Try a Sunday basket

A smart technique to stop dropping the ball

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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 to try creating what my friend Lisa
Woodruffe calls a Sunday basket. We all want to get
control of our paper and other things that come into

(00:25):
our lives. The best way to stop dropping balls is
to set a designated time when you go through everything.
When you learn to trust that you absolutely will get
through everything, you can free up a lot of mental energy.
Lisa Woodruffe, owner of the Organized Three Company an author

(00:46):
of the new book The Paper Solution, suggests what she
calls the Sunday basket technique. You collect everything you need
to deal with during the week in a basket or
at least some other container, and you set some time
on Sunday to deal with it. This is a wonderfully
simple idea. Do you remember at some point during the

(01:07):
week that you need to schedule a dentist appointment for
yourself for someone else. Write that on a slip of
paper and stick it in the Sunday basket. Find a
library book that needs to get returned, stick it in
the Sunday basket, where you will see it when you
have your schedule and can find a time to return it.
Specific bills that aren't on autopilot can go in the

(01:29):
Sunday basket, as can invitations that need to be responded
to or school forms that need to be filled out. Basically,
anything that requires your attention goes in one spot. You
don't have to think about it until the designated time. Now,
for this to work, you have to trust that you
will deal with the Sunday basket. No tossing stuff in

(01:53):
there and then deciding that maybe not this Sunday. Avoiding
the basket might feel like you are catching a break,
but handled well, a Sunday basket actually reduces mental load.
You don't have to constantly think, Hey, did I respond
to that invitation? Or did I pay that bill? Or
am I supposed to make a dentist appointment. Lisa promises

(02:13):
that once you get the system going, you'll be able
to get through the Sunday basket relatively quickly. It might
take a few hours the first time as you catch
up on everything in your life that you've been dropping,
but ideally it will be much much shorter in the
future as you stay current and you'll no longer miss
bills and deadlines and such. I love this idea. I

(02:35):
don't personally do a Sunday basket, but I do plan
my weeks on Fridays, and I require myself to deal
with all such papers. Then any day really can work, Sunday, Friday, whatever.
But it has to be a day that you stick
with regularly, and for most people, Sunday turns to be
a pretty good one. If you try a Sunday basket,
I'd love to hear how it goes. You can reach

(02:58):
me at Before Breakfast pod cast at i heeart media
dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks 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

(03:19):
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.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

(03:39):
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, from
my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Ain't