WEBVTT - Start what you can finish 

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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 start what you can finish. We're

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<v Speaker 1>often told that we should finish what we start, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is great advice to do that, though it also

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<v Speaker 1>helps to be thoughtful about only starting the things we

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<v Speaker 1>can finish given our available time, motivation, and resources. It

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<v Speaker 1>is so easy to start a project like cleaning out

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<v Speaker 1>a closet or reorganizing a bookshelf for painting a room,

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<v Speaker 1>only to need to stop part way through because it's

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<v Speaker 1>too late to keep going, or the weekend is over.

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<v Speaker 1>Or we start a project and just run out of steam,

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<v Speaker 1>or we have plenty of time and motivation but run

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<v Speaker 1>out of supplies. Nothing takes the wind out of the

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<v Speaker 1>sales like emptying the fridge to clean it and then

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<v Speaker 1>realizing you're out of your favorite all purpose cleaner and

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<v Speaker 1>paper towels. Rather than have to restart or live with

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<v Speaker 1>a half finished project for a long time, it's better

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<v Speaker 1>to start things only when we can finish with the

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<v Speaker 1>amount of time, motivation, and resources we have. So when

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<v Speaker 1>you're considering a big project, think through the constituent parts

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<v Speaker 1>and how long each step will take. Then figure out

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<v Speaker 1>how much time you truly have and want to devote

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<v Speaker 1>to the project. Choose parts of the project that you

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<v Speaker 1>can do in the time available. Maybe if you're envisioning

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<v Speaker 1>a painting project, you decide that Friday night you'll move

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<v Speaker 1>the furniture, patch the walls and take Saturday you'll prime

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<v Speaker 1>and do the first coat, and Sunday you'll do the

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<v Speaker 1>second coat and clean up. Maybe you won't reorganize the

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<v Speaker 1>whole book case after work, You'll just remove any books

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<v Speaker 1>you want to give away today, and then tomorrow night

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<v Speaker 1>you can organize the books that remain. It's much more

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<v Speaker 1>satisfying to finish a smaller project or a part of

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<v Speaker 1>a project, than to realize you've bitten off more than

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<v Speaker 1>you want to chew. As is generally true with time management,

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<v Speaker 1>the more often you plan specific tasks for specific chunks

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<v Speaker 1>of time, the better you'll get at estimating how long

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<v Speaker 1>things truly take. And of course, after you've identified a

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<v Speaker 1>project you can tackle, make sure you have any supplies

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<v Speaker 1>you need. If in doubt, get more. I find it's

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<v Speaker 1>less of a pain to return the extra than to

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<v Speaker 1>run short with the time and supplies that you need

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<v Speaker 1>for your project, you'll probably be more motivated to power

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<v Speaker 1>through to a planned stopping point. You aren't aiming to

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<v Speaker 1>clean out the whole basement. You're just organizing two toy

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<v Speaker 1>binds that you can do in the next hour, the

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<v Speaker 1>hour you have before you need to pick up your

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<v Speaker 1>kids from their friend's house. You get a sense of

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<v Speaker 1>accomplishment and you avoid ending up with a mess while

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<v Speaker 1>the project is half done. Should you finish what you start, sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but you'll be a lot happier doing that if you're

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<v Speaker 1>also intentional about starting only what you can finish in

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<v Speaker 1>the first place. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 1>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p O D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. That

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more

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