WEBVTT - You won't come back to it

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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 you won't come back to it. Your

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<v Speaker 1>future self is not going to magically have more time

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<v Speaker 1>and energy, So aim not to leave things undone with

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<v Speaker 1>the idea that you will revisit the project soon. You

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<v Speaker 1>probably won't do what you can do when you think

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<v Speaker 1>of it and realize that is probably what it's going

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<v Speaker 1>to be. So one of the things I have discovered

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<v Speaker 1>about time over the years is that people are wildly

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<v Speaker 1>optimistic about what their future selves will be capable of.

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<v Speaker 1>We actually put items like clean out attic on a

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<v Speaker 1>weekend to do list, as if a decade's worth of

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<v Speaker 1>accumulated stuff will be easily dispatched in our thirty six

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<v Speaker 1>waking weekend hours, and as if we'll want to devote

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<v Speaker 1>all thirty six of those waking weekend hours to this project.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll also do half a project, like start a photo book,

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<v Speaker 1>and then leave it thinking that even though it was

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<v Speaker 1>hard to find time for the first half of this project,

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<v Speaker 1>the second half will magically appear. Or we put an

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<v Speaker 1>item on the stairs rather than walk it all the

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<v Speaker 1>way to where it is going, as if our future

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<v Speaker 1>selves will be more capable of moving the item into place.

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<v Speaker 1>But the truth is that our future selves are going

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<v Speaker 1>to be very very similar to our current selves. Our

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<v Speaker 1>future selves will have the exact same amount of time

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<v Speaker 1>and energy. If it is limited now, it will be limited. Then.

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<v Speaker 1>Better to remind yourself that unless something becomes really urgent

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<v Speaker 1>or is incredibly important, you are not going to come

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<v Speaker 1>back to it, certainly not immediately and probably not for

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<v Speaker 1>a while unless you go on a finishing blitz or something.

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<v Speaker 1>But most people don't do that, So better to do

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<v Speaker 1>what you can do today, create projects for yourself based

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<v Speaker 1>on what you can do now and without creating future

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<v Speaker 1>to dos for yourself. If you can get to finishing quickly,

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<v Speaker 1>that is probably a good thing. So if you had

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<v Speaker 1>a nice weekend at a friend's lake house, don't intend

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<v Speaker 1>to spend time next weekend finding the perfect thank you

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<v Speaker 1>card and handwriting her a thank you note with printed

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<v Speaker 1>photos included. Most likely next weekend we'll have its own crises. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>write a quick note as you're thinking about it, and

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<v Speaker 1>get it in the mail immediately. If you aren't anywhere

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<v Speaker 1>near paper and stamps, send a text with some photos

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<v Speaker 1>thanking her. You won't come back to it, so better

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<v Speaker 1>to do what you can do now after a meeting.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't assume you'll have some magical time in the future

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<v Speaker 1>to write up complete notes with a full analysis of

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<v Speaker 1>next steps. Just send your imperfect notes right after the

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<v Speaker 1>meeting when they are relevant. You won't come back to it,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's better to send the notes than not send

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<v Speaker 1>them or worry about this undone task for three weeks

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<v Speaker 1>until you realize it is pointless to send the notes

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<v Speaker 1>because they are so late. To be sure, sometimes it

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<v Speaker 1>might be worthwhile to wait to do something thoroughly, but

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<v Speaker 1>unless you are entirely confident that you will complete the

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<v Speaker 1>thorough job later, like there is a big block of

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<v Speaker 1>time carved out on your calendar and lots of accountability

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<v Speaker 1>for the task, the odds are it isn't going to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>You aren't going to come back to it. Your future

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<v Speaker 1>self probably won't have the time or inclination to do

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<v Speaker 1>what you're present self can't do now, so you're likely

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<v Speaker 1>better off doing a good enough job now instead of

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<v Speaker 1>imagining what you'd like to do in the future. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura, thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>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.