We are approaching our second-old child’s wedding some time over the next few months. Instead of the Cinderella affair we had when our oldest daughter got married four years ago, our son and his fiance are choosing to go a simple and informal route with only immediate family and a minister at home. I look forward to celebrating with them as they want and I can’t help but be pretty thankful that we get to skip all of the hoopla like finding the perfect wedding invitations and flowers this time. Although it makes for a beautiful day, the real meaning of the day somehow becomes lost and convoluted.
I understand the concept behind hand dryers in public restrooms…really I do…I just wish those contraptions didn’t have to be so LOUD! They never fail to frighten my three and five year old kids whenever we have to use one in a public restroom. They are caught between trying to cover their ears with their hands and drying those same hands under the warm air. Doesn’t work very well. I imagine those hand dryers are even quite a bit louder if you are short like they are…
My husband and teenage son both enjoy lifting weights. Due to space limitations inside, we have decided to make them a gym area outside in the garage. Believe it or not, they have managed to make themselves a decent work-out area…even though it is a garage.
The one thing we are still lacking out there, though is proper garage flooring for their purposes. I would like to place something with a little give in it over the cement floor…but I don’t know if this is possible.
For the time being, however, everyone is happy though. They have a great place to huff and puff and we don’t have to trip over barbells and dumbbells!
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” ~ A.A. Milne
How often have you said this: “I don’t have enough time!” or “There aren’t enough hours in the day!”
Of course, these statements are always said in frustrated exasperation as you survey your to do list or your messy house and you tell yourself you just cannot handle everything you have to do.
Time is an interesting thing…and so is the fact that we all have the same amount of it. 60 minutes in each hour and 24 of these hours in every day…seven days in each week and each year contains 52 weeks.
Aside from time it gets different for everyone. Everyone has different amounts of resources and health and usually these resources are a direct result of our efforts.
Nothing we do will give us more minutes in each hour or hours in each day…BUT…what we can change is how we use our time. How much time we use and how much time we waste.
Start by analyzing your use of your time. Jot down what you consider your three biggest time wasters. TV? Internet? Talking on the phone? Write them down. Often just being aware of these time-wasting traps can help us begin to minimize them. The next step is to make a plan. Set goals for each day (make sure they are realistic!). Having goals means you have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with each day. What? you have more than one goal for each day? The next step is prioritizing your goals. Work on the most important things first and then work your way down the list of priorities.
Work as efficiently as you can to accomplish your goals. Streamline your processes wherever possible. Avoid perfectionism because this will definitely slow you down and impede your progress. Don’t fall into the opposite of perfectionism; however, and resort to sloppy work to accomplish your goals. This will not serve you in the long run. Strive for a balance between perfectionism and sloppiness.
Suggestions For Improving Your Efficiency:
- Assess your system and eliminate what isn’t working.
- Multi-task – to a point
- Work when you are most efficient – morning person? Work in the morning. Night owl? Work at night.
- Find people you can work with and trade services.
