WEBVTT - Make a list of annoying tasks

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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 to make a list of annoying tasks. By

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<v Speaker 1>keeping track of all the things that you need to

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<v Speaker 1>do but don't particularly want to do, you can motivate

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<v Speaker 1>yourself to make progress, keep these tasks in perspective, and

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully won't miss any deadlines along the way. So I

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<v Speaker 1>was recently feeling a bit weighed down by the volume

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<v Speaker 1>of tasks I knew I needed to tackle at some point.

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<v Speaker 1>Many of these were annoying and multipart. For instance, I

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<v Speaker 1>needed to sign some financial paperwork, which I thought would

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<v Speaker 1>be straightforward, but then I had trouble logging in. I

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<v Speaker 1>had to submit other forms before I could sign things, etc.

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<v Speaker 1>To file a tax report about my retirement account and

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<v Speaker 1>another one about an LLC. I need to update my

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<v Speaker 1>clearances to volunteer at my kids' schools, and so on.

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<v Speaker 1>In many cases, I feel like these systems are needlessly complex.

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<v Speaker 1>They take time that they don't need to. This is

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<v Speaker 1>time that I am not writing, or playing with my kids,

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<v Speaker 1>or doing something fun for me. So all in all,

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<v Speaker 1>things that I find annoying. But in life, it's important

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<v Speaker 1>to recognize when we can change things, because then we

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<v Speaker 1>should try to change things. And when certain things are

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<v Speaker 1>fairly outside our control, I am unlikely to get to

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<v Speaker 1>change the setup that the school system has put in

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<v Speaker 1>place to process volunteer clearances or any of these other things.

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<v Speaker 1>They must simply be dealt with. So to make this

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<v Speaker 1>all feel less onerous, I made a list of all

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<v Speaker 1>the annoying tasks that I know I will need to

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<v Speaker 1>deal with at some point in the near future. My

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<v Speaker 1>first takeaway is that the list wasn't infinite. Now, don't

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<v Speaker 1>get me wrong, it was long, but it wasn't infinite,

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<v Speaker 1>so that was helpful to see. Then I could see

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<v Speaker 1>what had to be done immediately and what didn't. The

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<v Speaker 1>financial paperwork needed to get turned around, but we're out

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<v Speaker 1>of school now and will be for a while, so

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<v Speaker 1>the clearances could be shoved forward. As part of this,

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<v Speaker 1>I could also pace myself by my signing myself one

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<v Speaker 1>annoying task per week. I could muster all of my

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<v Speaker 1>excess energy to deal with that one task. I wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>feeling bad that I didn't file the LLC paperwork one

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<v Speaker 1>week because that was the week I was dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>the retirement account forms. The LLC stuff could happen the

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<v Speaker 1>next week. When you assign yourself only one task per week,

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<v Speaker 1>it has a much higher chance of getting done, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least that's what I have found is true for me.

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<v Speaker 1>I try not to put things on my to do

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<v Speaker 1>list that I don't actually intend to do. So once

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<v Speaker 1>an annoying task was on the list for the week,

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<v Speaker 1>I generally do it because again, it's only one thing.

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<v Speaker 1>And now I have been the happy beneficiary of the

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<v Speaker 1>truth that if you keep making small progress, the list

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<v Speaker 1>does eventually go down. I have done several of the

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<v Speaker 1>annoying tasks, and while more do come up alas the

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<v Speaker 1>pace has been such that the list is getting smaller,

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<v Speaker 1>I have been crossing things off at a steady clip.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you will find the same thing. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>two are feeling weighed down by the list of nagging,

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<v Speaker 1>complicated and unpleasant tasks you need to do, try listing

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<v Speaker 1>them all so you have a sense of them. You

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<v Speaker 1>want to make sure you are not forgetting stuff. This

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<v Speaker 1>will also allow you to make sure that you don't

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<v Speaker 1>miss deadlines, because you can triage to do the immediate

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<v Speaker 1>annoying tasks before the ones with a farther off deadline,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you can assign yourself the tasks at a

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<v Speaker 1>steady pace so you get through them. You can take

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<v Speaker 1>comfort from the fact that the list is probably not infinite.

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<v Speaker 1>It may be long, but it won't be infinite. Am

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<v Speaker 1>I still annoyed that one camp won't accept our electronically

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<v Speaker 1>signed health form from our pediatrician, so someone has to

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<v Speaker 1>bring the camp's particular forum to the office and get

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<v Speaker 1>it signed. Yes, yes, I am annoyed. But if that

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<v Speaker 1>is the only annoying task I have to deal with

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<v Speaker 1>in a week, well maybe I can just drop it

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<v Speaker 1>on the way somewhere and send someone else to pick

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<v Speaker 1>it up and it won't be so bad in the

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<v Speaker 1>grand scheme of things. 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. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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