Harmony At Last, LLC

I saw a real cherry pitter in action yesterday. First time ever. Although one might not pair cherry pitting with laughter, this experience gave me a good chuckle.

You see, I’ve been pitting cherries by hand for several years. As soon as my then toddlers fell in love with cherries, I began the tedious process of pitting each one. This consisted of using a kitchen knife to cut out the pit before serving. Sometimes it felt like I would be pitting cherries for what seemed like forever because as each cherry was cut, one of my children would promptly eat it.

One would think that a cherry pitter would be the perfect solution to end my tedious task. Not so, I discovered. At my friends house, we were enjoying cherries for lunch and I began my typical pitting extravaganza. I stated my usual, “I really need a cherry pitter”, and my friend surprisingly had this nifty gadget.

This is where the amusing experience began. Cherry pitters are finicky little gadgets (at least the one that I saw in use). You have to perfectly set the cherry in this holder, line in up with the pitter part (which basically has a sharp point that pushing the pit out the other side of the cherry), and then squeeze the handle. The trick is to not mush the cherry or send the pit flying. We found it difficult to to master this trick and ended up with lots of flying pits, cherry juice splatter, and mushed cherries.

There’s a lesson in this story…

My simplistic method of pitting was actually faster and a lot less messy. So what is the purpose of keeping the cherry pitter (and other single-purpose gadgets) in the kitchen drawers? (Aside for the obvious of giving us a silly experience, of course.)

These gadgets take up space, have the potential to add to the cutter in kitchen, and are typically not used very frequently. If you’re finding that your kitchen drawer space is becoming cramped, these may be the first items to be let go.

If you’re having trouble deciding what items your really willing to let go, consider trying one of these exercises.

* Pretend your going to live on a boat. What do you really need to keep with you in order to prepare meals in a very tiny kitchen?
* Box all of your kitchen gadgets up. As you choose to use each item, take it out of the box and put it back in the drawer. How many items are still left in the box after a few months?

Are you ready to investigate in your kitchen drawers?

Constant work has really become the norm. Take for instance a recent flyer that I received as part of my Chamber of Commerce newsletter. This flyer was for a radio station encouraging businesses to advertise with them. One of the statements on it read, “65% of businesses play radio all day on the job and who only works 8 hours a day?”

Now, it’s okay to work, just as it’s okay to play. It’s striking the perfect balance for yourself that is important. If you’re always choosing to work, there are certainly other things that you’re choosing to do less of or not at all.

If you are finding that your life reflects the Sandra Boynton song “BusyBusyBusy” than maybe it’s time to think about some different choices. The song is actually one of my childrens’ favorites- probably because they can run around and dance like wild children when they listen to it! I’ve linked the sample of it from Sandra’s website here for your enjoyment. (The entire album is called “Philadelphia Chickens” and I highly recommend it. It’s available through Amazon. It’s great kid’s music that engages adults too.) The first few phrases go like this (punctuation just as it appears in the songbook)…

BusyBusyBusy

“WE’RE

very very busy

and we’ve got a lot to do

and we haven’t got a minute

to explain it all to you

for on SundayMondayTuesday

there are people we must see

and on WednesdayThursdayFriday

we’re as busy as can be

with or most important meetings

and our most important calls

and we have to do so many things

and post them on the walls.

THEN

we have to hurry to the south

and then we hurry north

and we’re talking evey minute

as we hurry back and forth

and we have to hurry to the east

and then we hurry west

and we’re talking eveyr minute

and we don’t have time to rest

and we have to do it faster

or it never will be done

and we have not time for listening

or anything that’s fun.”

I have noticed that too many people appear to be busy. Rushing around busy. Chaotic busy. To busy to take pause, breathe, love, and laugh. I found inspiration in the poem “Slow Dance” by David L. Weatherford and hope that you will too.

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask “How are you?”, do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
’cause you never had time to call and say hi?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
it’s like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life isn’t a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before your song is over.

I’m a gadget guy and over the years I have owned a number of electronic devices to help me keep track of my calendar, to-dos, contacts, etc. After a few months though I’d find myself using the device less and less. It was difficult to quickly jot down a note or phone number. I’d take out the device, reach for the stylus, turn it on, open the correct application, and then use some arcane handwriting recognition to jot down a simple phone number or to-do. This process sometimes took a minute or two.

Next I resorted to sticky notes, which quickly became a huge mental weight because they were posted all around my monitor and weren’t very portable. I then learned about the Hipster PDA from Merlin Mann’s 43 Folders blog. It’s a tongue and cheek approach, using a series of 3×5 cards, for time management. The idea intrigued me because it’s simple, portable, and inexpensive, but I didn’t like the idea of managing a stack of 3×5s. I then found the Moleskine Memo Pocket and everything fell into place. What I liked most about this solution was that it allowed me to organize my cards into different sections and fit into my back pocket. I can quickly take out a blank card, jot a note down, and put it into the pocket I set aside of new to-dos.

I’ve been using this system for 6 months now and have been very pleased with it. I get a lot of stares and comments from folks who see me use it in action. It’s rare for me to forget or lose track of anything now, and it’s very useful when I’m winding down for the evening, and need to jot down a quick reminder for the next day.

I do realize this solution may not be for everyone, but the point here is that what ever solution you use make sure it works for you consistently and most of all make it a reflection of you.