How to recognize and pivot when things don't go as planned

How to recognize and pivot when things don't go as planned

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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 is that it is okay to end it.
If something isn't proving to be a wise use of
anyone's time, it is best to acknowledge that and move

(00:27):
on rather than continuing to devote time to it. I've
been talking in a few recent episodes about how to
be more resilient with time mastering. Time management is all
about creating a schedule that works with life as it is,
not as we wish it would be. I mean, when

(00:49):
does anything go perfectly? With investments, we talk about not
throwing good money after bad. Once money is spent, it
is spent, and sometimes a little bit more can help matters. Yes,
you should probably pay for that five car repair or
rather than spend thirty dollars on a new car, but

(01:13):
economists warn to be where these sunk cost fallacy. If
no one is excited about a new product your business
thought about launching, and it looks like launching it will
require a lot more investment, well, probably better to walk away,
even if you've spent a lot on the process. Already
spending more won't get that money back, because nothing will.

(01:37):
It's sunk. Better not to make more losses now. The
same is true with time. If you have booked an
hour to meet with someone and it is clear within
the first few minutes that the two of you cannot
accomplish what you set out to do, there is no
point hemming and hawing and trying to rescue the conversation.

(02:00):
The fact that you booked an hour doesn't mean you
need to spend an hour. Same with your personal life.
If you really aren't enjoying a movie, it's okay to
stop watching it. I mean, maybe the movie will redeem itself,
but most likely you will be happier using the time
to go for a walk or read a book instead.

(02:22):
If you are training for a race and you are
supposed to run ten miles but you feel terrible after two,
it is okay to stop and try again another day.
The key is to see the red flags for when
something is an unproductive or generally bad use of your
time and figure out how you can be flexible rather

(02:46):
than rigid with your plans. In general, to do this,
it helps to have a purpose for any such chunk
of time. What is this meeting? Supposed to accomplish. What
are you trying to do during this block of deep
work time? And yes, you can have a purpose for
leisure time as well. You want to relax and decompress

(03:09):
in the ninety minutes after your kids go to bed
and before you go to bed, is what you're doing
accomplishing that? If so? Great, But if you are watching
a show you don't like, or reading a book you
don't like, or halfheartedly checking email, you can acknowledge that
this is not contributing to that goal and you can

(03:31):
stop doing it. There is no point in being sad
about the time already spent. The future is still yours
to redirect. Now. I know this is one thing with
a TV show or book, or even a bad meeting,
it's another if you are considering abandoning something big, like
writing a novel or building a side hustle. It can

(03:54):
be hard to recognize what is a red flag that
this is an unproductive use of time, and what is
just being busy or discouraged. So here's an idea for
things like that. Give yourself a deadline for when you
can officially decide to quit, making sure that the deadline
is just a little bit in the future. This will

(04:17):
help you determine if this is the equivalent of a
car repair or if it's more like a dollar car
repair on a car that is worth far less than that.
So if you have set a goal to write five
thousand words a week on your novel and it just
doesn't seem to be happening, commit to this goal for
two more weeks. Right the next ten thou words, how

(04:40):
do you feel about them? Maybe you will pull yourself
out of a slump and be excited to keep going.
But if you still want to walk away, fine, you'll
know this is not just a momentary blip. Same with
the side hustle. Decide that you will decide at the
end of the order go full in until then then

(05:04):
you can continue or end it. While people can make
more money, we cannot make more time. Once time is spent,
it is gone and we will never get it back.
This is true for other people just as much as
it is true for you. So if a meeting isn't
going well, it is actually a gift to give other

(05:25):
people their fifty minutes back. Yes, it might have been
a mistake to commit this time. We can learn from
this mistake in the future. But once the lesson has learned,
there is no point in continuing to spend the time.
We can do great things with that time as long
as we aren't choosing to do things that aren't worth

(05:45):
the bother. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
and here's to making the most of our time. M
Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

(06:08):
connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before
Breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then Breakfast
p o D. 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.

(06:35):
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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