Small Steps Save Time

Last weekend I did something I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while but never gotten around to doing – I purged files. These weren’t just any files. These were old financial files that required shredding. I ended up with 18 pounds of paper to shred. Now I do have a shredder at home that I use for those endless credit card offers, but 18 pounds – not something I wanted to do on my own.

For $.75/pound I was able to outsource my shredding by taking it to my local UPS Store. My total cost was $13.50. It was wonderful – lots of completion chemistry. Not only did I have room to add new files because I had made space, I had free time to read and take a lovely nap. I don’t even want to think how long it would have taken me if I’d “saved money” and done the shredding myself. I might also have burned out my shredder.

This example is my favorite so far this week of taking a small step that saved time, frustration, and money (if I’d calculated my hourly rate and multiplied it by the time it would have taken to do my own shredding).

As one of my clients said this week, “My small steps have become my default!”