WEBVTT - Don't pad your to-do list

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:15.320
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:20.120
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that you shouldn't pad your to do list.

0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:24.320
<v Speaker 1>The purpose of a to do list is to choose

0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.120
<v Speaker 1>what needs to get done and to help you do

0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.639
<v Speaker 1>those things. So don't put tasks on the to do

0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:35.440
<v Speaker 1>list that would happen anyway. This muddies the water and

0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:40.839
<v Speaker 1>can distract you when it counts. Today's tip, like another

0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:43.840
<v Speaker 1>this week, is about having a focused to do list.

0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.239
<v Speaker 1>As I discussed earlier this week, you don't want to

0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:50.800
<v Speaker 1>have a long, unwieldy to do list that includes things

0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:53.599
<v Speaker 1>you may or may not ever get to. It may

0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.400
<v Speaker 1>not even truly intend to do. A to do list

0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:00.360
<v Speaker 1>that's more of a wish list doesn't help you get

0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.959
<v Speaker 1>anything done. You want to create daily to do lists

0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:09.039
<v Speaker 1>that only include items you truly intend to do today.

0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:11.959
<v Speaker 1>There's a corollary to this, which is that you shouldn't

0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:14.160
<v Speaker 1>put things on the list if they are definitely going

0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:19.320
<v Speaker 1>to happen today anyway. Trust me, I know this is tempting.

0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.880
<v Speaker 1>We all like to cross stuff off, and so when

0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.119
<v Speaker 1>we put things on the list that we know are

0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:28.959
<v Speaker 1>going to happen. It can feel like we are starting

0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:34.679
<v Speaker 1>a race fifty ahead, but we aren't. Really. Recently, I

0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.559
<v Speaker 1>heard someone mentioned the Frog and Toad book a list.

0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:42.000
<v Speaker 1>The book recounts how one morning, Toad writes down everything

0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:45.319
<v Speaker 1>he's going to do that day, starting with wake up

0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:49.560
<v Speaker 1>and get dressed, including activities like play games with Frog

0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:54.040
<v Speaker 1>and eat supper, and finishing with go to sleep. Toad

0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:56.160
<v Speaker 1>works his way through the day of the list, and

0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:59.960
<v Speaker 1>he crosses off each activity as he completes it. They're

0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.400
<v Speaker 1>some humor when Toad's list blows away and he hesitates

0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:06.720
<v Speaker 1>to taste it because doing so isn't on the list.

0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:10.600
<v Speaker 1>The day and the story are complete when nightfalls and

0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.840
<v Speaker 1>Toad crosses go to sleep from his list and then

0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:17.760
<v Speaker 1>does just that. It's a delightful little story, but not

0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:21.720
<v Speaker 1>exactly a model for increasing your productivity. You are most

0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:24.360
<v Speaker 1>likely going to get dressed and eat meals and go

0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:26.560
<v Speaker 1>to bed, whether those things are on it to do

0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:30.040
<v Speaker 1>list or not. And well, yes, I know you probably

0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:33.680
<v Speaker 1>aren't going to list those things. I imagine there are

0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:36.160
<v Speaker 1>other things you might be tempted to list, but are

0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:41.120
<v Speaker 1>in fact deeply ingrained habits. If it is your responsibility

0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:43.840
<v Speaker 1>to pick up your kids at school. I am guessing

0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.160
<v Speaker 1>you do it at the right time, whether it's on

0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.440
<v Speaker 1>the list or not. If you always check your email,

0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.800
<v Speaker 1>and really who doesn't, that doesn't have to be a

0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:57.800
<v Speaker 1>specific item on your to do list either. This is

0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.400
<v Speaker 1>important because when I've told people to create very short

0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:06.480
<v Speaker 1>daily to do lists, we're talking five items maybe less.

0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:09.000
<v Speaker 1>People often point out that they have way more than

0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:13.840
<v Speaker 1>five responsibilities per day. Well, great, so do I. We

0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:17.760
<v Speaker 1>all probably answer five emails every ten minutes. But if

0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.760
<v Speaker 1>every Tuesday involves a staff meeting at ten am, and

0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:24.440
<v Speaker 1>today is Tuesday, and you always go and you generally

0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:27.480
<v Speaker 1>do the same thing, then you probably don't need to

0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:31.359
<v Speaker 1>list this as one of your handful of two duies. Now,

0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:33.960
<v Speaker 1>if there's something new involved and you plan to do

0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:38.200
<v Speaker 1>extra preparation as a daily priority, by all means put

0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:42.200
<v Speaker 1>that on the list. But attending something you always attend,

0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:44.560
<v Speaker 1>or cooking a meal you always cook, or giving your

0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.480
<v Speaker 1>kids a bath at night, those are just part of

0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:52.440
<v Speaker 1>the day's landscape. It does feel fun to cross things off,

0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:56.640
<v Speaker 1>but the problem of putting all this extraneous stuff there

0:03:57.280 --> 0:03:59.520
<v Speaker 1>is that then the to do list can feel long.

0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.520
<v Speaker 1>When in reality, there are only a few truly important

0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:06.960
<v Speaker 1>extra items on it. It's possible you might miss the

0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:10.080
<v Speaker 1>things you intend to do because they are buried among

0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:13.120
<v Speaker 1>the things you are already going to do. And we

0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:16.360
<v Speaker 1>can also fall prey to the temptation to thinking we've

0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.640
<v Speaker 1>done a lot when we've crossed a lot of things off,

0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:23.120
<v Speaker 1>when none of those things were the important but not

0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:29.000
<v Speaker 1>urgent things we assigned ourselves to move forward. Crossing nine

0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:32.480
<v Speaker 1>of twelve things off a list sounds great, But if

0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.280
<v Speaker 1>the three you didn't do were the ones that would

0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:38.440
<v Speaker 1>have made a difference for your big goals, well that

0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:44.560
<v Speaker 1>is not a great outcome. So don't distract yourself. Instead,

0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:48.359
<v Speaker 1>make your to do list simple and focused. Include what

0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.640
<v Speaker 1>it's important for you to do that day and that

0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.560
<v Speaker 1>you might not do if you didn't write it down,

0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.479
<v Speaker 1>and commit to it. When there are fewer items on

0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:02.400
<v Speaker 1>your to do list, each one carries more weight. You

0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:06.120
<v Speaker 1>are less likely to overlook an item or justify not

0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:09.760
<v Speaker 1>doing it when there aren't two dozen other tasks obscuring

0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:14.480
<v Speaker 1>its importance. You've promised yourself you'll do a few specific tasks,

0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:18.120
<v Speaker 1>so you do what it takes to get them done.

0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:24.640
<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and

0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:34.320
<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:36.640
<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.320
<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:44.720
<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:49.760
<v Speaker 1>That's B the number four, then breakfast p o D.

0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:53.480
<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:57.120
<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is

0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:00.320
<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, forward

0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:08.560
<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.960
<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:15.960
<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:17.320
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.