I'm Emily P. Freeman and welcome to The Next Right Thing.

You're listening to episode 333.

This is a podcast about making decisions, but also about making life.

If you struggle with decision fatigue, chronic hesitation,

or if you just need a few minutes away from the constant stream

of information, and the sometimes delightful,

but also distracting hum of entertainment, you're in the right place for

discerning your next right thing.

I'm an author, a spiritual director, and an occasional workshop leader.

I live in North Carolina with my family and through my work I've helped

thousands of spiritually thoughtful people overcome decision fatigue so that they can discern their next right thing in faith, work, and life.

Today I'm going to share with you a list I made at the beginning of my summer that changed the way I thought about productivity.

So now I'm making another one for fall and I'm calling it a For My Future Self list and I'll tell you about it now.

Listen in. It started the same way.

It started the same way most stories of indecisions start. With me feeling like I was standing in the middle of a room,

all these choices spinning around and around, knowing I could start anywhere, which of course

made things so much worse. So I did what any logical person would do. I called my sister.

I have time this summer, I told her, I want to spend it so well and I didn't want to waste it.

And then she and I talked back and forth, she want to waste it.

And then she and I talked back and forth.

She felt the same way and then one of us said the key thing, which was, I don't want to get to the

end of summer and realize I didn't do any of those things that I had hoped for this season.

...