2 minutes to add to a smoother life or more chaos?

[Gardenarian]

My dd: "why use the closet when the floor is so much closer?"

(luckily she is being ironic.)

[kitten]

LOL!!

My dd: "why use the closet when the floor is so much closer?"

(luckily she is being ironic.)

[rosarugosa]

Selah: I love your grandmother's words of wisdom!

[creaker]

I've always called it "lazy smart" and "lazy stupid" - the intent both ways is trying to do less, but the latter just makes more work. I try to do the former but often I catch myself doing the latter.

[fidgiegirl]

creaker, my Grammy used a similar phrase for people trying to carry soooooo much stuff at once to avoid two trips that it ends up taking just as long to balance/transport one load . . . the "lazy man's load."

[Amaranth]

Fidgiegirl, we had a neighbor kid who would spend 20 minutes to do only one load when 2 loads would have taken a total of 5 minutes. I have suggested to people sometimes to time themselves doing one load or two. They nearly always find 2 is faster. I mentioned it to the guy too, but he continued with the one load, sometimes creating even more work due to cleanup from dropping something. Thnking it about it now and some of his responses my guess is that the extra time was worth it to him since it was one of the few ways he could annoy his somewhat abusive conroling parent while giving the illusion of complying with the parent's demands.

Selah,

Very interesting! My grandmother (from a tiny farm town in Oklahoma) always said, "when you're feeling bad, mop the floor. Then when you're feeling better, you won't have to mop the floor!"

Guess if the floor is really, really clean, its a signal.

I am beginning to be more creative when it comes to setting up workable systems for things so I can spend even less than two minutes to head off a potential problem. For example, I now leave my keys hanging from inside the door. (I can only lock the front door with a key, so why risk not being able to find them in case of a fire?) Now, there are no lost keys.

I put up a purse hook on the kitchen counter, so now I always know where my purse is. To avoid morning hassle, I set out coffee cups, cereal bowls and the next day's clothes the night before. When I am tired and don't feel like doing it, I just say "If I were being a good friend to someone, would I want to do this for her to make her life easier?" The answer is always "yes, of course," and presto! Instant motivation!

Besides saving time, this seems like it would reduce stress as well.

Finally, I read Brian Tracey's (sp?) excellent book "Eat that Frog!" about overcoming procrastination, and I am slowly learning how to effectively plan and prioritize my day and my tasks

.

What a great book title! Which of his tips help the most with this?

If I do what he says, and do my 5-10 minute planning session first thing in the morning, even before turning on the computer (HARD TO DO!), I find I am a zillion times more productive and far less stressed. I also feel more accomplished and peaceful at the end of the day, even if I don't complete everything on my list.

I have found that it also helps to look at the next day's list sometime between early evening and midevening. Sometimes there is some sort of prep for the next day that could be more easily done in the evening that may not have gotten on today's list.