The old saying was, "A stitch in time saves nine." Recently I did something on two separate occasions with regard to shopping expeditions that would validate this statement. From a time management point of view, I had meant to save time but instead ended up turning an extra five minutes into additional trips consuming more than an hour each.
The issue was trying on clothes, deciding which to purchase, heading for the cash register, and being sidetracked by another item--impulse buying. I would add that new item to my soon-to-be purchases. Instead of going back and trying this new piece on, I decided it should be fine. I really didn't want to spend the time returning to the dressing room and trying on one more thing--another five minutes. I continued to the cash register, paid for everything, and then after I got home found that there were problems with the last items that I couldn't have noticed without actually trying them on.
Each time I had to find another day to head back to the store and return the last pieces I had chosen and not tried on because I didn't want to take the time--five minutes versus the hour that needed to be scheduled to get to the store again.
On top of this, I am not a shopper, contrary to the female image. Shopping chores rank at the bottom of my favorite things. I definitely qualify as a "kamikazee shopper" for the most part. I have my list, I head straight to those places, and I'm out as fast as I can. That may be part of the reason I didn't want to take the time to try things on twice. Yet what a time savings that would have turned out to be!
As a productivity consultant, I started thinking about how many things we do every week that have the same result, both at work and in our personal lives--for instance, ignoring a small drip in the ceiling when it rains and then ending up with a flooded room and major bills. It's tough too fit everything in we want to do. Organizing and prioritizing our daily routines do help with this.
Can you think of anything you neglected that would have taken a few minutes at first but then turned into a major project? What can you do now that will only take a short while and save you more time later?
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