Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to solve each problem once. When we
Speaker 1: tackle a task thoroughly, once and for all, we can
Speaker 1: often find solutions that last. We don't have to contend
Speaker 1: with the same problem over and over again. This principle
Speaker 1: underlies many productivity tips, and there are two manifestations of
Speaker 1: this idea. To solve each problem once. First, if there's
Speaker 1: something you do repeatedly, template ties it, Find a basic
Speaker 1: approach to the recurring task, and repeat it. I'm sure
Speaker 1: you can remember a lot of Before Breakfast episodes centered
Speaker 1: on this theme. You create a work uniform, You plan
Speaker 1: on meatless Monday and taco Tuesday meal routines. You write
Speaker 1: up a list of frequently asked questions that you send
Speaker 1: to everybody who asks to pick your brain. People tend
Speaker 1: to have the same questions, so answer them once and
Speaker 1: save the coffee dates for when there's an unanswered question
Speaker 1: that someone is curious about. You don't have to have
Speaker 1: the same conversation a dozen times a year. By templatizing
Speaker 1: responses to common situations, we can invest time in thoughtfully
Speaker 1: handling the issue once, and then we're free to spend
Speaker 1: our time on other things in the future. The second
Speaker 1: manifestation of this principle to solve each problem once is
Speaker 1: that if there is a recurring bottleneck or annoyance in
Speaker 1: your life, take the time to fix it, don't just
Speaker 1: work around it each time it occurs. If all your
Speaker 1: workout clothes are dirty by Thursday every week, but you
Speaker 1: do laundry on Saturday, buy more workout clothes. If your
Speaker 1: boss is consistently late for your ocurring meeting because the
Speaker 1: meeting before yours always goes late, reschedule your meeting. You
Speaker 1: might say, I'm realizing that three fifteen on Fridays is
Speaker 1: a tricky time for you because you have a meeting
Speaker 1: right beforehand. What about rescheduling to three fifteen on Thursdays
Speaker 1: or on Fridays. If a colleague repeatedly struggles to get
Speaker 1: your materials on the schedule promised, ask for them a
Speaker 1: little earlier than you actually need them so you won't
Speaker 1: be left waiting. There's no need for you to be
Speaker 1: thrown off schedule. Every time you work together. You know
Speaker 1: what's going to happen, so plan accordingly. Sometimes it takes
Speaker 1: a little longer to solve a problem entirely rather than
Speaker 1: just making do in the moment and kicking the problem
Speaker 1: down the road. But in the long run, the time
Speaker 1: you invest in templatizing a solution or eradicating an issue,
Speaker 1: we'll pay off big time. In the meantime. This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four, then
Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
Speaker 1: com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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