How do you keep up with your laundry? I just heard from a reader who puts a load in before she goes to bed, throws it in the dryer on the way out the door to work, and uses the "touch up" feature when she gets home before folding. By doing this every day, she always keeps up with her laundry. She also recommended safety pinning socks together the minute she takes them off (she has a little basket in her closet), so she never has to search for and match socks. What little tricks do you have for staying on top of the skivvies?
Ever want to buy healthy food at the supermarket, but you didn’t have time to look in your recipe books and can’t think of what to buy? Get tired of writing the same basic items—eggs, bread, milk—on your list again and again? Keep your kitchen well stocked by hanging a pre-printed shopping list on your fridge. Print a stack of copies at the Self magazine site. Stick one to your fridge each week and check off things as you run low on various items. Then use the list to trigger your thoughts on buying healthy foods for lunches and dinners for the week.
This is hysterical. Have you ever been sitting in a boring meeting, wishing you had a reason to excuse yourself? Or on a disasterous blind date, looking for an escape? Before a potentially draining engagement, visit PopularityDialer.com. Schedule a free call to your cell phone at a designated time and specify a conversation: boss, cousin in need, friend, etc. The recording actually pauses for your end of the conversation. You’ll be out of there in no time.
Okay this is just a little funny but maybe a step in the right direction. You know how your bottom gets numb if you sit at your desk in front of your computer too long? Now Steelcase has come up with the "Walkstation," which allows you to walk while you work, co-designed by the Mayo Clinic’s Dr. James Levine. I’ve heard of whistle while you work, which is entirely possible, but I’m just not sure how this concept will work. If I’m walking, how am I going to be able to keep my hands in one place to accurately hit the keyboard keys? And how will my eyes adjust to what I’m typing on the screen if my head is moving about even slightly? I don’t see this as something you would be able to use in your main office space, as you can’t walk for 8 hours straight or even stand (there is no where for a chair). But perhaps as a rotation for call centers, a docking station where you can bring your laptop, or shared spaces you can reserve like a conference room. Hmmm…maybe they will just have to send me one to test it out.
Interruptions abound—a co-worker drops by to chat, the phone rings, and your boss sends you an email to handle something, pronto—all at the same time.With a flurry of activity, you respond to these various demands.All prove to be low priority, and an hour later, you return to your initial task, your energy waning.You decide you’ll work on the project in the afternoon, when your energy picks up again.Of course, after lunch, there’s some crisis, and after fielding a volley of phone calls and unscheduled visits from co-workers, the day ends, and the project is yet again unfinished.
You’ve lost your momentum.Much like your car has to work harder to accelerate from a complete stop, so does your brain.Although interruptions are a normal (and sometimes desirable) part of our work experience, there are times when it’s helpful to defend against them.
So try to eliminate distractions when you need to concentrate on a difficult task.It’s hard to get much done when someone or something is bugging you. It’s a major problem in most offices, particularly in those with open-plan architecture. If people aren’t talking or walking around, they’re coming directly to you to chit-chat. If they don’t come personally, they call you or send you email. This is fine for occasional socializing or if you’re working with someone on something, but at times it might be necessary to set limits on the chatting. This isn’t much of a problem when you have your own office; you can shut the door, and even lock it if necessary. If you’re stuck in a cubicle, however, there’s not much you can do to stop people from coming by, or even from parking themselves outside your cubicle and holding a long discussion with someone else. Try slipping on some noise canceling headphones to drown out the antics of passersby or your neighbor. People are less likely to interrupt you when you’re wearing a headset.I’m not sure why this is but it’s true.Just don’t get any eye contact. This can create a little privacy without seeming too unfriendly. Similarly, you can send your calls to voicemail and close your email program to give yourself some time to focus without getting distracted.
