Ready? Go! Tweak.
Let's set the scene. You're in a packed stadium,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots. It's the Olympics and you're watching the 100-metre sprint. You're up in the nosebleed section and you see what resembles little "ants" stretching on the field as they prepare for their 10-second mad dash to the finish line. As the race is about to begin, the official hollers: "Ready? Set. Go!" And off they go, as fast as the wind, with the hopes of finishing first among a handful of equally talented competitors.
But wait, "Ready? Set. Go!"? Is this phrase always correct? Should you always be "set" before you "go?"
The answer is: not always. Let's take a step back to understand this using an example.
Running a Business vs. Running a Race
Running a business (or running your life) is not entirely like running a race. In a business, you don't usually have to practice for months for something that lasts a mere 10 seconds. Business plans are more likely to have a longer shelf life (well, at least longer than 10 seconds, I'd hope!). Nor do businesses stand on a racing line with their competitors and wait for formal instructions to begin.
On the other hand, you do have to plan and practice in order to achieve success, whether you're a business builder or a sprinter. How else are these situations similar?
Similarities
Well, for one, competition is fierce. A business has other companies in its market. A person has other people in their expertise vying for the same opportunities and jobs. A runner has other athletes aiming for the gold.
Next, there is a common thread in terms of goals. A business wants to be the market leader and innovator. A person aims for the top in the class, to become the most knowledgeable or have a reputation for excellence. A runner's ultimate goal is the gold. In essence, all three aim for the top spot; to be number one in their field.
Lastly, motivation, inspiration and hard work are all requirements to succeed. I can't imagine a runner winning the race if he's never up early in the morning practicing. Nor will a business become number one in its industry if it doesn't have a clear vision or the necessary people to succeed. And a person will not become successful and well-respected if he only works during a full moon between the hours of 2 and 3 am. Okay, well maybe not that drastic, but you get my drift!
Differences
The most relevant distinction between businesses and athletes is the idea of false starts. Starting before the official whistle isn't allowed during races. In contrast, false starts are a common practice in the business world. No business starts at the same place, at the same time as their competitors. Rather, businesses are often light years ahead in terms of new products, services, or other innovative business practices. Then, of course, the competition will analyze the success and attempt to replicate it!
False Starts
Well, what if false starts were allowed during races? Would it be fair? Instead, what if there was a tradeoff: the runner can start 10 metres ahead of his competition but the catch is that he would only be allowed minimal training and planning beforehand. So, chances are, the sprinter won't be in as great of shape as his opponents. Is it fair now?
While we're not going to get into the ethical or legal issues with false starts, it raises an interesting point. What if, instead of: "Ready? Set. Go!", we had:
Ready? Go! Tweak!
What does this mean? What does it entail? And how will you be directly affected?
Let's understand the "Ready? Go! Tweak." concept a little more.
In almost all cases, it's better to start a race ahead of your opponents. When you're ahead, you have the breathing room to make mistakes and improve, while still remaining in the lead. But how do you actually start ahead of the pack? It's simple:
Go before you're set.
That's the whole concept of "Ready? Go! Tweak." summed up in a few words. It's the idea of going live with the best point-in-time information and also with the understanding of the potential risk of launching with reduced planning. You don't want to hang onto a project for too long since stalling could be far too damaging in the long run.
While we're not debating whether planning is necessary in order to succeed (there's no doubt it is), we need to discuss the extent of the planning required to succeed.
"I don't think about risks much. I just do what I want to do. If you gotta go, you gotta go." --Lillian Carter
Is it necessary to plan out each and every stage of the project in extreme detail in order for you to succeed? If so, than this concept isn't quite what you're looking for. If you're able to adopt the "do it first, tweak it later" philosophy, then "Ready? Go! Tweak." is right for you. And you just might find yourself with a huge advantage later on. You would have planned less during the initial stages of the project, but overall, you were able to get instantaneous feedback and finalize your plans along the way; a process I call: Spot Planning.
Spot Planning Spot Planning is the process of creating plans and making decisions concurrent to launch. It's on-the-spot decision making as opposed to pre-planning. It gives you the flexibility of deciding on-the-go without stalling or disrupting progress. The key to this is the effectiveness of the spot planners.
Spot planners are able to:
* Understand the time implications of a project * Make quick and accurate decisions * Thrive in ambiguous situations * Deal with many stages of a project at once (planning, implementation, tweaking, promotion, etc.)
Do any of those characteristics describe you? I hope so!
Tweaking Performance One Shot at a Time
Let's go through another example to reinforce the idea behind tweaking. Imagine that you're brand new to archery and you're taken out to a controlled shooting environment. The instructor will give you a prize if you can hit the target. Then you're given two options:
Option 1: You have 1 arrow, so you must aim carefully before you shoot. Once you've shot that single arrow, it's gone! Boom! Bye, bye! So in order to succeed, you'll probably want to take as much time as you'd like to make sure the shot goes as planned.
Option 2: You have 100 arrows, but you're not allowed to aim as carefully before you shoot. Instead, you're only allowed to shoot and tweak your performance after every shot. In essence, you'll be continually improving with each arrow fired. By the 100th shot, you'll be more accustomed to the angles, environment, wind and other factors. Odds are better that you'll hit the target with 100 chances than with only one.
"Each trial brings progression, and only through progression will success be born." --Ronnie Nijmeh
In reality, you may not be given 100 chances to succeed, but the key point is that there's an opportunity for trial and error in most business and personal experiences. So use these opportunities wisely!
The importance of tweaking your idea, product, or service each time around can't be stressed enough. Did it work the first time around? If so, you know what may work in the future. If not, find out what needs improving, tweak it, then try again.
Perfectionism
You can't always be perfect. You can't always write the perfect report, have the perfect product, or simply "be" perfect. You're prone to make mistakes and have flaws (whether major or minor). But that shouldn't stop you! Acknowledge that you can't always be perfect and use the effort to learn, grow and adapt.
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." --Thomas A. Edison
If you prolong the planning stage in search of "that perfect ending" or "that perfect feature" you won't be progressing on to new levels of success. And if only you're willing to let go, you may realize just how close you are to success! Parents, doesn't this sound familiar (perhaps when your child moves away for the first time)?
Tough Questions
It should be noted that not all initiatives should utilize the "Ready? Go! Tweak." technique. I wouldn't say that a car company could "tweak" their faulty brakes after it's been released to the public. Nor would you want to experiment in an already established and competitive market.
So ask yourself:
In your business, project or venture, is it possible to begin after the minimum amount of planning? What are the negative effects of doing so? Will you be slingshot into the lead if you use the "Ready? Go! Tweak." and "Spot Planning" techniques? Are you able to afford making mistakes or deferring decisions until after the launch date? Are you working with a smaller, more adaptable team?
If you're in a position to launch with the minimal amount of planning and are willing to tinker along the way, you just might find yourself in first place when all is said and done. Can you do it?
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
or even Ashley Olsen
Get Your Girl Fashionista a Pair of Harley Davidson Boots
Media has played a great role in influencing people on the way they dress, the food they eat and such other activities. It is there not surprising therefore that when little girls see their favorite teen idols sporting girls cowboy boots,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots, they would also want to do the same. Who would not want to be as funky or as chic and stylish as Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, or even Ashley Olsen? They got girl fashionista written all over them. For a pair of footwear almost always associated with bikers who are basically rough and tough, Harley Davidson Boots have come up with designs that would also cater to women. They knew that wearing girls cowboy boots gives a certain kind of edgy look that women love and they have conceptualized more styles especially now that young ladies love to mix and match their apparel to come up with unconventional styles and yet very chic at the same time. As parents, you can also support your girl's need to be just like their idols by getting them a pair of Harley Davidson boots. You would know that you are getting your money's worth not just because you know the quality of the product but also from the look your little girl will have once they see the pair you bought for them. This will also slowly help your little girl develop her own sense of style and you can encourage her creativity as she dons her girls cowboy boots with whatever she has in her closet.
Media has played a great role in influencing people on the way they dress, the food they eat and such other activities. It is there not surprising therefore that when little girls see their favorite teen idols sporting girls cowboy boots,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots, they would also want to do the same. Who would not want to be as funky or as chic and stylish as Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, or even Ashley Olsen? They got girl fashionista written all over them. For a pair of footwear almost always associated with bikers who are basically rough and tough, Harley Davidson Boots have come up with designs that would also cater to women. They knew that wearing girls cowboy boots gives a certain kind of edgy look that women love and they have conceptualized more styles especially now that young ladies love to mix and match their apparel to come up with unconventional styles and yet very chic at the same time. As parents, you can also support your girl's need to be just like their idols by getting them a pair of Harley Davidson boots. You would know that you are getting your money's worth not just because you know the quality of the product but also from the look your little girl will have once they see the pair you bought for them. This will also slowly help your little girl develop her own sense of style and you can encourage her creativity as she dons her girls cowboy boots with whatever she has in her closet.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Forging
Heat Resistant Boots For Hard Working People in Steel, Forging, Foundry and Welding Industries
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Safety Footwear Shoes are signified to protect your feet and can be cosmetic as well. Safety is of dominating grandness to everybody in every operational environments. Protecting shoes in domain similar industries, construction spots, hospitals and eateries are the optimum in the form of HyTest boots. HyTest boots would help prevent fatigue, soreness and back painfulnesses. For those who want eventual auspices, individuals who function really tough,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots, HyTest boots has these heavy eccentrics of industrial boots which provide aegis even on electrical insidious areas. They are long-lasting,straps and buckles on some models. Even at its most simple, heat impervious, not easily severed and have metatarsal safety devices. Hard Industrial Boots protects against shock and compaction spots. These HyTest boots are equipped with steel toes which may look to hurt your toes but will exclusively protect them from harms and you will not even sense them when you wear the shoes. These shoes fitted with steel toes may besides look to be hefty but in truthful fact, they are very resilient and projected in a fashionable way to maintain you in fashion. If the incorrect size of shoe is assumed, these shoes will emphatically injury your toes thence build particular you wear the correct size to watch maximum solace and safety,motorcycle. There are likewise puncture immune HyTest boots holding in a midsole that aids in editing opportunities of punctures which may be caused by stepping on sharpened objects which proceed through to your feet. They are contrived with resilient steel which is placed immediately Under your feet to assist in the auspices. These shoes are often expended in building spots and upkeep surroundings and they conform to the APMA measures. Electrical risk HyTest boots footwear has been designed to protect employees who exercise in expanses with open circuits in dry conditions. This electrical stake footwear is specially built for individuals who function in sustenance and handling environment and they also fulfil the APMA standards.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Rubber boots with rubber soles are one of the most sought after fashion items for 2010
Are Rain Boots Back In Style,we all know how necessary helmets are. Similarly?
Rubber boots with rubber soles are one of the most sought after fashion items for 2010? You may have already found a pair that you love. Finding a pair is easy. Finding the right outfit to wear with them is the difficult part.Fashion savvy stylists have been dressing their celebrity clients in funky looks using rain boots from Adi for a couple of seasons. This trend has finally caught on in the general public. The style is new and innovative,does this sound familiar,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots.If you are looking to create the right look to wear with your new winter shoes, you need to know what other great items there are to complete a look,such simple ideas. Yet after contemplation one easily recognizes. Cadet hats by Adi, zebra leggings and military style jackets are just a handful of the wonderful options that are in store for you for 2010.The best thing about rain boots is that they are built to last. Unlike many other boots, these will protect your feet from moisture on days that the snow is melting and turning into huge puddles in parking lots. You will not need to avoid the puddles. You will be able to wade through the water with confidence.There are a few styles that can be created for a casual day look using rain boots. If you find rain boots in a floral print style they will look fabulous paired with a pair of leggings in a neutral tone with a sweater dress. The sweater dress will look best if it matches one of the colors used in the floral print of the boots by Adi.
Rubber boots with rubber soles are one of the most sought after fashion items for 2010? You may have already found a pair that you love. Finding a pair is easy. Finding the right outfit to wear with them is the difficult part.Fashion savvy stylists have been dressing their celebrity clients in funky looks using rain boots from Adi for a couple of seasons. This trend has finally caught on in the general public. The style is new and innovative,does this sound familiar,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots.If you are looking to create the right look to wear with your new winter shoes, you need to know what other great items there are to complete a look,such simple ideas. Yet after contemplation one easily recognizes. Cadet hats by Adi, zebra leggings and military style jackets are just a handful of the wonderful options that are in store for you for 2010.The best thing about rain boots is that they are built to last. Unlike many other boots, these will protect your feet from moisture on days that the snow is melting and turning into huge puddles in parking lots. You will not need to avoid the puddles. You will be able to wade through the water with confidence.There are a few styles that can be created for a casual day look using rain boots. If you find rain boots in a floral print style they will look fabulous paired with a pair of leggings in a neutral tone with a sweater dress. The sweater dress will look best if it matches one of the colors used in the floral print of the boots by Adi.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Create a new habit that will help you achieve your goal.
Olympic Success: Secrets of a Three
How does someone who did not even take up the sport of luge until he was 21 become a Three-Time Olympian? As I tell thousands of people in my speeches, I'm not a big shot. I'm just a little shot that keeps on shooting. I'm proof that ordinary people can aspire to achieve extraordinary things if they will just follow a few simple steps.
Step 1: Choose a goal
What changes would you like to make in your life that excite you just by thinking about them,"I'm not sure? What would you love to do? Where do you want to be 10 years from now? What is your dream?
Ever since I was in the third grade I wanted to be an Olympic Athlete. I respected the Olympians because they were an example of what I believed in - they are willing to commit to a goal, willing to risk adversity in the pursuit of it, willing to fail and at the same time keep trying until they succeeded. But it was not until I was in college and saw Scott Hamilton compete in the Sarajevo games that I actually made the decision to train for the Olympics.
Just thinking about your goal is not enough. If you want to reach your goal, you need to make it real - write it down! Don't worry how you will make your dream come true at first. Magic happens when you put your goals down on paper. Writing it down is the first step in turning a dream you might achieve into a goal you will achieve.
When Tiger Woods was a young boy, he wrote down on a 3x5 card that he intended to break all of Jack Nicklaus' records. Tiger read his card every night. Jack Nicklaus agrees that Tiger in on track to make it happen.
Write your goals down on a 3x5 card. Write them in the present tense along with a completion date,So Below. On the other side of your card write at least three reasons why you will do it. The more reasons the more you increase your belief.
Read your card first thing in the morning EVERY DAY to stay focused on the objective. Then read your card EVERY NIGHT before turning out the lights so your subconscious mind can work all night on ways to make it happen.
Step 2: See yourself succeeding at your goal.
Several times a day close your eyes and for a couple of minutes vividly imagine what it's going to feel like when you achieve your goal. Really get into it. Feel it as if it were really happening right now! What's it going to look like? What's it going sound like? What's it going to feel like when you finally make your dream come true,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots?
Get excited! Your subconscious does not know the difference between imagining it and it really happening. By doing this, you become passionate about your desire, your belief becomes unshakeable and you become unstoppable.
Seeing yourself succeeding is an important step because imagining yourself succeeding will keep you from quitting when the going gets tough.
Step 3: Choose a quality that will help you reach your goal.
Have you ever looked at someone and wished you could be like them? Everyone has at one time or another. The good news is that if you notice a quality in someone else, you have some of that quality in yourself. You just need to develop it further. "It takes one to know one". Any quality you admire in someone else is a quality you have you just need to practice it!
So step number three in reaching your goal is to choose the main quality you think you will need to reach your goal. Is it Boldness? Creativity? Enthusiasm? Patience? Leadership?
In my case it was Perseverance. To get good at the luge, I knew I was going to have to endure many crashes and injuries and simply refuse to give up. So I made a decision to become perseverant. To never quit. Someone has said, "The main difference between a success and a failure is that the success tried one more time." I decided to persevere in trying one more time.
Step 4: Create a new habit that will help you achieve your goal.
Good habits usually don't just happen. You need to develop a specific plan for creating a new habit. It's simply a matter of choosing an action that helps develop your quality, deciding when to practice that habit, knowing that you are going to have to repeat it many times and then give yourself a reminder.
Since perseverance was the most important quality I needed to have to reach my goal, I needed to find ways to develop my perseverance. I had to get good at "not quitting". So I decided to become an expert on perseverance. I read books about people who had faced great challenges and refused to give up. I got inspired that if they could I could!
You can do it. No matter what your dream is, you can make it happen if you follow these four simple steps: 1) Choose a goal, 2) see yourself succeeding, 3) choose a quality, and 4) create a habit to develop your quality. Commit to these four steps.
The difference between people is there are those who are interested and there are those who are committed. A key to success in life is going from being just interested to being fully committed. Once you are committed you will produce results. At the point of commitment, you mentally "burn all the bridges" and you do whatever it takes to make it happen. THAT'S when you become unstoppable,Just let them be!
Commit to these four steps and you too will achieve more than ever before.
How does someone who did not even take up the sport of luge until he was 21 become a Three-Time Olympian? As I tell thousands of people in my speeches, I'm not a big shot. I'm just a little shot that keeps on shooting. I'm proof that ordinary people can aspire to achieve extraordinary things if they will just follow a few simple steps.
Step 1: Choose a goal
What changes would you like to make in your life that excite you just by thinking about them,"I'm not sure? What would you love to do? Where do you want to be 10 years from now? What is your dream?
Ever since I was in the third grade I wanted to be an Olympic Athlete. I respected the Olympians because they were an example of what I believed in - they are willing to commit to a goal, willing to risk adversity in the pursuit of it, willing to fail and at the same time keep trying until they succeeded. But it was not until I was in college and saw Scott Hamilton compete in the Sarajevo games that I actually made the decision to train for the Olympics.
Just thinking about your goal is not enough. If you want to reach your goal, you need to make it real - write it down! Don't worry how you will make your dream come true at first. Magic happens when you put your goals down on paper. Writing it down is the first step in turning a dream you might achieve into a goal you will achieve.
When Tiger Woods was a young boy, he wrote down on a 3x5 card that he intended to break all of Jack Nicklaus' records. Tiger read his card every night. Jack Nicklaus agrees that Tiger in on track to make it happen.
Write your goals down on a 3x5 card. Write them in the present tense along with a completion date,So Below. On the other side of your card write at least three reasons why you will do it. The more reasons the more you increase your belief.
Read your card first thing in the morning EVERY DAY to stay focused on the objective. Then read your card EVERY NIGHT before turning out the lights so your subconscious mind can work all night on ways to make it happen.
Step 2: See yourself succeeding at your goal.
Several times a day close your eyes and for a couple of minutes vividly imagine what it's going to feel like when you achieve your goal. Really get into it. Feel it as if it were really happening right now! What's it going to look like? What's it going sound like? What's it going to feel like when you finally make your dream come true,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots?
Get excited! Your subconscious does not know the difference between imagining it and it really happening. By doing this, you become passionate about your desire, your belief becomes unshakeable and you become unstoppable.
Seeing yourself succeeding is an important step because imagining yourself succeeding will keep you from quitting when the going gets tough.
Step 3: Choose a quality that will help you reach your goal.
Have you ever looked at someone and wished you could be like them? Everyone has at one time or another. The good news is that if you notice a quality in someone else, you have some of that quality in yourself. You just need to develop it further. "It takes one to know one". Any quality you admire in someone else is a quality you have you just need to practice it!
So step number three in reaching your goal is to choose the main quality you think you will need to reach your goal. Is it Boldness? Creativity? Enthusiasm? Patience? Leadership?
In my case it was Perseverance. To get good at the luge, I knew I was going to have to endure many crashes and injuries and simply refuse to give up. So I made a decision to become perseverant. To never quit. Someone has said, "The main difference between a success and a failure is that the success tried one more time." I decided to persevere in trying one more time.
Step 4: Create a new habit that will help you achieve your goal.
Good habits usually don't just happen. You need to develop a specific plan for creating a new habit. It's simply a matter of choosing an action that helps develop your quality, deciding when to practice that habit, knowing that you are going to have to repeat it many times and then give yourself a reminder.
Since perseverance was the most important quality I needed to have to reach my goal, I needed to find ways to develop my perseverance. I had to get good at "not quitting". So I decided to become an expert on perseverance. I read books about people who had faced great challenges and refused to give up. I got inspired that if they could I could!
You can do it. No matter what your dream is, you can make it happen if you follow these four simple steps: 1) Choose a goal, 2) see yourself succeeding, 3) choose a quality, and 4) create a habit to develop your quality. Commit to these four steps.
The difference between people is there are those who are interested and there are those who are committed. A key to success in life is going from being just interested to being fully committed. Once you are committed you will produce results. At the point of commitment, you mentally "burn all the bridges" and you do whatever it takes to make it happen. THAT'S when you become unstoppable,Just let them be!
Commit to these four steps and you too will achieve more than ever before.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
a stack of 3x5 index cards and a pen.
LifeHacking Your Grocery Shopping
"The cupboards are full and there's 'nothing' to eat". Has that phrase ever echoed through your kitchen? Do you have stacks of food items that don't really go together taking up space? Do you throw away food items in your refrigerator because you didn't get around to making the item you bought it for or just plain forgot about it? Do you have 3 jars of peanut butter or 5 bottles of ketchup because you forgot you already bought some? Have you ever made a special trip to the store to get the items for a specific meal only to get home and realize you missed a critical ingredient?
While these kinds of things are annoying, they're also wasteful of your grocery money (a big portion of most family budgets), your time and of the food itself.
Taking control of your grocery process can result in lower stress at mealtime,I was his patient. This man used to be a general practitioner, less wasted food and money,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots, more space in your cupboard, more variety in your eating and it all can be done with very little effort, starting with dinner tonight. We'll use the gap time during the cooking (waiting for water to boil, onions to sweat, etc.) instead of dedicated blocks of time to make the system easy to integrate into your busy schedule.
The reason that we often have lots of food, but nothing that goes together is that most of us buy our groceries either with an arbitrary list of things we usually get or worse, just wander the store, filling the cart with things that appeal to us. As a result, rather than buying to feed our families, we're buying to feed our imagination. When we start taking control of this impulse, our grocery bill will shrink, meals will be easy to prepare and you may actually find yourself enjoying cooking again.
What you'll need:
a stack of 3x5 index cards and a pen.
A box, rubber band, binder clip or some other way to keep your meal cards together.
Start by making a card for each meal you make. Name the meals the same way you refer to them in your house. So, for instance, we have a card labeled: "Spaghetti and Garlic Bread". In addition to the meal title, note down the time you start making the meal. Leave space next to it for another time to be written down. Write this "summary" information on one side of the card. I usually use the non-ruled side if there's a difference on your cards. We'll use the other side for our data.
On that card, we're not going to put the recipe. Instead, we're going to list the actual physical grocery items we open and use while making it. So, in this case, we'd write down the half a box of dried pasta, the jar of sauce, the half a loaf of french bread and the butter. Dried spices, etc. that are always on hand (like garlic powder) are assumed. If a recipe is needed, note down which book, website or other reference contains the recipe and where it's typically stored. Write this information on the other side of the card (the data side). However, any rare, seasonal or expensive ingredients should be noted specifically on the front. This will help you avoid making a meal that requires fresh corn on the cob in January when there's either none around or it's 4 times too expensive.
Anything you take out of the refrigerator, freezer, a box, a jar, a can, etc. goes on the card. Write down not the amount that goes into the pot or the recipe, but how much you will use or waste. Note down brand names, preferences for flavors, etc. It will help down the road to know that a particular brand of pasta sauce makes you want to gag when you're staring at the aisle full of jars. Also note down for which times of day this meal is "acceptable" in your house. I make this distinction because I grew up in a household where pancakes (American buttermilk flapjacks) were a fairly normal evening meal. My wife considers them only valid for breakfast. Write this on the data side.
When the food is ready to be eaten (not necessarily when you actually eat), note that time down next to the start time,speaking your truth. The difference between them is the real preparation time for your family. I don't care if the recipe book says "30 minutes", if it takes an hour from going into the kitchen to being able to eat, that's the time that matters. This preparation time number can help you avoid meals that take longer than you tend to think they do and may reveal some suprisingly quick meals that you don't consider often enough in the midst of a time crunch. Write these time bits on the summary side.
When the meal is over, if there are leftovers, note that on the card, along with how many servings and their typical purpose are left. For instance, if the spaghetti meal results in lunch for one of the parents, write that down. When you make this in the future, you can either plan for this outcome or eliminate it by adjusting the amounts.
Then, file the card. For the extra geeky among us, the contents can also be entered into the computer using database software or something like WikidPad. However, an entirely card-based setup will work fine. Do this recording of meals for a few weeks and otherwise go about your normal routine. If you need groceries before you are ready for the next stage, just do it the way you normally would and don't worry about it.
When you reach a point where you're not creating a card for most of your meals because you already have one, it's time to move on to the next phase. By doing the recording of meals as they happen, you avoid the typical problems with a system like this. Instead of taking an entire evening trying to "organize our kitchen", we're just noting a few things down while making dinner for a few weeks. The work is minimal at each meal and is spread out over time.
What you essentially have is a menu of choices for the meals your family eats,but it isn't acceptable. With hours to study the child. From this deck of cards, plan out your next week's meals. In our house, we eat dinner together Sun-Fri, go out to eat for dinner on Sat, eat breakfast and lunch at home on the weekends and that's our "home" list. Our weekday breakfasts and lunches are taken care of at work. Your list will likely be different. All that matters is that you end up with a count: 6 dinners, 2 lunches and 2 breakfasts. Consider snacks as well, given that we will be restricting the shopping to our list of meals.
Take your meal cards and pull out meals to fill each slot. This smaller stack of cards is your meal plan for the week (or 2 weeks or month as the case may be). File the rest away for next time. Grab an empty card to serve as your grocery list.
Take your meal plan and go through your kitchen and food storage to see if you already have the items. For those you don't, write the item on your grocery list.
When in the grocery store, only buy the items on your list. Nothing else. Bring the groceries home, unpack and file the receipt with your cards. Keep the current cards out (a good place is the side of the refrigerator) as a reference for what meals are available for the week. This can let you and your family shuffle a bit on the fly. When it's time to make a meal, pull out the receipt and mark down the actual cost of the grocery items already on the card. Total them up and divide by the number of people who eat it. This gives you a total meal cost and a per person cost regardless of what the serving sizes are on any packaging. Write both numbers down near the title. If you're also concerned with nutritional information like calories, fat grams, carb grams, etc. include this as well. Write this information on the summary side.
Once a meal has been made, return its card to the main stack.
You've now completed a full cycle. From here on out, any meal that hasn't made it to this point goes through the process described above. This works for new recipes from cookbooks, TV shows, etc. Once a meal has gone through the complete process, you have a card that has a quick name, preparation time, cost per person information and possibly nutrition information on one side and detailed shopping list information on the other.
After a few cycles, you should have removed any extra, stored food from your cupboards and freezer and anything that hasn't been used is unlikely to get used and should be given away (support your local foodshelf) or a meal planned that specifically uses it.
If you want to extend the system, making up cards that have defined week-long meal lists or bundles of cards in week-long groups will let you just grab an entire plan for the week with absolutely no effort. Add a copy of the grocery list for that bundle and you can go to the grocery store at a moment's notice. These further enhancements result in an eventual system that's nearly maintenance free in the long run. Only new recipes or variations on your normal routine require any new work.
"The cupboards are full and there's 'nothing' to eat". Has that phrase ever echoed through your kitchen? Do you have stacks of food items that don't really go together taking up space? Do you throw away food items in your refrigerator because you didn't get around to making the item you bought it for or just plain forgot about it? Do you have 3 jars of peanut butter or 5 bottles of ketchup because you forgot you already bought some? Have you ever made a special trip to the store to get the items for a specific meal only to get home and realize you missed a critical ingredient?
While these kinds of things are annoying, they're also wasteful of your grocery money (a big portion of most family budgets), your time and of the food itself.
Taking control of your grocery process can result in lower stress at mealtime,I was his patient. This man used to be a general practitioner, less wasted food and money,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots, more space in your cupboard, more variety in your eating and it all can be done with very little effort, starting with dinner tonight. We'll use the gap time during the cooking (waiting for water to boil, onions to sweat, etc.) instead of dedicated blocks of time to make the system easy to integrate into your busy schedule.
The reason that we often have lots of food, but nothing that goes together is that most of us buy our groceries either with an arbitrary list of things we usually get or worse, just wander the store, filling the cart with things that appeal to us. As a result, rather than buying to feed our families, we're buying to feed our imagination. When we start taking control of this impulse, our grocery bill will shrink, meals will be easy to prepare and you may actually find yourself enjoying cooking again.
What you'll need:
a stack of 3x5 index cards and a pen.
A box, rubber band, binder clip or some other way to keep your meal cards together.
Start by making a card for each meal you make. Name the meals the same way you refer to them in your house. So, for instance, we have a card labeled: "Spaghetti and Garlic Bread". In addition to the meal title, note down the time you start making the meal. Leave space next to it for another time to be written down. Write this "summary" information on one side of the card. I usually use the non-ruled side if there's a difference on your cards. We'll use the other side for our data.
On that card, we're not going to put the recipe. Instead, we're going to list the actual physical grocery items we open and use while making it. So, in this case, we'd write down the half a box of dried pasta, the jar of sauce, the half a loaf of french bread and the butter. Dried spices, etc. that are always on hand (like garlic powder) are assumed. If a recipe is needed, note down which book, website or other reference contains the recipe and where it's typically stored. Write this information on the other side of the card (the data side). However, any rare, seasonal or expensive ingredients should be noted specifically on the front. This will help you avoid making a meal that requires fresh corn on the cob in January when there's either none around or it's 4 times too expensive.
Anything you take out of the refrigerator, freezer, a box, a jar, a can, etc. goes on the card. Write down not the amount that goes into the pot or the recipe, but how much you will use or waste. Note down brand names, preferences for flavors, etc. It will help down the road to know that a particular brand of pasta sauce makes you want to gag when you're staring at the aisle full of jars. Also note down for which times of day this meal is "acceptable" in your house. I make this distinction because I grew up in a household where pancakes (American buttermilk flapjacks) were a fairly normal evening meal. My wife considers them only valid for breakfast. Write this on the data side.
When the food is ready to be eaten (not necessarily when you actually eat), note that time down next to the start time,speaking your truth. The difference between them is the real preparation time for your family. I don't care if the recipe book says "30 minutes", if it takes an hour from going into the kitchen to being able to eat, that's the time that matters. This preparation time number can help you avoid meals that take longer than you tend to think they do and may reveal some suprisingly quick meals that you don't consider often enough in the midst of a time crunch. Write these time bits on the summary side.
When the meal is over, if there are leftovers, note that on the card, along with how many servings and their typical purpose are left. For instance, if the spaghetti meal results in lunch for one of the parents, write that down. When you make this in the future, you can either plan for this outcome or eliminate it by adjusting the amounts.
Then, file the card. For the extra geeky among us, the contents can also be entered into the computer using database software or something like WikidPad. However, an entirely card-based setup will work fine. Do this recording of meals for a few weeks and otherwise go about your normal routine. If you need groceries before you are ready for the next stage, just do it the way you normally would and don't worry about it.
When you reach a point where you're not creating a card for most of your meals because you already have one, it's time to move on to the next phase. By doing the recording of meals as they happen, you avoid the typical problems with a system like this. Instead of taking an entire evening trying to "organize our kitchen", we're just noting a few things down while making dinner for a few weeks. The work is minimal at each meal and is spread out over time.
What you essentially have is a menu of choices for the meals your family eats,but it isn't acceptable. With hours to study the child. From this deck of cards, plan out your next week's meals. In our house, we eat dinner together Sun-Fri, go out to eat for dinner on Sat, eat breakfast and lunch at home on the weekends and that's our "home" list. Our weekday breakfasts and lunches are taken care of at work. Your list will likely be different. All that matters is that you end up with a count: 6 dinners, 2 lunches and 2 breakfasts. Consider snacks as well, given that we will be restricting the shopping to our list of meals.
Take your meal cards and pull out meals to fill each slot. This smaller stack of cards is your meal plan for the week (or 2 weeks or month as the case may be). File the rest away for next time. Grab an empty card to serve as your grocery list.
Take your meal plan and go through your kitchen and food storage to see if you already have the items. For those you don't, write the item on your grocery list.
When in the grocery store, only buy the items on your list. Nothing else. Bring the groceries home, unpack and file the receipt with your cards. Keep the current cards out (a good place is the side of the refrigerator) as a reference for what meals are available for the week. This can let you and your family shuffle a bit on the fly. When it's time to make a meal, pull out the receipt and mark down the actual cost of the grocery items already on the card. Total them up and divide by the number of people who eat it. This gives you a total meal cost and a per person cost regardless of what the serving sizes are on any packaging. Write both numbers down near the title. If you're also concerned with nutritional information like calories, fat grams, carb grams, etc. include this as well. Write this information on the summary side.
Once a meal has been made, return its card to the main stack.
You've now completed a full cycle. From here on out, any meal that hasn't made it to this point goes through the process described above. This works for new recipes from cookbooks, TV shows, etc. Once a meal has gone through the complete process, you have a card that has a quick name, preparation time, cost per person information and possibly nutrition information on one side and detailed shopping list information on the other.
After a few cycles, you should have removed any extra, stored food from your cupboards and freezer and anything that hasn't been used is unlikely to get used and should be given away (support your local foodshelf) or a meal planned that specifically uses it.
If you want to extend the system, making up cards that have defined week-long meal lists or bundles of cards in week-long groups will let you just grab an entire plan for the week with absolutely no effort. Add a copy of the grocery list for that bundle and you can go to the grocery store at a moment's notice. These further enhancements result in an eventual system that's nearly maintenance free in the long run. Only new recipes or variations on your normal routine require any new work.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Hiking in the Forest Knowing When to Slow Down
Hiking in the Forest Knowing When to Slow Down
One morning in mid summer, I headed out for some time to myself on the trails of Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska,Why not schedule an appointment with yourself and write it on your calendar. When the time comes. As usual,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots, I stopped in at the Visitor Center to pay the entrance fee, then got back in my car and drove a couple miles down a long and winding road to the quieter back entrance.
It was a typical warm and humid summer day in Nebraska. Starting out on the lush green trail, I was already uncomfortably warm. The bugs were everywhere: mosquitoes, gnats, flies, bees, you name it. I followed the stream trail, which made its way through four-foot high grass. I tried to enjoy the setting but had to constantly fan away the bugs in front of my face. I grew increasingly frustrated.
Eventually becoming exasperated with the bugs, I stopped dead in my tracks and waved my arms all around while turning around in a circle. I accentuated my attack on the insects with a slight growl to alleviate my anger. Just then the whole world moved and went tearing around me. After my initial shock, I saw what I had missed the moment before.
It seems that a deer had been nestled in the tall grass just one foot, (one foot!) from where I stood. I missed it because of my preoccupation with the insects which I believed were bent on ruining my morning. When I started making such a fit, the deer was forced to abandon its spot. It leaped in the air right before my eyes, literally, and dashed off for better cover,you experience the result of his persistence in the face of continuous failure..
It was too late. I missed it. Now I was attentive and ready to see what was around me, but the sight that might have been seen was gone. It killed me to know that I missed the enjoyment of being so close to wildlife! Immediately I wondered what else I was missing, and not just there on the trail,all that is good within oneself. Begin and end the day with spiritually caring for yourself.. I wondered how the bothersome bugs of my life kept me from noticing really important stuff. This has become a life lesson that Ive remembered often. Its affected my visits with my Grandma, the time alone with my husband, and get-togethers with friends. Its affected my to do lists. My motto is If I dont do it, will anybody notice? If it doesnt add value, I simply cross it off my list. Ive learned from my mistake.
One day this summer while visiting Colorado, my husband and I sat quietly on the bank of a pond and watched swallows dance in the air to catch flying prey. I was amazed at the sharp changes of directions they could make in mid-air. After I sat there for quite some time wearing my bright green hiking hat, an equally green hummingbird flew up to within two inches (two inches!) of my eyes, gave me a look over, and flew away. He was gone, having paused only for one full second, but this time I didnt miss it. I remember exactly what that hummingbird looked like.
One morning in mid summer, I headed out for some time to myself on the trails of Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska,Why not schedule an appointment with yourself and write it on your calendar. When the time comes. As usual,5879 Ugg Classic Cardy Sand Boots, I stopped in at the Visitor Center to pay the entrance fee, then got back in my car and drove a couple miles down a long and winding road to the quieter back entrance.
It was a typical warm and humid summer day in Nebraska. Starting out on the lush green trail, I was already uncomfortably warm. The bugs were everywhere: mosquitoes, gnats, flies, bees, you name it. I followed the stream trail, which made its way through four-foot high grass. I tried to enjoy the setting but had to constantly fan away the bugs in front of my face. I grew increasingly frustrated.
Eventually becoming exasperated with the bugs, I stopped dead in my tracks and waved my arms all around while turning around in a circle. I accentuated my attack on the insects with a slight growl to alleviate my anger. Just then the whole world moved and went tearing around me. After my initial shock, I saw what I had missed the moment before.
It seems that a deer had been nestled in the tall grass just one foot, (one foot!) from where I stood. I missed it because of my preoccupation with the insects which I believed were bent on ruining my morning. When I started making such a fit, the deer was forced to abandon its spot. It leaped in the air right before my eyes, literally, and dashed off for better cover,you experience the result of his persistence in the face of continuous failure..
It was too late. I missed it. Now I was attentive and ready to see what was around me, but the sight that might have been seen was gone. It killed me to know that I missed the enjoyment of being so close to wildlife! Immediately I wondered what else I was missing, and not just there on the trail,all that is good within oneself. Begin and end the day with spiritually caring for yourself.. I wondered how the bothersome bugs of my life kept me from noticing really important stuff. This has become a life lesson that Ive remembered often. Its affected my visits with my Grandma, the time alone with my husband, and get-togethers with friends. Its affected my to do lists. My motto is If I dont do it, will anybody notice? If it doesnt add value, I simply cross it off my list. Ive learned from my mistake.
One day this summer while visiting Colorado, my husband and I sat quietly on the bank of a pond and watched swallows dance in the air to catch flying prey. I was amazed at the sharp changes of directions they could make in mid-air. After I sat there for quite some time wearing my bright green hiking hat, an equally green hummingbird flew up to within two inches (two inches!) of my eyes, gave me a look over, and flew away. He was gone, having paused only for one full second, but this time I didnt miss it. I remember exactly what that hummingbird looked like.
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