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Should You Sacrifice Quality for Time?
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All my life I've held onto the 50's ideal of the perfect television family. Any problem solved in 20 minutes, everybody at dinner, sitting around the table sharing their lives, the mom's job to keep the home neat, tidy and orderly, laundry, ironing -- even just writing this makes me want to choke! Ha!
As I grew up, I learned that television is fantasy and shared family responsibilities are the way to go. But one thing I have held onto until recently: I am a diehard "cook from scratch" person. I love reading recipes the way other people read novels.
It is fun to try new menus and recipes. Baking (yes making cakes from scratch!) is my favorite but it is gratifying and fun to figure out a meal and then hunt for the recipes and do all the prep.
However, despite my love of scratch cooking, these days I can't allocate the time that it takes and to be quite candid, most of my friends think I'm a freak for even wanting to cook anything from scratch.
It was hard at first, giving up most scratch cooking and especially now that I have a boyfriend; I actually want to whip up all sorts of recipes for him. But his palate is limited and honestly, I work so much there isn't always time to search for new recipes, much less stand around in the kitchen all day making the perfect sauce.
So what's a person to do? How can one satisfy the desire to scratch cook with so little time?
Enter Trader Joe's (TJ's)! I'm a TJ's shopper (no this is not a paid endorsement!) I love nearly any store that is small; like small town mom & pop type establishments. Yes, big stores have more, but I personally do not like them -- to me they feel impersonal and I don't know about you, but I spend way too much time wandering around and spend far more money than I intended when I go into those big box stores.
When you go into a small store like TJ's, you can get in and out fairly quickly; a great time saver. You learn the aisles and the products so list shopping is a snap (more time saved)! And at TJ's in particular, no matter when you go in, there always seems to be more staff than the small store needs; friendly and helpful.
I have friends who say they've tried TJ's and can't find anything decent to buy. For me, the opposite is true. If you're not tied to specific brands, you can find just about anything you want.
And as far as satisfying my urge to cook from scratch, TJ's is a lifesaver. Because their products are fast and delicious, I can whip up a dinner in less than 30 minutes and it still tastes like it took all day. How convenient is that?
I don't know if this is an age thing or if it's societal, but it seems like we are busier and busier every year. Finding ways to save time and not sacrifice the quality of our lives is of paramount importance. For me that includes cooking and providing those I love with dishes that come from my heart. TJ's helps me do that and it might you too!
Oh, and shhh, don't tell anybody, but I still love to do laundry and yes, wait for it...... ironing!
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Great Buys at Trader Joes!
Here are my favorite 'go to' items from Trader Joe's:
--Wild caught fish and grass fed beef (and at </= $ per pound than anywhere else I shop)
--Frozen mashed potatoes that are ONLY potatoes (no preservatives) -- they come in these little disks so you can make as much or as little as you want
--Basmati rice -- 4 minutes in the microwave and it comes out light and fluffy and perfectly done
--Habanero Mac & Cheese (an occasional treat!)
--Lightly breaded fish sticks (I know I'm not a 5 yr old, but I love these!)
--Frozen organic corn, green beans and other fruits and vegetables
--Imported from Italy parmesan cheese
--Olive oils, all sizes and flavors
--Non-stick spray in Coconut oil
--Peanut butter filled pretzels
--Chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches (I personally don't like these no matter where they come from, but the boyfriend loves them and he says they are better than any other brand)
That's just a few of the items we always buy. Try out TJ's. Find out how you too can save time and still cook a great dinner at home!
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When Technology Doesn't Save Time
Most of us believe technology saves time and for the most part it does. I even offer a software program that actually does save time (we've proven it over and over).
But when does technology NOT save time? How about washing machines? I am old enough to remember wringer washers and actually helped my great aunt use one when I was a kid. They were a lot of work and were also the cause of more than a few injuries when people got their arm caught in the wringer.
Most people would agree that the newer models of washing machines have made laundry so much easier. But what if I were to tell you that because newer washing machines clean so much better, it has raised our expectations as to the cleanliness of our clothing and that we now, as a society, wash our clothes more often than ever before?
Even I can remember hanging clothes back up to wear again. These days I wear something once and into the laundry it goes even if I only wore it for an hour or two.
That's not a time saver. That's a time suck.
What about email? In the old days we had to write a letter and send it, then wait for a reply. Or we had to make a phone call and hope we caught someone in their office. Voicemail didn't even exist in the beginning.
It could take a day or a week or more before we heard back. But today, nearly all correspondence is immediate. Email, texting, social media... the technology is amazing and many of us think we save a ton of time with its 'instant' reach.
And yet, how many of you find you are spending an exorbitant amount of time managing your email versus writing a letter? Reading, responding, deleting, cataloging... An average day of email for me totals about 300. If I am away from the office and it piles up... goodness, it can take a lot of time.
And lastly, what about paying for your groceries or anything else for that matter? We used to write a check or pay with (egad!) cash. Quick, easy, painless. Today most of us use plastic and for a while the little payment swipe terminals too were fairly quick and easy.
Now we have the chip. And the chip terminals take FOREVER. I mean we are literally standing for several minutes waiting for it to process. I understand the chip is supposed to be safer but why does the terminal technology take so long? It should be faster, right?
These are just a few examples of the way technology has changed our lives. We accept it because as a society we evolve. Our expectations change and we accept the minor inconveniences in the interest of newer, better, and faster. We want cleaner, riper, unblemished, perfect everything.
And all that is ok. Just be careful you pay attention to what matters and you don't sacrifice quality for time.
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August 15th is Relaxation Day
Yay, A day just for me! Today is Relaxation Day! Here are the top 10 things to do to help you relax:
- Do nothing today
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Go to a Spa
- Go fishing
- Play a round of golf (caution: not always relaxing)
- Lounge around in a hammock
- Take a bubble bath
- Spend the day at the beach
- Go to the movies
- Do a little gardening (no heavy duty work, though)
- Have a picnic in the park
What is fun for you? How do you relax? Email and tell me, I really want to know!
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Live with Leslie
If you want to save some time and want mentoring or coaching then plan to participate in our weekly Facebook Live broadcast, now called Live with Leslie every Wednesday at 3pm PST
Topics vary from week to week and the goal is to give you real world hints, tips and situations that you can use immediately to improve or enhance your business skills. Our information will also help increase your chances of winning new business and ideally, get you further down the road toward the success of your dreams.
Tomorrow's topic is, Creating a Business People Want How do you know what type of business to create? Or the best services or products to offer? How can you give yourself an edge to success? Join us tomorrow!
These and other topics will be covered this week in Live with Leslie. << Join us!
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Zig Ziglar is quoted as saying "People often complain about lack of time when lack of direction is really the problem".
In this fast paced, technology-driven world, it can be challenging to accomplish all we set
our mind out to do. But if we take the time to define A. that which is important to us and B. alternative ways to have (or do) the things we want, then we should ideally be able set priorities and a direction for ourselves so we can have it all.
When it comes to cooking, I found a way to satisfy my need to nurture through food by providing high quality, great tasting, little to no preservatives food that takes only minutes to prepare. This saves me time and helps me feel like that 50's ideal I often aspired to as a kid.
Technology too can help us save time and automate much of our daily 'to do' list, but use caution and evaluate carefully the pros and cons so that you don't find yourself a slave to redundant and/or recurring efforts required by the app or program.
And don't forget a great way to save time is to outsource tasks, errands and projects. Our society has evolved to the point where there is no stigma associated with outsourcing; in fact it is encouraged.
The key though is to find someone to help you that is quality driven, dependable and able to meet their commitments. When it comes to quality services, Executive Errands® is proud to say we run with the best. And we offer a diverse suite of services too, which makes it nice for our clients. No matter what they need, if it's legal and kind, we will do it.
Why don't you become a client too? That way, if you too like ironing, you will have the time to do it!
Until next time, take a look at all you do, find alternative time-saving ways to accomplish it and then, take a day and relax...
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Leslie Spoor
Executive Errands®
CL#944447
Leslie is a consultant, mentor and author helping small business owners around the globe. She is founder and CEO of two successful companies, Concierge Business Solutions® and Executive Errands®. In addition to her wide selection of training videos and webinars, documentation and forms, Leslie also is the creator of a data collections software system, Essential Elements™ and a Six DVD educational series, How to Start Your Own Business with Leslie Spoor, available on her website and at Amazon. To work with Leslie or for more information, please visit her website or contact her at Lspoor@executive-errands.com
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For a list of our most popular services, please see our brochure here:
Last year, after traveling to Cuba (another beautiful country!), I wrote a travel guide! To download our
American in Cuba e-book travel guide, please
click here.
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This documentation, including sample applications herein, is provided for informational purposes only, and Executive Errands® makes no warranties, either expressly or implied, as to this documentation or its efficacies. Information in this documentation, including any URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice. The entire risk of the use or the results of the use of this documentation remains with the user. This documentation is copyrighted by Spoor Enterprises Inc, DBA Executive Errands®, 2017.
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