WEBVTT - Second Cup: Do the tough stuff first

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.640
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:14.239
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. This

0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:17.840
<v Speaker 1>is the third episode in my five part series on procrastination,

0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:22.319
<v Speaker 1>a topic we're studying all this week. Today's tip is

0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:26.639
<v Speaker 1>to do the tough stuff first. If you spend a

0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.440
<v Speaker 1>lot of time on the internet, you'll soon find many

0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.919
<v Speaker 1>quotes attributed to Mark Twain. I spent a year as

0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:35.199
<v Speaker 1>a fact checker early in my career, and I can

0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:39.840
<v Speaker 1>tell you almost all these attributions are false. It's pretty

0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:41.879
<v Speaker 1>clear that Mark Twain did not write that if you

0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.199
<v Speaker 1>eat a live frog first thing in the morning, that

0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.080
<v Speaker 1>will be the worst thing to happen to you all day.

0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.800
<v Speaker 1>But one reason we like to repeat this phrase and

0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.720
<v Speaker 1>attribute it to a wise man like Mark Twain is

0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:54.920
<v Speaker 1>that it's a colorful way of pointing out a truth.

0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:59.200
<v Speaker 1>If you need to do something difficult, putting it off

0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:03.480
<v Speaker 1>does doesn't solve the problem. In fact, it makes it

0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:08.840
<v Speaker 1>worse because the mental anguish expands your suffering. You're much

0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.440
<v Speaker 1>better off getting it over with. Then the rest of

0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:15.600
<v Speaker 1>your day will seem awesome. By contrast, that makes sense,

0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:17.960
<v Speaker 1>and there's another reason to get tough stuff done early.

0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.600
<v Speaker 1>There's some evidence that we have more energy and discipline

0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:25.240
<v Speaker 1>in the morning. One study by researchers associated with the

0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.959
<v Speaker 1>Human Performance Institute at Johnson and Johnson found that people

0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:32.720
<v Speaker 1>reported their highest energy levels of the workday right around

0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.680
<v Speaker 1>eight am. You have that first cup of coffee, and

0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.640
<v Speaker 1>you can take on the world. By two pm, not

0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.280
<v Speaker 1>so much. The research on decision fatigue, will power, and

0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.240
<v Speaker 1>ego depletion is a bit more complicated, but I think

0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:51.240
<v Speaker 1>it's plausible that we possess more fortitude early in the day.

0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.920
<v Speaker 1>If you think about it, diets aren't broken with a

0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:59.000
<v Speaker 1>spoon going straight into the hagendaws at six am. That's

0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:03.000
<v Speaker 1>really more of a ten pm sort of activity. Likewise,

0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.360
<v Speaker 1>you seldom hear of crimes of passion occurring at seven am.

0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:12.760
<v Speaker 1>In general, we work most effectively and efficiently by scheduling

0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:15.760
<v Speaker 1>our most difficult tasks at times when we are best

0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:19.320
<v Speaker 1>prepared to deal with them. Doing something that requires a

0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:22.400
<v Speaker 1>lot of focus and discipline might take an hour at

0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:26.080
<v Speaker 1>eight am, it might take two hours at three pm.

0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:29.520
<v Speaker 1>When you're tired. Best to do the work early and

0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:32.760
<v Speaker 1>not by yourself a late night. So if there is

0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.639
<v Speaker 1>something you've been putting off. Think about how you might

0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:39.000
<v Speaker 1>schedule it first thing in the morning, and if the

0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:42.720
<v Speaker 1>task is difficult enough, I'd suggest scheduling it for first

0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.720
<v Speaker 1>thing Monday morning, the beginning of the day and the

0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.840
<v Speaker 1>beginning of the week. That way, you're really getting it

0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:54.160
<v Speaker 1>over with, and then when you do, reward yourself profusely.

0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.160
<v Speaker 1>Maybe even take the rest of Monday morning or at

0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:01.079
<v Speaker 1>least an hour or two off. I know I've done this.

0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:03.880
<v Speaker 1>For instance, a few years ago, I was writing an

0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:07.840
<v Speaker 1>article that required interviewing someone surrounded by gatekeepers in an

0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:11.720
<v Speaker 1>organization that had a reputation for being bureaucratic. I was

0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:15.240
<v Speaker 1>really dreading calling and explaining what I wanted and having

0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:18.200
<v Speaker 1>to go through multiple layers of permission, or possibly going

0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:21.320
<v Speaker 1>through alternate routes if the first was too slow. In

0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:25.000
<v Speaker 1>my mind, this had expanded to a huge ordeal. So

0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:29.040
<v Speaker 1>I gave myself the assignment to call the organization first

0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:33.680
<v Speaker 1>thing Monday morning. I started work with all the fortitude

0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.600
<v Speaker 1>I was ever going to muster. At nine oh two,

0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:41.160
<v Speaker 1>I made my call, and then a funny thing happened.

0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.200
<v Speaker 1>The first person I got on the phone was happy

0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:47.680
<v Speaker 1>to help. By nine point fifteen, I had an appointment scheduled.

0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:51.280
<v Speaker 1>Sometimes eating a frog turns out to be more like

0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:55.560
<v Speaker 1>eating frog legs, potentially kind of tasty in the right context.

0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.840
<v Speaker 1>And yes, I rewarded myself. I think I went for

0:03:59.880 --> 0:04:02.800
<v Speaker 1>a run and then took myself out to lunch. When

0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.280
<v Speaker 1>we do the tough stuff first, the rest of the

0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.839
<v Speaker 1>day automatically looks better by contrast, and we can even

0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.160
<v Speaker 1>schedule in things to make it look better. Do you

0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:13.240
<v Speaker 1>make a point of doing the tough stuff first thing

0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:17.680
<v Speaker 1>in the day or even first thing on Monday. I'd

0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.720
<v Speaker 1>love to hear about it. You can email me at

0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:26.200
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. In the meantime,

0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:29.920
<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:40.120
<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.120
<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:46.960
<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:51.880
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:56.599
<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me

0:04:56.600 --> 0:05:01.480
<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iheartm That Before

0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:04.720
<v Speaker 1>Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much.

0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:12.919
<v Speaker 1>Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:17.040
<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:21.480
<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:24.880
<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows.