If you’re coming from here, you know that I’ve got… complaints. About a lot of little things in life. I’ve been travelling a lot recently, and there’s a lot I’ve learnt over the past six months. There was one trip where I was out for 4+ weeks out of a backpack, living really really comfortably. I might not need as many things as I thought.
Similarly, I’ve also noticed how long things take to complete. A packet of stickers (again from here) takes me more than a week to finish even when I’m being generously liberal with them. So, I’ve gotten exponentially better at knowing what things I need and how long they last.
I’m a minimalist hoarder.
I’ve always been one, few things but most of them still unused, only hoarded for occasions. And at this point, I’m ready to give up the things I haven’t been using for years and use the things I wanted to use someday. Sounds good. I don’t what to do though. For starters, I’m using things which I want to. But the stuff I don’t use but I might need someday? When life forces me to, I’ll figure it out.
On the other hand, there are things which I use regularly or with a frequency enough to keep them around. Tweaking the place where these things are placed is the difference between a pleasant day and an unpleasant one. So, deciding to put your keys and headphones in the drawer, placing phone in its stand, keeping your bottle filled with water, all these are standard procedures to make life happy.
Alas, for me, that isn’t enough. One fine day at the gym, I took out my rings and put them in my pocket and forgot about them forever. Luckily, they were still in the pocket and not lost into the wide wide world.
Mise en place
Everything in it’s place.
Another fancy name for a protocol to organize and arrange before cooking. Putting things together before doing things (lots of things today, we’ll cut it down soon). Not only having a space for them but also organizing it for the easiest use throughout the day. Like having gym clothes ready and also a place to put my rings while going out. Have checklists. Remove the things you don’t need. Out of sight, out of mind.
P.S. I love this term because it’s not only about your efficiency, but also your efficacy. Some tasks cannot be done on a daily basis without this. If I don’t have my To Do’s scheduled, I WILL FORGET IT. It’s not just hard, it’s impossible. In that sense, this is a light switch, illuminating my life :’)