WEBVTT - What would you do if I weren't here?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that if you seem to be carrying more

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<v Speaker 1>of the organizational weight in various situations, consider what would

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<v Speaker 1>happen if you weren't there, and prompt the other people

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<v Speaker 1>involved to take a little more of the initiative. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>in many cases we can't always be there, so it

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<v Speaker 1>is good to figure this out when it is not

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<v Speaker 1>a crisis. I know that Before Breakfast listeners are productive

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<v Speaker 1>and dependable sorts. That means that people often look to

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<v Speaker 1>you to manage situations, deal with logistics, and organize everything,

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<v Speaker 1>which can be fine, But if you are and with

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<v Speaker 1>is a little limited, you might nicely nudge people to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out how to handle things without you. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you have been organizing the holiday lunch at your

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<v Speaker 1>office for the last few years. People will expect you

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<v Speaker 1>to do it all again. But maybe you are out

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<v Speaker 1>on maternity leave four years ago over the holidays and

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<v Speaker 1>something happened there was some holiday celebration. This is within

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<v Speaker 1>institutional memory, so you could ask people what they did

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<v Speaker 1>then and then just suggest it get repeated or perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>your crew of teens and preteens has gotten a little

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<v Speaker 1>too dependent on you nudging them along in the morning.

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<v Speaker 1>You could ask what they would do if you weren't

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<v Speaker 1>there and help them set up alarms or other reminders

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<v Speaker 1>to make that same schedule happen. Indeed, maybe you could

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<v Speaker 1>be gone some morning early to give it a trial run.

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<v Speaker 1>Even little kids can sometimes be nudged to take the initiative.

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<v Speaker 1>Your five year old asks you to get him water,

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<v Speaker 1>You ask what he would do if you weren't there,

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<v Speaker 1>and he remembers that the kid friendly cups, bowls, and

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<v Speaker 1>plates are in a drawer he can reach, and he

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<v Speaker 1>can turn on the sink by himself in the bathroom

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<v Speaker 1>or use a step stool in the kitchen to reach

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<v Speaker 1>that one. Now, obviously, in many situations we get help

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<v Speaker 1>from others, and we help each other out too, But

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<v Speaker 1>in general, in any organization or family, it is good

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<v Speaker 1>to figure out how systems would run if one person

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<v Speaker 1>was absent. If you were very sick for a while,

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<v Speaker 1>your family would have to figure something out. Your workplace

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<v Speaker 1>would need to figure something out too, So sometimes it

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<v Speaker 1>is good to think through scenarios when it is not

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<v Speaker 1>a crisis. And to make all systems a little more resilient.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.