WEBVTT - Send a reminder to Future You

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to send a reminder to future you

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<v Speaker 1>when there is something you'd like to remember in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't just trust that you'll remember. Write a note that

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<v Speaker 1>you know you will see, and you increase the chances

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<v Speaker 1>of being able to take action. So I use a

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<v Speaker 1>little paper calendar in addition to my planner. It's where

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<v Speaker 1>I jot down anything time specific that's coming up. I

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<v Speaker 1>keep it open on my desk and look through upcoming

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<v Speaker 1>weeks when I am planning, which I always do on Fridays.

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<v Speaker 1>I buy a new calendar each fall as I start

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<v Speaker 1>to get time specific commitments for the upcoming year. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>as I was recently paging through the next few weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>I noticed something curious a post it note on a

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<v Speaker 1>mid November week This post it note had a list

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<v Speaker 1>of children's book titles. It turns out that last Christmas

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<v Speaker 1>I had asked my blog readers for suggestions of good

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<v Speaker 1>kids holiday titles. I wasn't really in a mood to

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<v Speaker 1>read more of those in late December, but I knew

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<v Speaker 1>that come the following November, I'd be looking for some

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<v Speaker 1>new titles to round out our holiday collection. So I

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<v Speaker 1>wrote the titles that looked most promising on a post

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<v Speaker 1>it note and put it on a November week, trusting

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<v Speaker 1>that future me would see it, and sure enough I did. Now, Viously,

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<v Speaker 1>a post it note isn't exactly a high tech or

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<v Speaker 1>fool proof solution, but this was a pretty low stakes matter.

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<v Speaker 1>I just wanted to do my future self a favor

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<v Speaker 1>and give her an answer to the question of, Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>I wonder if there are any good holiday children's books

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<v Speaker 1>I should check out this year. My past self wrote

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<v Speaker 1>that note, and now my current self can act on it.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure you can think of various scenarios where it

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<v Speaker 1>might be helpful to send a note to your future self.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe a friend mentions a great restaurant she tried in

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<v Speaker 1>a nearby town. You know you're going to be there

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<v Speaker 1>on a business trip in March. Put a note in

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<v Speaker 1>your calendar for March with the name of that restaurant.

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<v Speaker 1>You've done your future self the favor of figuring out

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<v Speaker 1>where to eat while you're there. Or maybe you see

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<v Speaker 1>an award that you'd like to apply for the reason

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<v Speaker 1>you are seeing the award is that it was just awarded,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning that they won't be awarding it again for another year.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's fine. You can send a note to future

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<v Speaker 1>you a few months before the ceremony to check in

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<v Speaker 1>on whether this is something you are still interested in doing.

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<v Speaker 1>If so, awesome, you can get going on the application.

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<v Speaker 1>If not, that's fine too. But you won't miss the

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<v Speaker 1>deadline because you forgot about it. You'll see the note

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<v Speaker 1>and you'll need to make an active choice when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to time. I honestly believe that this ability to

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<v Speaker 1>communicate with our future selves is a superpower. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>superpower that any of us can use, and yet it

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<v Speaker 1>is amazing to me how few people do it regularly.

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<v Speaker 1>You probably will do the stuff you have to do,

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<v Speaker 1>those big, glaring things in life. These reminders to our

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<v Speaker 1>future selves are about the nice to do stuff, those

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<v Speaker 1>things that make life better but are easily lost in

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<v Speaker 1>the clutter. Sending a note to your future self on

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<v Speaker 1>whatever calendar or planner you use allows you to capture

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<v Speaker 1>these ideas. So the next time you think of something

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<v Speaker 1>that it would be great to do in the future,

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<v Speaker 1>don't just let that thought slide. Send a reminder to

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<v Speaker 1>future you for a time when future you can make

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<v Speaker 1>an active decision with that information. Then relax and feel

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<v Speaker 1>happy because you know that you've just increased the chances

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<v Speaker 1>of good things happening in the future. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i

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