WEBVTT - You can quit in the middle

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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 it's okay to quit things. Doing

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<v Speaker 1>something indefinitely isn't a virtue if you've determined that it's

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<v Speaker 1>not the best use of your time. I want to

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<v Speaker 1>start this episode by saying that I know some people

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<v Speaker 1>quit things left and right. Degree programs, jobs, exercise, regiments, relationships.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people have troubles sticking with anything. This sort of

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<v Speaker 1>flightiness can be challenging for other people to deal with,

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<v Speaker 1>and in the long run probably isn't much fun for

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<v Speaker 1>the flighty people themselves. Overcoming challenges can give you incredible

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<v Speaker 1>self confidence. Fleeing from challenges does not. But if you're

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<v Speaker 1>listening to a podcast about productivity, I'm guessing you're not

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<v Speaker 1>the flighty sort like me. You probably pride your self

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<v Speaker 1>and setting out to do whatever you said you'd do.

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<v Speaker 1>We're the sorts of people who repeat phrases like winners

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<v Speaker 1>never quit and quitters never win. But sometimes quitting is

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<v Speaker 1>the best choice. Time devoted to one thing is time

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<v Speaker 1>not devoted to something else. In my own life, I've

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<v Speaker 1>certainly seen this. I've stuck with projects I didn't enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>and wasn't good at for all sorts of reasons. The

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<v Speaker 1>money was decent, the people were nice. I didn't like

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<v Speaker 1>the idea of quitting. But then when I'd finally get

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<v Speaker 1>around to moving on, a funny thing would happen. Some

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<v Speaker 1>amazing new opportunity would appear in the next week, And

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think this is a coincidence. Open space invites

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity in a way that a cluttered calendar can't. When

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<v Speaker 1>I'm busy, I don't schedule random calls or go to things.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't leave space for serendipity, but serendipity bring some

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<v Speaker 1>pretty cool stuff when she shows up. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>there are a few things you can think about if

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<v Speaker 1>you're pondering moving on first. In general, I like to

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<v Speaker 1>be in a place where I can walk away from things,

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<v Speaker 1>especially in the professional sphere. I've always prioritized savings because

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<v Speaker 1>money represents freedom to me. It's incredibly important not to

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<v Speaker 1>feel trapped by any job or project. I'm not saying

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<v Speaker 1>you need to have total financial independence, but you want

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<v Speaker 1>to have enough of a cushion that you're pretty sure

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<v Speaker 1>your family would be fine for the amount of time

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<v Speaker 1>it would take you to find something. I know that

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<v Speaker 1>if you're living on the edge, this is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be hard to pull off, but I also know that

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<v Speaker 1>that's not the case for many people listening to this podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>A financial cushion changes any decision making process. Second, try

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<v Speaker 1>to separate yourself from the sunk cost fallacy and economics.

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<v Speaker 1>A sunk cost is a cost that has already been

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<v Speaker 1>incurred and cannot be recovered. Because it can't be recovered,

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<v Speaker 1>you shouldn't take it into account in your decision making process.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've been paying a team to work on launching

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<v Speaker 1>a new product and it becomes clear that there is

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<v Speaker 1>no market for this product, you'll never get the team

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<v Speaker 1>members salaries back for the time they've already spent on it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's most rational to put these people on another project immediately,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's very tempting to throw good money after bad.

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<v Speaker 1>As the saying goes convincing ourselves that because we've spent

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<v Speaker 1>so much money on something, we should stick with it.

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<v Speaker 1>We do the same thing with our time. The fact

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<v Speaker 1>that you've spent three years at a company does not

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<v Speaker 1>mean you should keep working there if you're unhappy with

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<v Speaker 1>the direction the company is going or you're feeling unchallenged.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes situations can be improved, and sometimes they can't. One

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<v Speaker 1>way to remove the sunk cost issue write a job

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<v Speaker 1>description for what you do. If you saw your job

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<v Speaker 1>advertise like this, would you apply? If so, great, If not,

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<v Speaker 1>you've got some thinking to do. In my case, I

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<v Speaker 1>work for myself and I've done a wide variety of

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<v Speaker 1>projects over the years. Freelance projects naturally change over faster

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<v Speaker 1>than full time jobs, but it can still be hard

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<v Speaker 1>to extricate yourself. Here's what's become my go to question

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<v Speaker 1>over the years. Would I pay even a token amount

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<v Speaker 1>of money to get this off my plate? If so,

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<v Speaker 1>then why am I spending my time on it? For

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<v Speaker 1>commitments that involve other people? I think it's important not

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<v Speaker 1>to leave people in the lurch. This is the reason

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<v Speaker 1>most people consider it wise to give two weeks notice.

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<v Speaker 1>If my kids sign up for a team sport, they

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<v Speaker 1>can't quit in the middle of the season. If they've

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<v Speaker 1>joined the school orchestra, they can't quit before the concert.

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<v Speaker 1>But I have let my kids quit other activities with

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<v Speaker 1>a few safeguards. For instance, when my oldest son wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to quit an individual sport, I required a cooling off period.

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<v Speaker 1>He had to go to three more classes to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure it wasn't about one particular frustration or that he

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<v Speaker 1>was having a bad day. I also don't allow quitting

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<v Speaker 1>just to sit around playing video games. He had to

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<v Speaker 1>choose something else active to do instead. But he met

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<v Speaker 1>both those conditions. A month later, he still wanted to stop,

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<v Speaker 1>and he'd identified another activity he was willing to do,

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<v Speaker 1>so I decided this was fine. These rules might help

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<v Speaker 1>you too. Don't quit in a rage, don't quit in

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<v Speaker 1>a way that leaves someone else in a lurch. And

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<v Speaker 1>when possible, think about your quitting in the context of

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<v Speaker 1>some other positive thing that you will then have room for.

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<v Speaker 1>But also know that you can walk away if you

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<v Speaker 1>need to. We spend less time thinking about the endings

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<v Speaker 1>of things then we do about the beginnings. But most

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<v Speaker 1>things do end. If you've been leading a meeting every

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<v Speaker 1>Tuesday morning, no that some Tuesday morning, however far it

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<v Speaker 1>is in the future, that meeting won't happen, and at

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<v Speaker 1>that point or on some other Tuesday, you won't be

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<v Speaker 1>leading the meeting. Earth will keep spinning on its axis.

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<v Speaker 1>You can quit. That doesn't mean the thing wasn't worth

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<v Speaker 1>doing it means it's not worth it for you, not

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<v Speaker 1>right now. Sometimes you walking away opens up space in

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<v Speaker 1>your life, and sometimes it opens up an opportunity for

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<v Speaker 1>someone else who will be able to give this activity

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<v Speaker 1>the attention it deserves. That's really a win win situation.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are you contemplating quitting? Picture yourself six months

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<v Speaker 1>in the future, if you were still doing this thing,

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<v Speaker 1>how would you feel? Sometimes the question can give you

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<v Speaker 1>some real insight. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, 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 heeart 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 podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. All go,