Don't remember, plan

If something matters to you, get it on the schedule

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that if there is something important you need
or want to do, don't count on remembering it. Pick

(00:23):
a time and plan it into your schedule instead. Over
the past few months, I have run several challenges where
I have people try out different strategies that can hopefully
help make their days more enjoyable. I often share the
strategy and then have people brainstorm how they will build
it into their lives. I ask people to anticipate any

(00:47):
challenges they might have with the strategy. Then after a
week or so, I ask whether they faced any challenges
in implementation. Inevitably, one of the most anticipated and experienced
challenges is actually remembering the strategy. Now, I get that

(01:08):
change is hard. So much of our time unfolds habitually,
and it is hard to build a new habit when
existing habits and routines are ingrained. Most of my listeners
lead really full lives, which makes it even harder to
do something new. Some challenges are truly difficult and require

(01:29):
getting a partner's buy in, or creating more support at home,
or asking a manager to do something different. But the
challenge of remembering to implement a strategy or remembering to
do anything really is much more solvable. If you find
yourself thinking that you would like to do something but
that it is hard to remember, or even if you

(01:51):
hear yourself saying I need to remember to do such
and such, just stop. Reframe your intention. You don't need
to remember to do anything. You can make a plan
to do it and then perhaps compliment that plan with
a reminder. Then your brain is free for other things

(02:13):
besides keeping track of all your to dos. So remembering
to water your plants may not go so well. Instead,
choose a time and create a recurring calendar item or
set an alarm on your phone that reminds you to
go water your plants. Remembering to ask your work friend

(02:35):
how her daughter's dance performance went may lead to you
forgetting to ask about it, But planning to ask about
it could be accomplished with a calendar item or an
email to your work account that you will see as
soon as you open your email Monday morning, which is
right before you see your friend. Then you can be
sure you will ask about the performance. If you hear

(02:59):
yourself talk talking about remembering to do something. Pause and
adjust your language, say plan to instead, and then adjust
your approach. Figure out when you will do the thing,
and then set a specific reminder that will nudge you
to do it at that time. You don't have to

(03:20):
remember remembering is hard. You've built out a plan with
reminders so you can be confident you will follow through
on the action in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks
for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

(03:45):
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

(04:08):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.