WEBVTT - Do it after your must-do

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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 to do whatever you want after you

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<v Speaker 1>complete you must do. So it is amazing how much

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<v Speaker 1>stuff we can come up with to do when we

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<v Speaker 1>are avoiding something else. Plenty of hard working people clean

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<v Speaker 1>out their inboxes, reorganize their files, update their calendars, or

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<v Speaker 1>throw themselves into administrative tasks as seemingly legitimate work when

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<v Speaker 1>they're trying to push off a challenging project. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>we all know it's a bad idea to delay what's

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<v Speaker 1>most important. Even if we procrastinate by filling our time

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<v Speaker 1>with work tasks like filing or processing email, we all

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<v Speaker 1>know that we just need to eat that frog. As

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<v Speaker 1>the saying goes, do right away. It's hard and perhaps unpleasant,

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<v Speaker 1>but essential. Still, despite knowing better, we often delay the

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<v Speaker 1>must do while doing the not so important stuff. Human

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<v Speaker 1>nature right, But today I want to offer you an

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<v Speaker 1>additional mental incentive. You can give yourself to simply do

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<v Speaker 1>your must do first thing. Once you've done it, you

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<v Speaker 1>can do whatever you want. In other words, if your

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<v Speaker 1>top priority for this morning is to draft an article

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<v Speaker 1>for the monthly newsletter, write it, then do whatever you

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<v Speaker 1>want for the rest of the morning. You could process

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<v Speaker 1>email or file or clean off your hard drive. Those

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<v Speaker 1>tasks you would have done as you delayed the big thing,

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<v Speaker 1>but since those are basically just time wasters, you could

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<v Speaker 1>also read an industry publication or call a colleague to

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<v Speaker 1>brainstorm ideas for a project that excites you, or watch

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<v Speaker 1>a webinar on a topic you want to learn more about.

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<v Speaker 1>Depending on the norms at your organization, you might even

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<v Speaker 1>be able to go for a long walkouts side, or

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<v Speaker 1>make a quick trip to a nearby museum, or take

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<v Speaker 1>a longer lunch. When your choices are to clean off

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<v Speaker 1>your hard drive or collaborate with a colleague on an

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<v Speaker 1>engaging project, it's pretty clear what you should choose. But

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<v Speaker 1>when you do the unimportant clerical tasks first to delay

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<v Speaker 1>your must do, you essentially are choosing to do these

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<v Speaker 1>boring tasks instead of something more rewarding, because if you

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<v Speaker 1>spend half the morning on insignificant tasks and only then

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<v Speaker 1>write the article, there's no time left for the more

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<v Speaker 1>engaging and valuable tasks once that article is done. If

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<v Speaker 1>you do your must do first, then the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the morning is free for you to use and whatever

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<v Speaker 1>way you choose, and that probably won't be non essential

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<v Speaker 1>clerical work. This principle holds for home and life maintenance

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<v Speaker 1>work too. Plenty of people have put off doing their

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<v Speaker 1>income taxes by reorganizing their sock drawers or their spice racks.

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<v Speaker 1>But how many people have reorganized their sock drawers after

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<v Speaker 1>getting their taxes done? Not many. I mean, if you

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<v Speaker 1>gather your tax materials first and do what you need

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<v Speaker 1>to do, and then you really want to organize your

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<v Speaker 1>sock drawer, fine, But I suspect you'd rather have a

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<v Speaker 1>glass of wine with your partner, or meet up with

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<v Speaker 1>a friend for coffee, or take the dog for a walk,

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<v Speaker 1>and probably you will do those things instead. So the

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<v Speaker 1>next time you have an important and challenging project designated

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<v Speaker 1>for a day or half day, instead of delaying the

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<v Speaker 1>project by immersing yourself in unnecessary or at least non

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<v Speaker 1>urgent little tasks, instead tell yourself this you can do

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<v Speaker 1>whatever you want after you finished the project. This has

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<v Speaker 1>two implications. First, you'll do the important work without delay

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<v Speaker 1>or handwringing. And what's first in priority is wise to

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<v Speaker 1>put first in sequence second, when you're finished with the

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<v Speaker 1>important project, you get to do whatever you want. You'll

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<v Speaker 1>give your best to your must do and you'll have

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<v Speaker 1>time available for we want to do. That is a

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<v Speaker 1>double win. 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. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more pod tests

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<v Speaker 1>from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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