The best thing about the internet is that now we have ebooks. We can take an ebook reader with us on vacation, buy books from practically anywhere that has a wifi connection, and take a prodigious stack of reading material anywhere without needing to see the chiropractor (or, frankly, resembling that bag lady down on the corner).
Okay, so now we have ebook readers, smart phones, computers, purses with lists, and the ubiquitous sticky note.
Then how come we’re STILL not getting everything done?
Efficiency is not the same thing as effectiveness, and it’s not enough just to have the tools. We have to actually use them if we want to build anything (like a stress-free, well-oiled life where everything has a place and, moreover, everything is IN its place). If you, like me, have those little chaos-generation-machines otherwise known as “children,” then you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you work outside the home and have to deal with all sorts of demands from others to do more in less time, then you, too, know exactly what I’m talking about. If you’re a yogi and completely serene and calm, then come here, because I want to shoot you. Or emulate you, whichever comes first.
Assuming you want to hear Aunt Noony’s 5 tips, and you’re not already a yogi living in enlightenment, then here we go:
Point the First: Be selective about what you pay attention to. You don’t have to read every email that comes across your inbox. Use your filters (any good email program has them).
Point the Second: Set aside time each day to read. Even if it’s 15 minutes in the morning on the way to work, if you take transit, or sitting in the parking lot, if you drive, that’s 15 minutes you can relax. If you don’t work outside the home, then try 15 minutes in the school parking lot when you drop off the kids, or when you lay them down for a nap.
Point the Third: Only touch things once. When you get those emails, and bills, and papers from the office, and stuff from the kids’ school, do it right away. Don’t set it aside to do later. “Later” is a chimera. Just get it done.
Point the Fourth: Use a filing system. Doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to hold stuff. File important emails by some consistent method (by sender, by category, something). File mail the same way: put bills in a bills folder organized by date, or file them each by the company from whence they came.
Point the Fifth: Take time each week to just relax. If you do yoga, great; if you journal, terrific; if you meditate, awesome. But do it. Find something restorative that you can do for yourself.
Above all, remember this: the internet is a tool, not our masters. With a little creativity and forethought, we can tame the tasks and get back to what’s really important: reading more books!
As a kid, I loved our visits to Chinatown in San Francisco and had hoped to stop by our beloved dim-sum restaurant on our latest trip. Instead we found something new – new to me at least – at Vital Tea Leaf. Walking by the shop we saw it had a “tea tasting” sign up and we thought why no.
