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Something You Should Know

Why You Put Things Off & The Myth of Criminal Profiling

11 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What happens when medication expires?

2.326 - 14.865 Mike Carruthers

Today on Something You Should Know, how important are the expiration dates on the medications you take? Then, why we procrastinate our important goals and strategies to stop doing it.

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15.526 - 29.667 Jon Acuff

Let's audition that goal. Let's try 15 minutes a day for seven days in a row, and if you won't pay that fee, you're not going to pay the rest of it, and you can enjoy removing that goal. There's freedom in not chasing goals you really don't care about.

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29.647 - 41.485 Mike Carruthers

Also, a scent you can wear that may make you more trustworthy. And a critical take on criminal profiling. Police use it, people believe in it, but does it really work?

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42.086 - 52.601 Rachel Corbett

While something like 80% of the detectives used profiling felt it was very useful, only about 2.5% of those profiles actually led to the apprehension of a suspect.

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Chapter 2: Why do we procrastinate on important tasks?

53.122 - 56.447 Rachel Corbett

So there's kind of a difference between belief and reality there.

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56.782 - 59.788 Mike Carruthers

All this today on Something You Should Know.

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61.473 - 77.814 Hillary Frank

Hey, it's Hillary Frank from The Longest Shortest Time, an award-winning podcast about parenthood and reproductive health. We talk about things like sex ed, birth control, pregnancy, bodily autonomy, and of course, kids of all ages. But you don't have to be a parent to listen.

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77.874 - 91.311 Hillary Frank

If you like surprising, funny, poignant stories about human relationships and, you know, periods, The Longest Shortest Time is for you. Find us in any podcast app or at LongestShortestTime.com.

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93.383 - 119.226 Mike Carruthers

Something you should know. Fascinating intel. The world's top experts. And practical advice you can use in your life. Today, Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers. So just how seriously should you take the expiration date on a bottle of medication? It's a good question, and one we're going to start with today on this episode of Something You Should Know. Hi, I'm Mike Carruthers.

119.907 - 146.762 Mike Carruthers

So every medication, whether prescription or over-the-counter, comes with an expiration date. And it may not be such a hard and fast rule. In fact, the U.S. military has spent years studying the question of expiration dates on medication. Working with the FDA, the military tests its medication that's in stockpiles once they reach their expiration date rather than just throwing them away.

Chapter 3: What strategies can help overcome procrastination?

146.742 - 172.442 Mike Carruthers

The results have been eye-opening. Many drugs have been found to remain safe and effective years beyond their expiration dates, saving taxpayers more than a billion dollars in replacement costs. That's because unlike food, most medications don't suddenly go bad when the date on the bottle arrives. Instead, they often lose potency very gradually over time. There are important exceptions.

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Chapter 4: How does scent influence trustworthiness?

172.923 - 196.016 Mike Carruthers

Insulin, EpiPens, nitroglycerin, liquid antibiotics can all become less effective much more quickly. And when your health or life depends on a medication working exactly as intended, you don't want to take chances. Still, if you find an expired bottle of headache medicine in the back of the cabinet, it may not be nearly as expired as you think.

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Chapter 5: What is the reality of criminal profiling?

196.837 - 214.757 Mike Carruthers

And that is something you should know. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to put off something important? You know it needs to get done. You could do it now and be finished and done with it. But instead, you tell yourself you'll do it later.

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Chapter 6: How effective is criminal profiling in real-life crime solving?

215.478 - 241.986 Mike Carruthers

And then later becomes tomorrow and then next week and sometimes never. What's strange is these unfinished tasks don't just sit there quietly. They take up space in your head. They nag at you. They create stress. They make you feel guilty. And yet somehow we still don't do them. Why? Why do smart, capable people procrastinate? And more importantly, how do you stop?

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242.006 - 256.946 Mike Carruthers

Here to explain what really drives procrastination and how to finally get unstuck is John Acuff. He is a best-selling author who has written 12 books. He's a sought-after speaker and one of Inc. Magazine's top 100 leadership speakers.

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Chapter 7: What are the limitations of criminal profiling?

257.607 - 271.941 Mike Carruthers

His latest book is called Procrastination Proof, Never Get Stuck Again. Hey John, welcome to Something You Should Know. Thanks for having me today. Looking forward to it. So first define procrastination for me. What is it exactly?

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272.963 - 292.648 Jon Acuff

Yeah, so my definition is procrastination is when your actions don't match your intentions. When who you want to be is not who you're currently being. And an example of that would be what? Well, an example of that would be, according to the New York Times, 82% of Americans want to write a book. It's one of our most popular goals in this country.

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293.068 - 310.405 Jon Acuff

And if you look at publishing records based on how many books are published each year, about one to 2% do. So 82% say it, only one to 2% do it. So that's an example of people that go, I've always wanted to do this thing, which is very doable. People do it every day, but they're not doing it.

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311.306 - 313.909 Mike Carruthers

And why do you think that is?

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315.273 - 333.619 Jon Acuff

I think there's a lot of reasons. I mean, one is they're afraid of what will happen if they do. I never had a one-star review written about me when I was a copywriter for Home Depot. No stranger on Amazon ever said, John Acuff is terrible at sitting in his cubicle. He writes the worst rug headlines.

333.599 - 353.136 Jon Acuff

But when I actually got a book across the finish line, then I opened myself up to actual criticism. So I think sometimes it's fear. Sometimes it's the task feels overwhelming and people say, I don't know where to start as if there's a perfect place to start. Sometimes they've been tricked into thinking their process is procrastination. They go, I turned in a paper late in college.

353.156 - 363.285 Jon Acuff

It's how I think best. I like to wait until the last second. And so there's a number of different reasons people give if you actually ask them, okay, why do you put off the things you wish you were putting on?

364.565 - 393.044 Mike Carruthers

And as you went down that list, I bet people could hear themselves in several of those things as it relates to tasks they say they want to do. But I also think, and I'd like to get your thoughts on this, that another reason that people don't write the great American novel or whatever it is, is... They don't really want to. They don't want to do it. They maybe want to have done it.

393.345 - 402.047 Mike Carruthers

They want to be a famous author, but they don't really want to do the work that gets them there. It's just something to say because it sounds good.

Chapter 8: How has criminal profiling evolved over time?

661.008 - 677.413 Jon Acuff

And I would argue, if you know you're capable of more and you're not doing anything with that, there's procrastination present. So I think there are probably some people on the extreme edge where everything they procrastinate on, but I think that the average person, if you sat down with them and said,

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677.393 - 701.663 Jon Acuff

have you accomplished every goal do you do you always do the things you want to do do you have a remarkable life which I would define as when your actions match your intentions it's the opposite of procrastination I think most people are honest enough to go you know what there's two or three things I know I want to do them I know I want to have a better relationship with my kids or I know I want to lose a couple pounds or I've always wanted to start a business or have my own podcast

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701.643 - 709.172 Jon Acuff

But I just keep kicking that goal down the road. And I looked up and all of a sudden I'm 55. And I go, whoa, where did the time go?

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709.962 - 732.105 Mike Carruthers

Where did the time go? Is it just a matter of priorities that you do the things that are important to you? Or is procrastination also burying the things that you say are important, but as you talked about earlier, you don't want to face what the results might be?

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733.081 - 750.195 Jon Acuff

What's interesting to me about procrastination is it's the type of mindset issue that will apply to both things you desperately want, like starting a business, and also things you don't want to do, like your taxes, or the laundry, or following up with a difficult client.

750.175 - 770.031 Jon Acuff

It's one of those mindset issues that applies to so many different things in life, which is why it's fun when you figure out, oh, for me to do the things I need or want to do, here's the tricks. Like I tell people all the time, you're the most persuasive person you've ever met. And what I mean by that is before every bad decision you ever made first, you talked yourself into it.

770.451 - 792.298 Jon Acuff

You are the greatest you salesperson who's ever lived. And so I like to just tell people, so let's figure out how to sell ourselves the things we actually want. Let's figure out some easy tools, some easy resources that allow us to talk ourselves into doing those things that maybe don't come naturally. Like I don't, I get up at 4 55 AM to work out and I never want to do that.

792.278 - 814.472 Jon Acuff

I'm not like Mark Wahlberg, like getting up at psychopath 2 a.m. and doing burpees. I don't want to do that, but I love the after. I love driving home. I love the endorphins. I love being in shape. I love the community. So I've just found ways to sell myself on that idea. And I've consistently done that long enough that now I'm in that sweet spot where to not do it feels weird.

814.452 - 823.446 Jon Acuff

It feels weird when you start a new goal or break an old habit. It feels uncomfortable. It feels weird. But eventually you get to a spot where not doing it feels weird, and that's really fun.

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