Many of us look back on our young adult days as one of the happiest, most carefree times of our lives. No matter that we were living in a shoebox (sometimes with two or three other people), and had little disposable income. No matter that we couldn’t afford designer clothes, fancy watches, or electronic gadgets. All of our possessions fit in a few

Now, imagine your ideal day. Which activities would you include, and which would you omit? Of course, you’ll probably still need to go to work and cook dinner; but would you visit the park instead of the coffee shop, or do yoga instead of surfing the Internet? How closely does your ideal schedule match your real one?

Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel.

A common example of such standardization is document templates. If you often need to produce paperwork with a specific format—such as an invoice, memo, or letter—save a blank version of it as a template. Then, you can dispense with all the setup each time you start a new one. Simply open the template, save it as your new file, and get right to

Standardization can also be useful when answering emails. If you find you’re often fielding similar questions, make a database of common answers—then simply cut and paste the appropriate block of text when replying to them. The technique is convenient for a variety of communication: from requesting information, to providing updates on projects, to

Consider the following scenario. You visit the grocery store in the morning to buy your food for the week. After lunch, you realize you forgot about your dry cleaning, and hop back in the car to get it. Later that afternoon, you remember you have to make a bank deposit, so you’re out the door again. That evening, your family decides they want to

Saying “no” to new duties ensures that your current ones aren’t neglected, and that the people who deserve your time most aren’t cheated out of it; in essence, it’s saying “yes” to your present responsibilities and your loved ones. Furthermore, it’s also saying “yes” to yourself: scheduling a little “me time” is essential to your personal

Start Over by examining how you spend your day. “Dump out” the contents of your schedule: put every activity and commitment on paper, so you can see it all laid out in front of you. List everything: going to work, getting your nails done, shopping for groceries, going for coffee, doing the laundry, reading the newspaper, cooking dinner, watching

I once saw an interview with a prolific author who had turned out hundreds of books over the course of his career—and could write a single one in a matter of days. His secret? He had developed a computerized template for outlining his plot, and simply changed the premise, locations, characters, and other details for each new story. In essence, he