Reminding isn't nagging

Most people appreciate a polite follow-up

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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 reminding isn't nagging. It is okay to
let people know a second time about something, and indeed

(00:28):
doing so often increases the chances that people actually do
what both you and they intend. These days, most doctors
and dentist offices text or email you a few days
before your appointment to remind you about it. Yes, you

(00:49):
made the appointment, so theoretically you'd have that written down somewhere.
But these offices know that people are busy and sometimes distracted.
No shows can mean lost revenue or delayed healthcare, hence
the texts. My guess is that you don't mind these texts.

(01:13):
When your dentist office texts you about thursday's appointment, you
just think, oh, yes, I have a dentists appointment on Thursday.
It helps nudge something you vaguely remembered back into the
forefront of your brain. The reminders are helpful. You don't

(01:33):
complain about your dentist's office nagging you when all you
want is some peace and quiet. So probably we should
adopt the same mindset with the rest of life. If
you scheduled a meeting a while ago, you should send
an email the friday before confirming that the other attendees

(01:55):
are still planning on it. This would also be a
good time to send a new about what you're planning
to discuss and ask if there is anything they would
like you to do to prepare. Why Friday, Well, if
you are listening to this show, there is a good
chance you do your weekly planning on Friday, so this

(02:18):
is when you would see the upcoming meeting on your schedule,
and if someone does wind up canceling, you know enough
ahead of time that you can make other plans. If
you are waiting on something from somebody, you can absolutely
follow up nicely to inquire about a timeline. If emails

(02:42):
seem to get buried, you can pick up the phone
and call in a business context. I'll get to it.
When I get to it usually doesn't fly, and so
most likely the person will follow up with an answer.
Then you will have an answer, and you will have
nudged your request higher up the list. This isn't nagging.

(03:08):
This is just project management. Even in our home lives,
reminding isn't nagging. You might think that the other members
of your household should remember their responsibilities without you saying anything,
and perhaps they should, probably for many things they do.

(03:31):
But if there are certain tasks that keep falling through
the cracks, you have a couple of choices. First, you
can do it yourself and be mad about it, or
you can remind the other person and most likely they
will do it. The latter sounds like less agitation and

(03:55):
less work, even if in the abstract it doesn't seem right.
The key to a helpful reminder is to keep it
like the text from your dentist office. The dentist office
text doesn't mention that you canceled your last appointment and
it's been over a year since you've last been there,

(04:16):
and clearly you are not taking your dental health seriously.
It just says the time and maybe the location, and
a way to confirm or cancel. Similarly, reminding isn't nagging
if you take the emotion out of it. No need
to mention how the last project was also delayed, or

(04:41):
ponder how a child can memorize every lyric in Taylor
Swift's last album. But keep forgetting to take out the trash.
Just state the request a timeline if there is one,
and be done with it. Most likely you will get
what you want. In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

(05:07):
for listening 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

(05:30):
that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled
out with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

(05:52):
production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
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