There will always be emails

You can decide to pursue your goals, even in the middle of a busy life

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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 there will always be emails, so don't
spend all your time dealing with emails or clearing the

(00:26):
decks in general. Instead, set your sales and get going
in the direction of your goals, regardless of what still
theoretically needs to get done. Today's tip, like another this week,
comes from Oliver Berkman, who is the author of four

(00:46):
Thousand Weeks. Berkman was a guest on Laurie Santos's podcast
The Happiness Lab, where he noted that we are never
going to be able to do things as perfectly as
we can imagine them, always going to be too much
to do. Perhaps it might be wise to admit that, and,
as he put it, develop the willingness to act and

(01:09):
to really do the stuff that matters. Berkman points out
that there is always more that feels like it needs
to be done than we can do, an observation that's
not new to anyone listening to this podcast, but Berkman's
insight is what comes next. He says that if you
assume you're going to deal with all the things you

(01:30):
think you need to do first and then get to
the good stuff. You are going to end up spending
your whole life clearing the decks and never getting there.
He continues. The skill we're trying to develop is the
willingness to act on the most important things now, even

(01:50):
though the decks are not clear. The underlying point here,
he says, is there isn't this moment coming later when
you're going to have all the time for the things
that matter, and so on some level, you have to
claim that time in the present instead. I think this
is wise. I have long advised against clearing the decks

(02:13):
before you get to your real work. Fundamentally, the decks
will never be clear. Instead, you can choose to get
to your real work now. So if you find yourself
perpetually drawn into email, slack teams, texts, the news, and
the administrative work that we feel we have to get
done to keep everything running, check your assumptions. Don't assume

(02:37):
that you need to clear the decks, or that doing
so is even possible. Do what matters most now. Anyway,
even while the decks aren't completely clear, there will always
be emails. Could be a helpful phrase to say to
yourself whenever you think that you don't have time to

(02:58):
reach out to that new client because your inbox is
a mess. Or write that novel because your inbox is
a mess. Or be present with a loved one, or
look at the sunset. Remind yourself that there will always
be emails. There will be emails if you don't look
at the sunset, and there will be emails if you do.

(03:21):
Probably you will be happier if you take a moment
to take the world in. When we embrace this truth,
we stop trying to clear the decks for some illusory
time in the future. Life won't be calm next week.
Possibly it won't be calm next year. If there is
something you would like to do, best to get going

(03:46):
in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. 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.

(04:16):
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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