Everything in Its Place

I love living in a semi-Bohemian lifestyle.  Not too rigid on any one thing, and freedom of where I am going and the ability to move in different directions turning on a dime.  Yet lately, I have noticed that I am having problems as I get started in the morning. 

I seem to forget where I left things the night (or day) before.  I find myself embarrassed when my wife has to help me locate items.  I am happy, though, because she can almost always find them. Thank you, dear.

I could blame this on getting long in the tooth, yet please, believe me, that is not so.  I have been losing things since I was in early elementary school.

In the early days, I misplaced Everything from shoes to bowties (mandatory for Porocial schools back then), lunch boxes at bus stops, and even Homework.  How my poor parents got through all my losses, I will never know. 

Having this type of problem throughout my life, it has taken me almost 66 years to realize something else.  Look at all the time I have wasted along the way.  On average, 20 minutes a day trying to find something?  Over 65 years that is 474,500 minutes.  The time is better understood as 7908.3 hours or 329.5 days.

This is awful.  I lost almost a full year looking for the things I could not find.  There has to be a better way.  I am getting too old to waste any more time.  Wow!

Wait a minute.

I am a life coach.  Suppose I could show myself something new.  Yes, you can teach old life coaches new tricks.  I should set up a place where everything belongs and is taken care of to be ready for use.  Dirty dishes in the dishwasher, in the cabinets, when cleaned.  Dirty clothes in hampers and washed when the basket is full, or the clothes are needed.  Everything set out in a location to be worn or taken to work in the morning.

The organization of items is not only possible. Over a lifetime, it can save you almost a year of your life that you can use on activities that are more fun and less stressful.  All you have to do is want to have more fun with the time you have saved.  I will tell you how I am doing in about 6 weeks.

Thank you for being with me today.  I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof