Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to use the tomorrow test to help you
Speaker 1: make better decisions. If an option doesn't sound like it
Speaker 1: would be appealing to you tomorrow, it is probably not
Speaker 1: going to be appealing for you ever, no matter how
Speaker 1: far in the future you look. Longtime listeners may have
Speaker 1: heard me recommend using the tomorrow test for evaluating requests.
Speaker 1: When you are presented with a one off social event
Speaker 1: or a work or volunteer commitment, consider whether you would
Speaker 1: say yes if you would have to do this thing tomorrow.
Speaker 1: If you would say yes, go for it. If not,
Speaker 1: consider whether your future self is going to be upset
Speaker 1: with you for saying yes on his or her behalf. Now.
Speaker 1: Of course, you may be thinking that you couldn't do
Speaker 1: it tomorrow because you are busy tomorrow, But your future
Speaker 1: self is going to be busy too. If you wouldn't
Speaker 1: rearrange your schedule to say yes tomorrow, don't say yes
Speaker 1: for the more distant future either. You can use the
Speaker 1: tomorrow test for longer term professional projects or personal commitments
Speaker 1: as well. If you don't have time in your schedule
Speaker 1: to start a new project within the next week or so,
Speaker 1: When will you realistically have the time for it. Unless
Speaker 1: you have a project with a clear ind date coming up,
Speaker 1: you probably don't want to take on a new project
Speaker 1: unless you have the time and inclination to get started
Speaker 1: on it right away. The same goes for a new
Speaker 1: book club or softball team. If you can't make it
Speaker 1: to the next choir practice, do you really have the
Speaker 1: time and desire to join the choir at all. Not
Speaker 1: only does the tomorrow test keep us from making commitments
Speaker 1: we end up regretting, it can save us from bad
Speaker 1: purchases too. When you buy a new item of clothing
Speaker 1: that you love, you usually want to wear it the
Speaker 1: next day, or at least on the next appropriate occasion.
Speaker 1: You may even invent an occasion to wear it. But
Speaker 1: if you don't wear something on the next appropriate occasion,
Speaker 1: it is probably never going to be a favorite. So
Speaker 1: if you are shopping and contemplating buying a new pair
Speaker 1: of shoes, ask yourself, will I wear these tomorrow? If
Speaker 1: the answer is not a resounding yes, they are probably
Speaker 1: not for you. This is equally true for interesting ingredients
Speaker 1: at the grocery store bacon, onion jam or chili crisp
Speaker 1: may seem fun to try, but if you don't plan
Speaker 1: to try them tomorrow, save your money in your pantry
Speaker 1: space for something else. Aspirational ingredients don't make your meals
Speaker 1: special when they never get enjoyed. If a new book
Speaker 1: catches your eye but you wouldn't start reading it tomorrow,
Speaker 1: don't buy it. Put it on your to be read list,
Speaker 1: and you can remind your future self about the book
Speaker 1: and let her decide whether she wants to read it.
Speaker 1: The good news is that in this era of ebooks,
Speaker 1: you will be able to purchase the book immediately as
Speaker 1: soon as you decide you do want to read it,
Speaker 1: so you don't need to add it to the nightstandpile now.
Speaker 1: The tomorrow test knowledge is that we are still going
Speaker 1: to be the same people in the future. I am
Speaker 1: not saying people don't change at all, because they sometimes do,
Speaker 1: but life is not going to be magically less complicated
Speaker 1: at some later date. You won't magically have more energy.
Speaker 1: So when you are making any sort of decision, evaluate
Speaker 1: how enthusiastic you would be tomorrow. That is a much
Speaker 1: more accurate representation of future you than anything else. If
Speaker 1: you try the tomorrow test, you can let me know
Speaker 1: how it goes at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.