The 60 Second Efficiency Test

Stress. It is part of so much of our daily lives if we let it be. It is insidious and affects our health, our relationships and our outlook on life.

One of the silliest things that causes us stress is losing things, or being unable to find what we want in a timely manner. 

According to efficiency experts, to minimize this kind of stress, we should know how to find things within 60 seconds. Could you?

Try it as an exercise – see if you could locate your birth certificate, passport or wedding certificate in 60 seconds. You don’t need to run and risk a fall, you just need to know where to look. Are all your important documents in one place and well labeled? If you had to describe to someone where to find them, could you do so easily? Filing cabinets often become overfull and inefficient because they are never culled. Use coloured manila folders (red for the important things, orange for correspondence, green for photogrpahs etc) to create a user-friendly system.

If you are cooking, do you know where everything is, or might it be time to reorganize your pantry. It sounds a little pedantic, but arranging your herbs and spices in alphabetical order makes it extremely easy to find which ones you are looking for.

In your hot water cupboard, arrange sheets, towels and other items in logical piles (eg sheet sets together), so that it is easy to locate and use them.

In your garage, store like items together (paint supplies, sports equipment and garden tools) so that you can do a job efficiently.

In your wardrobe, group coats together for example, or hang summer items at one end and winter items at the other. It saves rifling through randomly and you will also have an opportunity to decide whether it’s time to give away or mend clothing! 

As winter approaches, we often have to spend more time indoors, so it is an ideal opportunity to start your efficiency project. Set aside a few hours and complete one task at a time. It is easy to start and not finish, so set a goal and make it happen. If your filing cabinet for example looks like a daunting project, organise the important documents one day, then move on to other categories another day.

Imagine being able to find whatever you need to in 60 seconds – wouldn’t that feel great?