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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHart Radio. Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is don't play jump or dive with your schedule. Make plans with

adequate lead time, so you don't have to do too much on the fly. If you grew up with access

to a backyard pool, you may have played the pool game, jump or dive. One person stands

on a diving board, and after that person launches himself into the air, his friends shout either

jump or dive. Then the person who is by now mid-air maneuvers to either jump or or dive in accordance with his friend's directions.

You can probably guess that this usually results in a belly flop, which is kind of a cross

between a jump and a dive. Now, this doesn't sound like my idea of fun, and I think most adults

would agree with me, but a lot of kids find it hysterical.

That said, I have noticed that plenty of adults play jump or dive with their schedules.

When you leave things undecided until the last minute, you are often setting yourself up for stress,

or wasted time, or an otherwise suboptimal situation. But you usually don't have to do that.

Suppose you are planning to run with a friend tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. but there is a 70% chance of rain.

You could wake up at 540 and then decide whether or not to run. But wouldn't you be happier if you

decided the night before that you will cancel so you can sleep in? Or you could agree that you will

run together if it's not raining, but get together at Starbucks to hang out if it is. Either way,

...