the ball. I have five children, and moving

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<v Speaker 1>a family of seven anywhere involves a lot of logistics.

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<v Speaker 1>If I just packed randomly for trips, we would inevitably

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<v Speaker 1>forget something important. So for our journeys, I have written

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<v Speaker 1>out checklists of what we need to bring swim diapers, bottles,

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<v Speaker 1>bug spray goggles, headphones, identification documents. I am not saying

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<v Speaker 1>the packing or traveling has always gone perfectly, but we

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<v Speaker 1>generally managed to get where we're going without needing to

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<v Speaker 1>check bags. And I define packing for seven people for

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<v Speaker 1>a week in a couple of carry ons as success.

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<v Speaker 1>I also use checklists when I am planning my weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a number of ongoing projects, so as I

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<v Speaker 1>planned my weeks on Friday afternoons, I go through the

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<v Speaker 1>checklist to make sure I have listed something for each project.

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<v Speaker 1>It is hard to forget producing a daily podcast, but

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<v Speaker 1>what am I doing to promote my upcoming book, Tranquility

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<v Speaker 1>by Tuesday by putting that category on my planning checklist,

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<v Speaker 1>I will put something on the schedule for the week.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of people read a toolga Wan Day's bestseller,

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<v Speaker 1>The Checklist Manifesto. He wrote about how important it was

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<v Speaker 1>and fields like medicine, for people not to rely on memory.

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<v Speaker 1>If you need to do seven things before a medical procedure,

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<v Speaker 1>make a checklist and check them off. This reduces errors tremendously.

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<v Speaker 1>In the case of checklists, like a car scores, you

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<v Speaker 1>can immediately see which babies need more attention. But checklists

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<v Speaker 1>are great and far less complex situations. The beauty of

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<v Speaker 1>a checklist is that you just work your way through

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<v Speaker 1>what you need to do, without wasting time deciding what's

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<v Speaker 1>the next thing, or racking your brain about what you

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<v Speaker 1>are forgetting. You don't need to worry so much about

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<v Speaker 1>dropping balls because all the balls you need are spelled out.

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<v Speaker 1>You can decide that you don't need to do something,

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<v Speaker 1>but that is an active choice rather than one of

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<v Speaker 1>a mission. So think if there are areas in your

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<v Speaker 1>life where a checklist might help. One obvious one is meetings.

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<v Speaker 1>I was recently visiting a company where there was a

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<v Speaker 1>poster on the wall with a checklist about what each

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<v Speaker 1>meeting was supposed to include. Among other things, you had

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<v Speaker 1>to identify who were the decision makers. You had to

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<v Speaker 1>identify the decision being made. Does that sound like extra

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<v Speaker 1>labor when you are just marching to your two o'clock,

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<v Speaker 1>you're three o'clock, you're four o'clock. Well, that is somewhat

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<v Speaker 1>the point. If you are planning to devote an hour

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<v Speaker 1>of your precious time on this planet to something, you

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<v Speaker 1>want to make sure it is worthy of it. I

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<v Speaker 1>am not a big fan of meetings that are just

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<v Speaker 1>about the status of projects. Is everyone still doing their jobs?

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<v Speaker 1>But if you are going to have such meetings, checklists

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<v Speaker 1>are great here too. You want to come out of

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<v Speaker 1>these meetings knowing exactly where things stand, what is left

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<v Speaker 1>to do, and who is responsible for it. Working through

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<v Speaker 1>a checklist of project parts will help make sure this

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<v Speaker 1>is all clear. When you identify a checklist that could

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<v Speaker 1>be helpful for you, start by jotting down the tasks

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<v Speaker 1>you think you need to do in the order you

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<v Speaker 1>think you usually do them. Then, the next time you

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<v Speaker 1>are in a position to use that checklist, consider it

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<v Speaker 1>a draft, work your way through it, and also add

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<v Speaker 1>items as needed. Shift the order to reflect what you

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<v Speaker 1>typically do or what makes the most sense. It may

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<v Speaker 1>take a few uses before you get your checklist the

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<v Speaker 1>way you want it, but once you're happy with your checklist,

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<v Speaker 1>keep using it. That means looking at it. Don't assume

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<v Speaker 1>you have internalized it. Save yourself the mental effort of

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about what you need to do and the stress

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<v Speaker 1>of hoping you have done everything you need to. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>just work through your checklist knowing you are doing exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what you need to be doing at that moment. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making them us of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's B the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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