Some of you may be saying, "Who takes lunch at 10:30?," but I can assure you making that small adjustment to your schedule will pay big dividends in reduced frustration in your life. At 10:30 you are squarely between the end of the morning rush and the beginning of the lunch rush. If you go to the gym, the equipment is virtually empty, there is plenty of parking, and you can still pick up a snack on the way back to work without having to wait in ridiculously long lines. Try it sometime and you will thank me.
Why am I bothering to tell you this story? Underlying my habit of taking an early lunch is a deeper principle that has helped me to eliminate a lot of useless waiting and frustration from my life; Questioning the motivation of conventions.
Why does everyone go to lunch sometime between 11:00 and 1:00? Because it is halfway through a standard eight hour workday. Because the standard is three meals a day and we love symmetry. Because that is when everyone else goes. Right? Wrong! I have decided that, for myself at least, none of these are a valid reason. The result is that my family has shifted our schedule back about 90 minutes and we no longer have to wait for a table at lunch or dinner. Since we eat our last meal of the day at 4:30 we have plenty of time to work off some of those calories by taking a walk after dinner, or getting the house picked up before bed, or playing super heroes until bath time. If we have some errands to run we are getting them taken care of while everyone else is eating, which means shorter lines at the grocery store and less crowding in the aisles.
The timing of meals is not the only example of this principle however. Here are five more ways that questioning conventions can save you time and money.
1. Skip the engagement ring - This one is controversial with the ladies but when you stop and think about why people drop ridiculous sums on a flashy diamond it is hard to come up with a good reason. If you are saying it is a "symbol of their love" right now, think about what that means. Would it be equally symbolic if a guy handed you a big stack of cash when he asked you to marry him? That is a little too close to long term prostitution for my taste. Also if you have ever tried to sell a ring back, unfortunately I have, you know that it is worth about 30% of what was paid for it. The money that you would have spent on a ring will very often cover the cost of a trip to the tropical island of your choice. I recommended taking the trip.
2. Don't be an early adopter - Nothing in life will save you as much money as patience. That new model of TV is awesome, but if you can be patient and wait a few months you will usually pay 50% less for it and it will still be awesome. The only benefit of having the latest and greatest is so you can tell everyone how cutting edge you are. Cool is expensive. If you can resist the urge to be the one who has the newest thing before everyone else you will come out way ahead financially.
3. Park in the first place you come to and walk to the door - Seriously, are you really saving any time by cruising around for ten minutes trying to get the perfect parking place? How many times have you gotten mad at someone for taking a parking place that you were trying to get to? Unless the weather is ridiculous a little walk will not kill you and, in the spirit of every little bit helps, may be good for you.
4. Don't "stock up" - Buying what you need for the next few days is a recipe for success. If you only have what you need for the meals you have planned then it is very easy to see when you need to head to the store again. Also you will throw away far less food in the course of a year. Nothing can hide in an empty fridge and things that can be seen get used. It is very hard for some people to see that buying in bulk is a bad thing. Humans seem to be programmed for just in case, not just in time. The downside of "stocking up" is that you need more storage for all of the excess, which means you need a bigger place to live, which means you are paying a lot more for housing. All of this so you can have lots of stuff stashed away, and half of the time you can't find it when you need it and go out and buy more because it is easier.
5. Don't buy things that you can borrow - Yes it is nice to have a book that you read once and liked and may read again someday, but 99% of the time you won't. If you had checked it out from a library you could have gotten the same result without the cost. Not only that but they will pay to store it on the shelves and it is always available to check out again. Tools can be checked out from most auto parts stores at no cost. Buying things that will only be used a limited number of times or at long intervals is just another manifestation of "stocking up". Resist the urge and you will have less clutter to manage in your life and more disposable income.Focus on doing things instead of having things.
What are some of the things that you do that defy convention and make your life easier? I would love to hear about them in the comments.
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