Podcast 177: Do the "10-Minute Closer" to Help Make Orderly Transitions, What's Luxury for You, and the Challenge of Demanding Neighbors.

EPISODE NOTES

Try This at Home

Create transition at the end of each stage of your day by using a “ten-minute closer.” It gives us transitions in our day and also contributes to outer order.

Happiness Hack

Our listener Christine suggests that to make it easier to order shoes online, buy a foot-measuring device. Brilliant!

Here’s the link to a “Brannock Device.”

Here’s an example of a less substantial (and less expensive) version.

Note: these links are to the children’s version; you’d need a different version for men and women.

Know Yourself Better

In her memoir Plant Dreaming Deep, poet and memoirist May Sarton wrote, “If someone asked me what my idea of luxury is, I think my answer would be: flowers in the house all year round.”

What’s your idea of luxury?

If you’re curious about Elizabeth’s china pattern, you can see Juliska’s “Country Estate” pattern here (she has it in brown).

I also quote from Iris Apfel’s book, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon—Musings of a Geriatric Starlet.

Listener Question

As someone who works from home, Jill asks how she can stop feeling so resentful when her neighbors ask her to do favors during the day.

She refers to the Try This at Home “Don’t assign or accept homework” that we discussed in episode 164.

We also mention the problem of “shared work” as discussed in episode 28 and that I write about in one of my all-time favorite blog posts,”Resentful? Overworked? Face these painful facts about shared work.”

Gretchen’s Demerit: Our dog Barnaby just had his third birthday. This would have been a great opportunity to celebrate a minor holiday—what’s more fun than a dog’s birthday?—but I utterly forgot.

Elizabeth’s Gold Star: Elizabeth gives a gold star to her sister-in-law Olivia, who gave Elizabeth a Corkcicle stemless wine glass that she loves to use throughout her day—much better than a typical water bottle.