Straight after high school and just before uni, I got a summer job at what was then widely regarded as the best restaurant in town. People would speak of it in hushed tones and operatic gasps, followed by a frantic wiping of their mouth area.
So when I scored a position there – having never actually BEEN to said restaurant (did I mention that it cost like a zillion dollars just to wipe your feet on the carpet?) – I was suitably excited. This job was my golden ticket!
Er…we interrupt this blog to remind you that I was 16. Everything was my golden ticket. That is all.
But yes, this job was it! Amazing! Life-changing! $5 an hour!
Wait, what?
That’s right! Five bucks a freaking hour. And it gave me blisters. And…da da da da! We weren’t allowed to keep our tips.
BUT…while this sucked buttocks at the time, I actually look back on that job as one of the best earners ever – sure, not in the currency of cash, but in terms of learning the basics of how to get the most out of even limited time? It made me wealthy.
Their philosophy, you see, revolved around this suitably cheesy sounding concept, of working smarter, not harder.
I remember the owner taking me aside in my first week of training, trudging me into the kitchen and showing me the dishwasher.
“Now,” he said, “it takes 3 minutes for the dishwasher to go through its cycle. And…” he turned to some dirty baskets of prawn shells, “it takes 2 minutes to clear this bench.”
He waited, looking at me with a twinkle in his eye reminiscent of the I’m about to tell a Dad joke variety.
“My question to you, Jenny, is how long would it take you to clear the bench AND put a load through the dishwasher?”
While I suspected this was kinda a trick question, he seemed so genuinely excited at the revelation instore, that I didn’t bother even thinking.
“You think five minutes, right? Two minutes here, three minutes there! But that’s where the magic comes in – would you believe that you can do the dishes, clear the bench AND have another minute up your sleeve to do whatever else needs doing, in a grand total of THREE MINUTES.”
Do you get now where he was going with this? I’m sure you do. I don’t want to insult your intelligence. But I don’t want to take you for granted either…hmmm, dilemmas!
Okay, consider this next part a little explanation chapter in a “choose your own adventure!’ book.
Here commenceth the Explanation Chapter
Task Breakdown: Clear the bench – 2 minutes Random task – 1 minute Dishwasher – 3 minutes (boop boop de-doop) TOTAL = 6 minutes by stacking the tasks back-to-back
Work Smarter Not Harder! Za za zing! 1. Start the dishwasher first – 3 mins to end 2. While it’s going, clear the bench – 2 mins to end 3. Use final minute to do other task. TOTAL = 3 minutes and you’ve done three things by using the time wisely.
Here endeth the optional chapter.
*** That lesson in particular has stayed with me to this very day. I’ll probably let it go sometime tonight, but really, to this very day: how to re-think tasks around the house, as well as my career oriented to-do list, so I can get the most out of even little snippets of time.
Yes, that lesson stayed with me.
And don’t even get me started on peeling prawns…
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