Posts Tagged ‘tips’

It’s Christmas week. You’ve got shopping, parties, family obligations. And you’re late. Late, late, late. Always late. So why are so many people on your road as you try to get where you’re going???

Well … if you live in the United States, 20 percent of the adult population is chronically late. So you’re trying to push your way through the other 41.5 million late people who’re wondering why you’re on their road.

Isn’t there a better way to get to the egg nog on time?

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Holidays bring families together … and to hear some tell it, the more is not the merrier. Many times I’ve listened silent and bug-eyed as friends have discussed the horrors of trying to plan gatherings for their parents and in-laws. It’s amazing how the offspring of such divergent clans managed to mate. These people have nothing in common beyond the marriage of their children and the fact that they share—and compete for the affection of—common grandchildren. No wonder my friends approach the holiday dinner as though they’re planning a summit meeting between the United States and North Korea.

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 We’ve got PCs, netbooks, iPhones, iPods, and iPads; Wiis, Miis, and MP3s; Segways, GPS, and TiVo. But we still can’t tell the laundry to pick itself up off the floor, toss itself into the washer, and bring along one of those handy all-in-one detergent packs. No matter how much technology does for us, we still have chores—those tedious daily and weekly tasks that not even the Roomba robot vacuum can eliminate.

So how do we make these mundane tasks less mundane? Try turning them into a daily obstacle course.

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As we head into the year-end holidays, we look forward to our family traditions. We eat the same dishes, hang the same decorations, see the same people, listen to the same music, engage in the same activities we’ve enjoyed for years or even generations. Humans find comfort in familiarity, and resist change.

At least we resist change suggested by others. If it’s our idea, we can’t figure out why everyone makes such a fuss about trying something new.

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See it? Over there, floating in the air just … out … of … your … reach. In your mind’s eye, you stretch out your fingers … so close. Maybe if you get to your feet! Yes, that will do it! The simple act of standing will bridge the distance, allowing your brain to latch onto the elusive idea floating just outside its grasp.

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When Mr. Utterson thought of his old friend Harry Jekyll, he pictured a smooth, jovial face that radiated kindness. But when he looked into the pale face and displeasing smile of the mysterious Edward Hyde, he saw “a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness.” As he warned Jekyll, “if ever I read Satan’s signature on a face, it is on that of your new friend.”

But as anyone who’s read Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella or seen one of the many film adaptations knows, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were one in the same.

We may never have kept company with physicians who experimented on themselves with strange potions, but we’ve probably all known at least one person who seemed to have dramatically different personalities depending on the cycle of the moon or which way the wind was blowing. And with all the stresses we’re under these days, it’s just possible we sometimes give off a little Jekyll-and-Hyde vibe ourselves.

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Like many of you, I’ve got too much on my mind lately and the mental noise is overwhelming the part of my brain that tracks everyday chores, appointments, and so on. As a result, I’m skipping meals, going to bed at ridiculous hours, putting off easy tasks that would be better put away, and even missing appointments that were marked on my calendar.

Time for the timers.

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As much as we depend on the Internet, most of us still rely on snail mail for a few things. We ship packages, send greeting cards, pay a few bills or our income taxes—and of course, receive junk solicitations—the old-fashioned way.

And a little mail can be a dangerous thing.

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