Waste more time in 2012 (and 52 other little goals)
On New Year’s Eve we sat around the table and pulled some questions out of a hat taking turns reminiscing 2011.
I had to answer “what was your biggest time waster in 2011?” and although this may sound surprising, I was stumped. For better or worse, I have been “blessed” with a highly productive and organized personality which struggles to waste time (I know, pathetic right? I can practically hear you gagging. Please tell me I am not alone with this strange trait!). My husband was quick to provide some examples to illustrate this point. If I am waiting for my emails to download, I will throw in a load of laundry. If I am going upstairs, I will bring up the clean laundry along. If I am folding the laundry, I will be listening to a book on CD or talking on the phone. Leaving the house before wiping off the kitchen countertop or making my bed would be a huge mental hurdle and I almost never go to bed at night before first cleaning my sink. The poor man has been subject blessed to my mental efficiency and over the last 11 years of marriage, has adapted surprisingly well. The closest thing I can typically get to doing “nothing” is reading a book or watching a movie, but I can hardly ever justify wasting taking the time to watch TV. After some good hearted laughs at my expense, it was decided that one of my goals for 2012 should be to enjoy more downtime, or said a different way: waste some time!
52 ways to simplify life
I plan to consider this goal of wasting time as the year progresses, but before I get to that goal I am having too much fun reading my newest ebook from Tsh Oxenreider titled One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler.
In Tsh’s own words:
It’s a great compendium to your goal-making this month, and as the title suggests, it feeds you morsels of motivation so that you can simplify your life a bit at a time. Instead of drinking from the fire hose, the book invites you to cup your hands into the stream of grace. The book is uber-practical: categories include money management, time stewardship, organizing your space, and living green. Topics covered include decluttering your kids’ art collection, establishing a morning routine, and switching to non-toxic cleaners. 52 all together.
I was thrilled to discover that Tsh not only covers topics that I have already dealt with (such as creating a morning routine, creating an evening routine, menu planning and keeping your sink clean) but some that I have wanted to do (such as going on dates with my kids and making a compost pile) as well as many more that I have not even considered. One such suggestion was this tip in the “clean your kitchen as you cook” section: fill a jar with water and keep my mixing tools in it. This will keep my counter cleaner since I am not setting the spoons down between uses, but will also make them easier to clean when I am done using them. Another great new tip is to “eat my frog,” meaning to tackle my least favorite item on my to-do list first so that I can get it out of the way and stop wasting mental time dreading it. In fact, this tip has now been picked up by my 8 year old son as well. During dinner he will “eat his frog” first (whatever he likes least) and save his favorite until the end 
!
Get your own copy at a discounted price!
If you are like me, a book like this is the perfect form of gracious, guilt-free inspiration to work on one thing at a time to help make life more simple. If you are interested in grabbing a copy of One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler for yourself, you are in luck because you can get $1.00 off the already low $5 price with the discount code “HAPPYNEWYEAR”. But hurry, today (January 10th) is THE LAST DAY for this sale!
Now time for me to go relax 
. . .
Please note: I the links above are affiliate links. Please know I would never recommend something that I myself don’t enjoy or feel is truly something of value.
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