Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to stick with your systems. More often
Speaker 1: than not, you will be better off maintaining a good
Speaker 1: enough system then searching for the elusive perfect system. Most
Speaker 1: stuff works if you stick with it. You just have
Speaker 1: to keep going. This is the time of year when
Speaker 1: even the most conscientious among us may be wearying of
Speaker 1: the systems we started in January. Maybe you bought a
Speaker 1: fancy planner to hold all your two dues, but you
Speaker 1: are annoyed at the motivational quotes at the top of
Speaker 1: each page. You decided to start grocery shopping on Mondays
Speaker 1: during your lunch break so you wouldn't have to brave
Speaker 1: the weekend crowds, but you are finding this errand makes
Speaker 1: a long day feel even longer. You started using a
Speaker 1: budgeting app to trim your spending, but now you are
Speaker 1: feeling resentful that you have got one more thing to
Speaker 1: deal with in your weekly life maintenance session. It is
Speaker 1: tempting to ditch your adequate but annoying systems. You may
Speaker 1: held out hope that there is a perfect system out
Speaker 1: there a planner with only quotes. You like a budget
Speaker 1: app that somehow requires absolutely zero work from you. I
Speaker 1: don't know. Maybe it is possible, but the time you
Speaker 1: invest in finding and starting a new system, which probably
Speaker 1: won't be perfect either, is not likely to be worth it. Indeed,
Speaker 1: stopping and starting new systems often derails us from our goals.
Speaker 1: If you are finding a new system mostly helpful but
Speaker 1: just slightly annoying, here's an idea. Mostly helpful is a win.
Speaker 1: Put stickers over the sappy quotes. Enjoy a beer while
Speaker 1: you use your budget app, but just keep using it.
Speaker 1: When you have a system that is a decent fit
Speaker 1: and you use it consistently, it will yield benefits over time.
Speaker 1: Any budget system that you faithfully maintain will give you
Speaker 1: insights into your spending. Any planner that you actually use
Speaker 1: can help you keep track of your obligations. So unless
Speaker 1: the system is a total mismatch, like the planner you
Speaker 1: bought is so heavy that you're getting back pain from
Speaker 1: carrying it around, aimed to stick with any new system
Speaker 1: for at least a full quarter before you decide it
Speaker 1: is not for you now. The one qualification to this
Speaker 1: recommendation is if you find you have duplicate systems or
Speaker 1: a system solving a problem that you don't actually have.
Speaker 1: You don't need to record the books you've read in
Speaker 1: good Reads and a book journal unless you want to.
Speaker 1: In fact, you don't need to record the books you've
Speaker 1: read it all if it's not adding to your life. Likewise,
Speaker 1: if you use a digital calendar, you probably don't need
Speaker 1: to record your appointments in a paper planner too. If
Speaker 1: you realize a system is not valuable to you, then
Speaker 1: let it go. But in general, if you consistently use
Speaker 1: any good enough system, it will probably serve you well.
Speaker 1: It is your persistence in using it, not the perfection
Speaker 1: of the match, that generates success. So persist. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. M Hey, everybody, I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E
Speaker 1: the number four, then breakfast p o D. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at
Speaker 1: i heeart media dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.