1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: tip is to ask yourself whether you could finish a 4 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: task before moving it to the next day's to do list. 5 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: Don't take it for granted that unfinished tasks will get 6 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: migrated from one day to the next. Pause to consider 7 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: whether you could just get the tasks done. Longtime listeners 8 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 1: have probably heard me recommend seeing a to do list 9 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: as a contract with yourself. I see putting a task 10 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: on a to do list as a promise that you 11 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: will complete the task that day. For people who don't 12 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: take that perspective, though, I would suggest at least being 13 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: a little slower to migrate a task from one days 14 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: to do list to the next. When you review your 15 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:09,199 Speaker 1: to do list at the end of the day, Before 16 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: you migrate lots of tasks to future days, consider what 17 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: you could actually just get done. Could you finish? Maybe 18 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: you needed to send personalized invitations to twenty five people 19 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: for an event your organization is hosting. You have sent 20 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: invitations to fifteen of them. When your alarm rings to 21 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 1: tell you it is time to start dinner, could you 22 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: take your laptop down to the kitchen from your home 23 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: office and knock out the last ten invitations while you 24 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 1: are waiting for the water to boil. Then you don't 25 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: have to push this task to the next day. Or 26 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: you might have intended to go to the dry cleaner 27 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: on your way to work after taking your kids to daycare, 28 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: but you skipped it because you wanted some desk time 29 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: before your first meeting. Could you drop off your dry 30 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: cleaning on the way home from picking up your kids 31 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: in the afternoon, then you don't need to kick it 32 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: forward another day. Perhaps a task isn't time consuming, it 33 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: is just unpleasant and that is why you haven't done it. 34 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: Could you simply resolve to hit send on the difficult 35 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: email before you leave for the day. How great will 36 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,279 Speaker 1: that feel to not have it hanging over your head. 37 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: For a task that is time consuming, perhaps half hour 38 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: after your kids go to bed might give you the 39 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: time to finish it. A relatively short second shift could 40 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: be worth it. It can be easy to keep migrating 41 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: a task day after day from one to do list 42 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: to the next, But if the task wouldn't take that 43 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: long in the first place, then migrating it is probably 44 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: not necessary. If you get into the habit of asking 45 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 1: yourself whether you could finish, I think few things will happen. First, 46 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: you will get more done because you won't concede defeat 47 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,519 Speaker 1: too early. Often the answer will be yes, I could 48 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: get that done today. Second, your to do list will 49 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: get shorter because tasks will get done instead of constantly accumulating. 50 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: And finally, and perhaps most importantly, you may be more 51 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: productive during the core part of the day If you 52 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: start to expect yourself to finish what you set out 53 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: to do. Asking whether you can finish can help you 54 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: find the middle ground between feeling pressure to complete all 55 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:42,839 Speaker 1: the tasks on a day's to do list come what may, 56 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: and just feeling that you do what you do and 57 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: you don't do what you don't do. Asking whether you 58 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: can finish means you just might finish, and that can 59 00:03:55,280 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: be great to see. In the meantime, this is Laura, 60 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 61 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 62 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 63 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 64 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 65 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 66 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.