Sweat the small stuff
Wed Aug 27, 23:21 | RandomLittle things add up. Pretty common sense, no?
In my organization- and productivity-based brain, I’ve found so many articles that stress this very fact, and I think it needs to be stressed a little more.
We all have these points at which we wave our hands – a five minute bus transfer, a $5.99 lunch – and forget it ever happened. Then, at the end of the month we’re stuck questioning “where did all that go?”
All that time, all those resources, all that money has been nickeled and dimed away… why is it so hard to realize the effect of a thousand small things and so easy to see one thousand-sized thing?
I was reading a “moving into your first apartment” article that said the author’s price point for home decor and home items was $75 – anything under that, and she’d buy it without a second thought. As shocking as this was for me, I realized I have my own point and should be no more shocked about hers than about my own.
For clothing, it’s $7.00. I will definitely think about a $7.99 item, but not about a $6.99 one. This often adds up quickly to a $37 trip to the Salvation Army.
For wait times, it’s 20 minutes. I’ll spend 20 minutes surfing or eating or sitting at the bus stop without batting an eye, and before I know it the day is over and I did nothing yet again.
For meals, it’s $5.99. Coincidentally, this is the cost of a sushi bento box at the skywalk connected to my work.
For cosmetics, the sky’s the limit. I pick brands and packaging (and therefore brushes and applicators) I like and never really look at the cost. I probably spend $30 on eyeliner and eyebrow liner every month.
I probably have to really start watching every little thing from now on. After all, there are only so many hours and dollars in a day.
Where are your points? Your seven minute fast food delays, your little things that add up to so much? Ask yourself honestly. It might surprise you.