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 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
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
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 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 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 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 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 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. 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 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.
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