For decades, the mafia had New York City in a stranglehold, with law enforcement seemingly powerless to intervene.
It uses terror to extort people.
But the murder of Carmi Galante marked the beginning of the end.
It sent the message that we can prosecute these people.
Listen to Law & Order Criminal Justice System on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Good morning. This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast Podcast.
Today's tip is to not be minute -wise and hour -foolish.
Get the big stuff right, and then you don't need to worry as much about the little things.
You have probably heard the saying to not be penny -wise and pound -foolish, or I guess dollar -foolish, if we're using American currency.
The idea is that people often obsess about small amounts of money, while giving the big ones a pass.
You can spend a lot of time and energy trying to find the cheapest gallon of milk, or line -drying clothes to save a few cents per load.
But wouldn't it be better to spend a slightly smaller percent of your income on housing, and then buy whatever milk you want?
Or we might spend a lot of time filling out surveys online to make a few dollars, when that time would have been better spent researching compensation in our industries, and negotiating wisely for the next gig.
There are many parallels between time and money.
They are both limited resources.
The equivalent saying with time would be to avoid being minute -wise and hour -foolish.
And sadly, we are probably all guilty of behaving this way from time to time.
We become obsessed with hacks for shaving seconds off unloading the dishwasher.
But don't stop to question why we are driving the kids to a dance studio on the other side of town, when there are closer ones that are very similar.
Better to put our energy where we can get the best returns.
So how do we stop being minute -wise and hour -foolish?
A great way to start is with time tracking.
I'll talk more about this topic later this week, but in general, if you want to spend your time better, it helps to figure out where the time is going now.
For at least a day, but ideally a week or two, keep track of how you spend every half -hour.
This log doesn't have to be beautifully presented or even 100 % accurate.
Just aim for a rough account of where your time went.
On my website, LauraVanderKam .com, you can access the kinds of spreadsheets that I use to track time, but it's pretty easy to make your own.
Put the days of the week across the top of the spreadsheet and half -hour blocks down the left -hand side.
Mine go from 5 a .m.
to 4 .30 a .m. You could also use a time tracking app, or a notebook, or an index card, or anything you want.
Check in three times a day, and write down what you did, since the last time you checked in.
Then, after you have finished time tracking, take out a highlighter and see if you can identify any instances of being hour -foolish.
Maybe you made three trips to the grocery store last week, and each took about an hour.
Could you make a better plan and just go once?
Or go to a closer store?
Or go at a time when the lines were shorter?
If you drive to lots of kid activities, can you set up carpools?
It might take an hour or two to organize, that's for sure, but that will pay off and freed up hours every week, probably for months, and possibly for years.
If you spend a lot of time cooking or cleaning, maybe you can enlist other family members, or do things more simply.
Think grilled cheese sandwiches and a bagged salad for dinner, rather than three dishes requiring three pans apiece.
You know what I mean.
And, the key here, let's not let work off the hook.
This is the equivalent of your house payment when it comes to money.
If you are contracted for a certain number of hours, then you need to work that amount of time.
But for a lot of knowledge work, and particularly in this era of remote work, time is far more fluid.
There is no point searching for hacks to save seconds on email, like typing K instead of OK, when you are scheduling yourself into 30 -minute meetings that could have been handled with a two -minute phone call.
Could you check email less often?
Do you need to work at night after the kids go to bed, or are you just doing it out of habit?
Do you sit at your desk until 5 p .m.
exactly, even though you have accomplished your major tasks for the day, and no one cares about your exact hours?
In any case, one of the best reasons to be hour -wise is that it allows you to be a little minute foolish if you want.
One of my favorite parts of working for myself is that I am almost never stuck in meetings I don't want to be in.
That is hours that don't disappear down the hourglass.
If I occasionally want to make an inefficient trip to the post office during the workday, it is totally fine.
How are you hour -wise with your time?
You can let me know at Laura at LauraVanderKam .com.
In the meantime, this is Laura, thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at BeforeBreakfastPod.
That's B -E, the number four, then breakfast, P -O -D.
You can also shoot me an email at BeforeBreakfastPodcast at IHeartMedia .com.
That before breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
For decades, the mafia had New York City in a stranglehold, with law enforcement seemingly powerless to intervene.
It uses terror to extort people.
But the murder of Carmi Galante marked the beginning of the end.
It sent the message that we can prosecute these people.
Listen to Law & Order Criminal Justice System on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Jessica Acevedo, executive producer of the hit Netflix documentary series, Dancing for the Devil, The 7M TikTok Cult.
And I'm Clea Gray, former member of 7M Films and Shekinah Church.
And we're the host of the new podcast, Forgive Me For I Have Followed.
Together, we'll be diving even deeper into the unbelievable stories behind 7M Films and Shekinah Church.
Listen to Forgive Me For I Have Followed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
