” } Google+
Live Smarter! 7 Life Shortcuts That’ll Save You an Hour a Day
Sunday…Make time for Zzzs
If I’m not working late at the computer, I’m washing dishes, mopping up crumbs or, yes, folding that last load of laundry. How could I possibly gain an hour of free time by going to bed earlier? Very easily. After a full eight hours of sleep, I felt alert for the first time in months. I quickly did the dishes, swept the kitchen and folded the laundry before work — a feat I never could have accomplished in my usual morning stupor.
Monday…Go gung-ho at work
“To really boost productivity, I tell my clients to ‘Eat the frog, first,’” says Linda D. Henman, Ph.D., president of the Henman Performance Group in Chesterfield, Missouri. “That means pick the toughest, most unpleasant task you need to accomplish, and knock that off your list while you’re still fresh, focused and working at top speed — everything else will seem easy by comparison, and that will give you the oomph to stay on track all day long.”
Procrastination is my downfall — if I have no plausible excuse for putting off a big project, I’ll add paper to my printer, check that my stapler has staples, and sharpen my pencils to the point where they could perform brain surgery. Oh, and I like to start my day with the easiest job and work my way up to the nasty stuff — I’ve always eaten the frog last. So I wasn’t looking forward to turning on the computer and starting my Monday by diving into the day’s toughest task. Yet, I finished my biggest job by noon — a new record, since I usually start it so late I have to work all evening to finish up.
Tuesday and, um, Wednesday…Shackle social media
I failed miserably the first day I tried this — the second day was no picnic, either. I usually check my e-mail, Facebook and Twitter twice (okay, maybe three times) every hour, all day long. I’m addicted. But, after my intervention, I’ve cut myself down to four checks daily and, yes, I am getting a lot more done — but weaning myself off espresso was easier than this.
Thursday…Trim the to-do list
Rx: Each morning, divide your day’s to-do list into two categories — things you could do, and things you must do. “Be ruthless and put as much as possible into that easily-ignored could do list,” says Val Wright, leadership growth expert and president of Val Wright Consulting in Seattle, Washington. “Then tackle your tasks in reverse order, so you start with the must-do’s, first, and only bother with the could-do’s if you have time — you’ll be shocked at how productive you are.”
My original to-do list for the day: Tidy the living room, clean both bathrooms, mend my ripped shirt…oh, and work all day. My wallet-sized list of must do’s: Work and take 10 minutes to scrub the bathroom — the one my kids had spackled with dazzling blue toothpaste. The mending? I have lots of shirts, so I used the ripped one as a rag when I was washing the bathroom.
Friday…Prune your home
The good news: Your home doesn’t have to be perfectly organized to prevent this frustration. Start by getting rid of the things you no longer use or value, so you’ll have easier access to what you truly need, . Then sort through what’s remaining, and get a sense of where important items are stored, so you can find them fast when you need them,
A small house fire might have made this job easier. I waded through the closets, junk drawers, trunks and other nooks and crannies, tossing anything I don’t use into bags and boxes for Goodwill. By bedtime, I’d filled seven big garbage bags and five boxes with stuff I wasn’t going to miss. My own cramped closet had lost one-third of its cargo. Who had I been kidding? Pants that were snug before I had babies weren’t going to fit again unless I had liposuction.
Saturday…Let your errands list grow
I hadn’t even considered it before, but when I did the math, I realized I was spending over six hours every week en route to the grocery store, farmer’s market, Walmart, etc. When I combined everything into a Saturday-morning shopping blitz, and used my spiffy new grocery list, I was home in 3-1/2 hours. It was almost embarrassing to realize how much time I’d been wasting running errands.
Sunday…Buy time, not things
The job I dislike the most? Cleaning the house Sunday night. I called a family meeting and we made a compromise — two meals out each month, instead of four. That was enough of a savings to pay a housecleaner to come in once each week to scour the place for us. One quick chat with my kids, and I’d shrugged off my biggest weekly aggravation. By 9:00 pm Sunday, my kids were happy, fed and in bed. I had no rugs to vacuum, no floors to wash, and no dusting to do. The evening was truly mine.
if(typeof(networkedblogs)==”undefined”){networkedblogs = {};networkedblogs.blogId=1267163;networkedblogs.shortName=”my-page-my-blog”;} Follow @lokakshema_hari!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);Tweet!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));http://www.facebook.com/pages/Khariharan/115524648579725
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
Ranjani Geethalaya(Regd.) (Registered under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860. Regn No S/28043 of 1995) A society for promotion of traditional values through, Music, Dance, Art , Culture, Education and Social service. REGD OFFICE A-73 Inderpuri, New Delhi-110012, INDIA Email: ranjanigeethalaya@gmail.com web: http://ranjanigeethalaya.webs.com (M)9868369793 all donations/contributions may be sent to Ranjani Geethalaya ( Regd) A/c no 3063000100374737, Punjab National Bank, ER 14, Inder Puri, New Delhi-110012, MICR CODE 110024135 IFSC CODE PUNB00306300
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=283013265118296”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
DlvrWidget({ width:300, items:5, widgetbg:’FFFFFF’, widgetborder:’CCCCCC’, titlecolor:’CCCCCC’, containerbg:’F9F9F9′, containerborder:’CCCCCC’, linkcolor:’86D8D5′, textcolor:’45240D’ }).render();