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Friday, October 3, 2008

Mis en Place : Guide to Doing Things in Daily Life

From Wikipidea:
Mis en place (pronounced [miz ɑ̃n plas], literally "put in place") is a French phrase defined by the Culinary Institute of America as "everything in place", as in set up.

Ever struggled with arranging a closet? Or if you are a CEO, ever struggled being on multiple boards with enough participation? If so, then you realize the only way you can fit in everything is if you know where it belongs.

Our life is like that. We have to know what goes into our days, if it has a place and how much place it takes. We have to chose to keep the best, and allot proper time for that in our life. For example, if you are a hobbyist you have to chose which hobby is going to have space in your life. Otherwise you will replace main things in your life with hobbys.

These are some of the strategies to have things in place in your daily life

1. Identify the Time Eaters
Are you working 2 jobs to payback your loans, or because you want to fill time? Are you commuting 2 hours to save 500 dollars on rent? Ask yourself this question, for all the stress causers and major time grabbers in your life

2. Think of Alternatives
What else would you like to do if you have the extra time? Would you be willing to buy 2 hours each day for extra 500 dollars a month? Translating time into money sometimes puts things in perspective

3. Don't clutter your day or Life
Life is precious. Don't fill it with unnecessary junk. Don't make a habit of doing too many small things, instead readjust your day to have time as major chunk. Just like too many spices spoil the flavor of a soup, too many things will overwhelm the life.

4. Have goal times
Just like you show up to work at a fixed time, have in place fixed time slots for your goals. You cannot walk out of a meeting. Similarly don't let anything disturb your goal time (unless it's something important, like a baby howling for attention).

5. Ask yourself why?
If you have to watch TV ask yourself why? Can you find a book instead? Most of the times the single question will save you time.