WEBVTT - Checklists lighten the mental load

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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 let checklists lighten your mental load.

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<v Speaker 1>You will foster teamwork and maintaining your household, and you

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<v Speaker 1>won't feel like all the responsibility is on your shoulders.

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<v Speaker 1>So I often hear from people, and to be honest,

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<v Speaker 1>women in particular, who are frustrated by the cognitive load

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<v Speaker 1>they bear in their households. In two parent families, both

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<v Speaker 1>parties might be involved in, let's say, driving kids to activities,

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<v Speaker 1>but one of the parents is the one who knows

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<v Speaker 1>what activities happen when and beyond that is keeping track

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<v Speaker 1>of uniforms and equipment, and whether children are in enough

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<v Speaker 1>activities or too many, or are practicing the flute four

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<v Speaker 1>times a week and are signed up for the recital,

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<v Speaker 1>and whether that conflicts with somebody else's soccer game or whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>Both parties might be willing to cook dinner or clean

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<v Speaker 1>up afterwards, but one party keeps asking the other what's

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<v Speaker 1>for dinner, fully expecting the other party to have an answer.

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<v Speaker 1>Party A is willing to change the sheets ahead of

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<v Speaker 1>the house guests arrival if asked to do so, but

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<v Speaker 1>has not thought through whether there is soap and shampoo

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<v Speaker 1>in the bathroom or anything else, and how the family

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<v Speaker 1>schedule needs to change based on house guests being there,

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<v Speaker 1>and so it goes. People get frustrated about having to

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<v Speaker 1>share all the steps and ask for help with these

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<v Speaker 1>steps and remind people how to do things. But maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you don't personally have to be the reminder. Something else

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<v Speaker 1>can take on that role. Using a checklist can be

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<v Speaker 1>a great way to externalize some of the knowledge that

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<v Speaker 1>is in your head at say tool Gowanda explains in

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<v Speaker 1>his book The Checklist Manifesto, which is about checklists for surgery.

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<v Speaker 1>In the like, checklists help teams share responsibility. Everyone can

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<v Speaker 1>see what needs to be done and everyone has a

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<v Speaker 1>role in making sure it gets done. So, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if you are getting ready to have house guests, you

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<v Speaker 1>can make a checklist of everything that needs to happen,

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<v Speaker 1>such as having breakfast foods available, changing the sheets, putting

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<v Speaker 1>the spare keys in an obvious place, et cetera. If

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<v Speaker 1>you are preparing for a day trip somewhere you go

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<v Speaker 1>a lot, like a local beach, you can make a

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<v Speaker 1>checklist of what you need to bring towels, sunscreen, some

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<v Speaker 1>snacks and waters, sand, toys, or whatever it is you

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<v Speaker 1>take with you. If a child goes to daycare in

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<v Speaker 1>the morning, you can make a checklist of what needs

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<v Speaker 1>to happen before that. Eat breakfast and get dressed, Bring

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<v Speaker 1>extra clothes, diapers, whites, and a packed lunch, or whatever

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<v Speaker 1>your required items happen to be. You get the idea.

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<v Speaker 1>If you write down what you know needs to happen

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<v Speaker 1>on occasions like these, your partner, your kids, or anyone

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<v Speaker 1>else who is around can easily contribute to the preparation

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<v Speaker 1>efforts without asking you to tell them what they can

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<v Speaker 1>do to help. All they have to do is take

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<v Speaker 1>a look at the list you've left on the kitchen counter.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition, your partner and kids may think of things

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<v Speaker 1>you have forgotten and add those tasks to the list,

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<v Speaker 1>And if you're lucky, maybe complete those tasks and check

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<v Speaker 1>them off too. When we render work visible by putting

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<v Speaker 1>it on a checklist, we are better able to share

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<v Speaker 1>it now to be sure. The ultimate in sharing might

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<v Speaker 1>be to give complete ownership of various task areas to

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<v Speaker 1>each person. One person might become fully responsible for groceries

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<v Speaker 1>and meal planning, another person becomes completely responsible for trash.

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<v Speaker 1>That said in the interim, a checklist allows knowledge to

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<v Speaker 1>be passed along without nagging. The party who currently keeps

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<v Speaker 1>track of whether a child has a present for this

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<v Speaker 1>week's party and whether it is wrapped, and whether the

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<v Speaker 1>waiver for the bouncy house park is signed can put

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<v Speaker 1>all those steps into a document, so if someone else

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<v Speaker 1>takes on the birthday party matters, they are not calling

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<v Speaker 1>from the car saying wait, is there a present. Checklists

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<v Speaker 1>also provide a really good way to share task lists

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<v Speaker 1>with people who might be helping just occasionally date night babysitters,

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<v Speaker 1>pet sitters, house sitters. When you know what you would do,

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<v Speaker 1>it is easy to let someone else no to do it.

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<v Speaker 1>By getting the knowledge of what needs to be done

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<v Speaker 1>out of our heads and onto paper, we can share

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<v Speaker 1>the responsibility of managing households and reduce our cognitive load.

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<v Speaker 1>And doesn't that sound like a task it would be

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<v Speaker 1>nice to accomplish. If you try using checklists, I'd love

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<v Speaker 1>to hear how you do it. You can reach me

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<v Speaker 1>at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>hear 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 E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart

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

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

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

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