WEBVTT - Set upper and lower bounds 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I 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 set upper and lower bounds. When

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<v Speaker 1>you set guidelines on what makes for a good amount

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<v Speaker 1>of progress, you will keep yourself from burning out or

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<v Speaker 1>failing to get things done. Today's tip, like another one

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<v Speaker 1>this week, comes from Greg McEwen's new book, Effortless. The

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<v Speaker 1>book is about how to make actions that matter easier.

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<v Speaker 1>He notes that when we embark on big projects, we

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<v Speaker 1>often fail to pace ourselves. We can be very excited

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<v Speaker 1>at the beginning and bite off more than we can chew,

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<v Speaker 1>which then leaves us unmotivated to tackle the task at all.

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<v Speaker 1>After a bit, a few days of nothing start to

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<v Speaker 1>add up, and then it is hard to get restarted. Fortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>there's an alternative, As Greg writes, we can establish upper

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<v Speaker 1>and lower bounds simply use the following rule. Never less

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<v Speaker 1>than x, never more than Y. So, for instance, if

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<v Speaker 1>you are aiming to hit certain sales numbers for the month,

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<v Speaker 1>you might decide that you will never make fewer than

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<v Speaker 1>five sales calls a day, and you will never make

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<v Speaker 1>more than ten sales calls a day. Now, sure in theory,

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<v Speaker 1>you might feel like you could make fifteen on some

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<v Speaker 1>good day, maybe twenty, But by leaving a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>on the table on the good days, you can feel

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<v Speaker 1>motivated to hit the lower bound. On the bad days,

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<v Speaker 1>you are never completely tapped out, so you can muster

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<v Speaker 1>the effort to get over the bar. Same with writing

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<v Speaker 1>a book. You might decide that you will never write

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<v Speaker 1>fewer than five words on a work day, and you

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<v Speaker 1>will never write more than a thousand. When you keep

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<v Speaker 1>this promise to yourself, you will be able to map

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<v Speaker 1>out exactly when you will hit your word targets within

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<v Speaker 1>a range, because you know there won't be long days

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<v Speaker 1>of nothing that you will have to work unsustainably hard

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<v Speaker 1>to recover from. Setting an upper bound can also keep

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<v Speaker 1>things from being draining. If you aim to call a

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<v Speaker 1>certain extended family member every week, and some of those

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<v Speaker 1>conversations can be a bit too you know, intense. You

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<v Speaker 1>might decide that a call is never less than five minutes,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is never more than sixty minutes. That rule

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<v Speaker 1>gives you permission to sign off when the time is

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<v Speaker 1>done and limit the total time while still keeping your commitment.

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<v Speaker 1>Finding the right range keeps us moving at a steady

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<v Speaker 1>pace so we make consistent progress. Greg writes, the lower

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<v Speaker 1>bound should be high enough to keep us feeling motivated

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<v Speaker 1>and low enough that we can still achieve it even

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<v Speaker 1>on days when we're dealing with unexpected chaos. The upper

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<v Speaker 1>bound should be high enough to constitute good progress, but

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<v Speaker 1>not so high as to leave us feeling exhausted. So

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<v Speaker 1>think about a big goal that you'd like to make

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<v Speaker 1>regular progress toward. Figure out what would be a good pace,

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<v Speaker 1>what can you commit to hitting even on the worst days,

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<v Speaker 1>and what feels like maximum sustainable progress for the upper bound.

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<v Speaker 1>Figure this out and you will stop making excuses and

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<v Speaker 1>just get stuff done in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in Touch

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