WEBVTT - A better way to clear the decks

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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 about a better way to clear the decks

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<v Speaker 1>rather than burn precious morning energy. Doing small tasks, you

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<v Speaker 1>might be able to get through them before quitting time

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<v Speaker 1>the day before. So as a general practice, I think

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<v Speaker 1>it is smart to plan out your next day before

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<v Speaker 1>you end work for the day the afternoon or evening,

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<v Speaker 1>before you take five minutes to look at your calendar

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<v Speaker 1>for the next day and figure out what is happening,

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<v Speaker 1>you can assign any other pressing tasks around the hard landscape.

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<v Speaker 1>By doing this before quitting time, you can be strategic.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you see that you have a task that is

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<v Speaker 1>going to take ninety minutes if your first meeting is

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<v Speaker 1>at ten thirty, you could decide to plow right into

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<v Speaker 1>that task as soon as you show up and likely

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<v Speaker 1>get it done before the meeting, Whereas if you wait

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<v Speaker 1>until later in the day, there might not be any

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<v Speaker 1>ninety minute windows on offer, and if you didn't plan

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<v Speaker 1>the day before, you wouldn't realize that this was a

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<v Speaker 1>ninety minute task and that it had to be done

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<v Speaker 1>this day until maybe fifteen to twenty minutes into the workday.

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<v Speaker 1>At that point, there wouldn't be enough time before the

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<v Speaker 1>first meeting to get it done, and you might be

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<v Speaker 1>buying yourself a late night. But let's say you don't

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<v Speaker 1>need to be quite that strategic. I mean, you've got

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<v Speaker 1>a lot to get through, but you will have at

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<v Speaker 1>least a few windows. If you make a list of

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<v Speaker 1>tasks for the next day, likely some will be big

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<v Speaker 1>and some will be small. It is human nature to

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<v Speaker 1>want to cross things off. We like to complete things.

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<v Speaker 1>When you come into work the next morning and plan

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<v Speaker 1>to get started on your to do list, you will

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<v Speaker 1>naturally want to cross off the little things first, like, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>it's ten am and I've already gotten through six of

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<v Speaker 1>the eight things I need to do today. Some people

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<v Speaker 1>even think this practice is smart. They are clearing the

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<v Speaker 1>decks of little things so they can focus on the

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<v Speaker 1>battle of doing the big things. The problem is that

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<v Speaker 1>the big things might require more energy and focus. Energy

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<v Speaker 1>and focus tend to dip by later in the day.

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<v Speaker 1>You may never even get through the big stuff, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least not focus until later, when again it just

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<v Speaker 1>might take a lot longer. So if you make tomorrow's

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<v Speaker 1>to do list. About twenty to thirty minutes before quitting time,

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<v Speaker 1>you have an opportunity. You can actually go ahead and

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<v Speaker 1>knock as many of the little things off your list

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<v Speaker 1>for the next day as possible. You can probably get

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<v Speaker 1>through several in a short window. Likely you wouldn't have

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<v Speaker 1>been doing much during this time anyway. Most of us

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<v Speaker 1>are kind of unwilling to start anything big after four

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<v Speaker 1>thirty PM or so. If we don't have to, the

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<v Speaker 1>little things will feel more doable. But now, when you

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<v Speaker 1>get to work the next morning, there may be nothing

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<v Speaker 1>on your to do list for the day but the

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<v Speaker 1>big stuff you have to do. You are still clearing

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<v Speaker 1>the decks, but you are doing it in a way

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<v Speaker 1>that doesn't distract you or take your highest energy time. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>there's no arguing that there's all this other stuff to

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<v Speaker 1>do first before the big things you have already taken

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<v Speaker 1>care of it. I find this especially helpful if I've

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<v Speaker 1>been procrastinating something. When I take everything else off my plate,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm either doing the big task or I'm twiddling my thumbs.

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<v Speaker 1>Most likely I'll want to make progress, and in the

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<v Speaker 1>morning I tend to have more energy to do that,

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<v Speaker 1>so consider clearing the decks the night before. You just

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<v Speaker 1>might start making progress and making work feel more satisfying.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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