Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Getting organised #5


Time passes at the same rate for each of us, one precious second at a time. Most of us wish we had more time to do the things we want to do. So it makes sense to do the stuff that we have to do in as little time as possible.

For most of us, each day includes hundreds of tasks. Gaining a better understanding of how to deal with them can pay huge dividends.

So, when I wake up in the morning, I stumble downstairs and turn Kermit (my lime green espresso machine) on. While that is warming up, I put milk in a cup, and get the coffee pod ready (immediately returning the milk to the fridge, and putting the coffee pod wrapper in the bin, natch).

If the coffee machine is still not up to temperature, I put away cutlery that I washed up the night before, sort out recycling bins, tidy the worktop... until it is. I then add espresso to the cup, and put the cup in the microwave for 50 seconds. During that time I remove and bin the spent coffee pod, flush the machine through with fresh water, top up Kermit's water reservoir and get a protein bar from the cupboard.

If this is all painfully obvious to you, I'm really sorry. However, I know that a lot of people don't use the 'dead times' that occur during other tasks. By exploiting these times, things stay 'tidy' and 'done', the 'where is that...?' moments are avoided, and the extended tidying sessions are reduced.
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