This is an IHeart podcast.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeart Radio.

Good morning. This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is that you don't have to pick up every

dropped ball. I know that the people who listen to Before Breakfast are conscientious and productive,

and it can be utterly maddening to watch other people drop the ball. A colleague has offered to plan a baby shower for a team member,

and the due date keeps getting closer,

with no indication that anything has been planned.

Or maybe you have a high schooler who doesn't want you to register him for the SAT,

but has not taken any steps to do that himself. Maybe a local non-profit board chair

has insisted you need a summer meeting, but she has not scheduled it, and it is almost Labor Day.

Your neighbor asked about borrowing your power washer. You said yes. You moved it to your porch,

and there it sits. In moments like these,

conscientious people often feel tempted to swoop in to pick up the drop ball and save the day.

You scramble to plan a baby shower last minute. You write to the board chair to suggest dates. You walk your power washer over to your neighbors. And sometimes picking up a dropped ball is the right thing to do.

I mean, you probably don't want to let your kid delay taking the SAT too long if you're pretty sure

he does hope to go to college.

You want your team member to have a baby shower, and so you might decide to plan the shower.

As your colleague, who you know is less busy than you, makes noises about how everything has just

been so busy. And sometimes you pick up the ball because it's going to

land back in your court anyway. And the later it does, the more frantic everything will be.

...