Episode Transcript
Transcripts are displayed as originally observed. Some content, including advertisements may have changed.
Use Ctrl + F to search
0:03
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production
0:05
of I Heart Radio. Good
0:08
Morning, This is Laura. Welcome
0:11
to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
0:13
tip is that it's okay to quit things.
0:17
Doing something indefinitely isn't
0:19
a virtue if you've determined
0:21
that it's not the best use of your time. I
0:24
want to start this episode by saying that I know
0:26
some people quit things left and right.
0:29
Degree programs, jobs, exercise,
0:32
regiments, relationships. Some people
0:34
have troubles sticking with anything.
0:37
This sort of flightiness can be challenging
0:39
for other people to deal with, and in the long
0:41
run probably isn't much fun for the flighty
0:43
people themselves. Overcoming
0:46
challenges can give you incredible self
0:48
confidence. Fleeing from challenges
0:51
does not. But if you're
0:53
listening to a podcast about productivity,
0:55
I'm guessing you're not the flighty sort
0:58
like me. You probably pride your self and setting
1:00
out to do whatever you said you'd do. We're
1:03
the sorts of people who repeat phrases like winners
1:06
never quit and quitters never
1:08
win. But sometimes
1:10
quitting is the best choice.
1:13
Time devoted to one thing is
1:16
time not devoted to something else. In
1:19
my own life, I've certainly seen this. I've
1:21
stuck with projects I didn't enjoy
1:23
and wasn't good at for all sorts
1:26
of reasons. The money was decent,
1:29
the people were nice. I didn't
1:31
like the idea of quitting. But
1:33
then when I'd finally get around
1:35
to moving on, a funny thing would
1:38
happen. Some amazing
1:40
new opportunity would appear in
1:42
the next week, And I don't
1:44
think this is a coincidence. Open
1:47
space invites opportunity
1:50
in a way that a cluttered calendar can't.
1:54
When I'm busy, I don't schedule
1:56
random calls or go to things. I
1:58
don't leave space for serendipity, but
2:01
serendipity bring some pretty cool
2:03
stuff when she shows up. In
2:06
any case, there are a few things you can think about
2:08
if you're pondering moving on first.
2:11
In general, I like to be in a place where I
2:13
can walk away from things, especially
2:16
in the professional sphere. I've
2:18
always prioritized savings because
2:21
money represents freedom
2:24
to me. It's incredibly important not to feel
2:27
trapped by any job or project.
2:30
I'm not saying you need to have total financial
2:32
independence, but you want to have enough
2:35
of a cushion that you're pretty sure your
2:37
family would be fine for the amount of
2:39
time it would take you to find something.
2:42
I know that if you're living on the edge, this is going to be
2:44
hard to pull off, but I also know that
2:46
that's not the case for many people listening
2:48
to this podcast. A financial
2:51
cushion changes any decision making
2:53
process. Second,
2:55
try to separate yourself from the sunk cost
2:58
fallacy and economics.
3:00
A sunk cost is a cost that has
3:02
already been incurred and cannot
3:05
be recovered. Because
3:07
it can't be recovered, you shouldn't
3:09
take it into account in your decision making
3:11
process. If you've been
3:13
paying a team to work on launching a new product
3:16
and it becomes clear that there is no market
3:18
for this product, you'll never get
3:20
the team members salaries back for the time they've
3:22
already spent on it. It's most
3:24
rational to put these people on another project
3:27
immediately, but it's
3:29
very tempting to throw good money after bad.
3:32
As the saying goes convincing
3:34
ourselves that because we've spent so much money
3:36
on something, we should stick with it.
3:39
We do the same thing with our time. The
3:42
fact that you've spent three years at a company
3:44
does not mean you should keep working there
3:47
if you're unhappy with the direction the company is
3:49
going or you're feeling unchallenged.
3:52
Sometimes situations can be improved, and
3:55
sometimes they can't. One
3:58
way to remove the sunk cost issue
4:00
write a job description for
4:02
what you do. If you saw
4:05
your job advertise like this, would
4:07
you apply? If so,
4:10
great, If not,
4:13
you've got some thinking to do. In
4:16
my case, I work for myself and I've done a wide
4:18
variety of projects over the years. Freelance
4:21
projects naturally change over faster than
4:23
full time jobs, but it can still be
4:25
hard to extricate yourself. Here's
4:28
what's become my go to question over the years.
4:31
Would I pay even a token amount
4:33
of money to get this off my plate? If
4:35
so, then why am I spending
4:38
my time on it? For
4:40
commitments that involve other people? I
4:43
think it's important not to leave people in the
4:45
lurch. This is the reason most
4:47
people consider it wise to give two weeks
4:49
notice. If my kids sign up
4:51
for a team sport, they can't quit in the middle
4:53
of the season. If they've joined the school
4:55
orchestra, they can't quit before
4:58
the concert. But I have let
5:00
my kids quit other activities with
5:02
a few safeguards. For
5:04
instance, when my oldest son wanted to quit
5:06
an individual sport, I required
5:08
a cooling off period. He
5:11
had to go to three more classes to make
5:13
sure it wasn't about one particular frustration
5:16
or that he was having a bad day.
5:18
I also don't allow quitting just to sit around
5:20
playing video games. He had to choose
5:23
something else active to do instead. But
5:26
he met both those conditions. A
5:28
month later, he still wanted to stop, and
5:30
he'd identified another activity he was willing
5:33
to do, so I decided this
5:35
was fine. These rules
5:37
might help you too. Don't quit
5:39
in a rage, don't quit in
5:41
a way that leaves someone else in a lurch. And
5:44
when possible, think about your
5:46
quitting in the context of some other
5:48
positive thing that you will then have
5:50
room for. But also
5:53
know that you can walk away if
5:55
you need to. We spend
5:57
less time thinking about the endings of things
6:00
then we do about the beginnings.
6:02
But most things do end.
6:06
If you've been leading a meeting every
6:08
Tuesday morning, no that some
6:11
Tuesday morning, however far it
6:13
is in the future, that meeting won't
6:15
happen, and at that point
6:17
or on some other Tuesday, you won't
6:20
be leading the meeting. Earth
6:22
will keep spinning on its axis.
6:25
You can quit. That doesn't mean
6:27
the thing wasn't worth doing it
6:29
means it's not worth it for you, not
6:31
right now. Sometimes
6:33
you walking away opens up space in your
6:36
life, and sometimes it opens up
6:38
an opportunity for someone else who
6:40
will be able to give this activity the
6:42
attention it deserves. That's
6:45
really a win win situation. So
6:48
what are you contemplating quitting? Picture
6:51
yourself six months in the future, if
6:54
you were still doing this thing, how
6:56
would you feel? Sometimes
6:59
the question can give you some real
7:02
insight. In the meantime,
7:05
This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
7:08
and here's to making the most of our time. Hey,
7:16
everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
7:18
You can send me your tips, your questions, or
7:20
anything else. Just connect with
7:22
me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
7:25
at Before Breakfast Pod that's
7:28
b E the number four then
7:30
Breakfast p o D. You
7:33
can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
7:36
podcast at i heeart media dot com
7:38
that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the
7:40
letters. Thanks so much, I look
7:42
forward to staying in touch. Before
7:49
Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.
7:52
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
7:55
the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
7:58
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. All
8:01
go,
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More