Choose the ideas that matter most

Productivity expert Charlie Gilkey offers an exercise for narrowing down your to-do list

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip, just like yesterday's, comes from my friend Charlie Gilki.
His new book, Start Finishing, shares tips on how to
go from idea to done. The message you wanted to

(00:24):
share with Before Breakfast listeners is that we should be
strategic about choosing which ideas to work on. That's the
secret to finishing what we start. This can be challenging
because if you're the sort of productive person who's listening
to this podcast, you probably have all sorts of ideas
you'd like to try out. As Charlie writes in his book,

(00:44):
to get some headway with your best work, you have
to fight the natural inclination to work on all the
things you've hidden away in that closet. You know how
this goes. You have a long list of two dus,
and when you start pondering a big project, all those
little to do is start calling out for attention. As
Charlie writes, the stuff that's currently on our list is

(01:05):
there for a reason, and if it were so easy
to let go of, we would have done it already.
So instead you must decide from the get go that
you're just going to let some of those ideas go.
And let's not pretend as if the choice of letting
some of those projects and ideas go is primarily a
mental activity. It's an emotional activity. Your soul, emotions, and

(01:29):
creative energy are all tied up in those ideas. To
help with this emotional work of letting go, Charlie suggests
an exercise. He says, list all of the ideas and
projects you want to do, including personal, household and work projects, travel,
sorting your finances, are getting a puppy all count. Once

(01:50):
you have the list, start asking yourself the following questions.
One which of the items wouldn't actually hurt at all
if you cut them? Two? Which of the items would
you feel relieved to no longer be carrying? Three? Which
of the items are shoulds or items that are related

(02:10):
to O p P. That is, other people's priorities, but
you don't see how they'll directly lead to your thriving
Four Which of the items are good ideas but don't
relate to something that frustrates, annoys, angers, inspires, nourishes, or
calls to you. Once you've ruthlessly gone through this list,
Charlie suggests, being honest with yourself, we can always say, well,

(02:33):
I'll work on that video series when things calm down
early next year. But come on, when have things ever
calmed down? You will always be busy, you will always
have new ideas, and you will always have new opportunities.
You are not going to discover some magical font of
inspiration that is inaccessible to you now, So instead, do

(02:57):
something radical, Charlie writes, eliminate those items rather than differ
and put them back in the closet later. Better to
be focused than to flail now or in the future.
Release the less important items and prepare to feel mentally
free in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

(03:21):
and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
that's B the number four then Breakfast p o D.

(03:46):
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much.
I look forward to staying in touch. Yeah Before Breakfast
is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts

(04:07):
from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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