With No Showers Come Great Powers

I have just had my most productive weekend ever since we arrived on the island.

There is much hype about certain habits of "Highly Effective People." Today I will reveal the true remedy to a productive and balanced life:

Jex Life Principle #1: If you eliminate showers from your daily routine, you will significantly increase your productivity. Let me explain. On Friday, I got up early enough to exercise, went grocery shopping, cleaned the fridge and restocked it with said groceries, weeded two gardens, planted flowers and mulched them. All before the kids got home from school at 2:30. It required two trips to Hardware Hawaii and one trip to Ko'olau Farms. And Trevor didn't interrupt my momentum by falling asleep or getting cheeky at any point on any errand. Having accomplished so much boosted morale when faced with the chore of supervising science fair experiments in the afternoon. To top it off, I got an impromptu girls night. Productive AND balanced. And all in my dirty, sweaty glory.

Showering interrupts your biorhythms--once you're clean, you don't want to weed and mulch. Once you're clean, you are not willing to exercise. Some days, you just have to re-evaluate your priorities: exercise or shower? well-manicured yard or shower? actual meal for dinner or shower? This is how the French can get away with a 2-hour break for lunch and over 60 days vacation every year. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/27/60II/main704571.shtml They don't shower. So if you know someone who by all appearances lives an immaculate life, you know they aren't showering.

P.S. Implementing my new life principle today, I literally paused in my sweaty workout gear...and opted to shower rather than go to Walmart. Priorities.

Jex Life Principle #2: Following a lunar calendar will prolong your goal timetables.

We planned to spend Saturday enjoying the Chinese New Year festivities in downtown Honolulu. Instead, Jeff awoke with a strong desire to clean out the garage. Knowing that such moods do not often cross our doorstep, we ran with it. January is the month to get organized, after all. The garage has been on the to-do docket for weeks. It was a beautiful beach day, but we stuck with it and now have a garage to rival Martha Stewart. (Well, at least enough to make my husband more excited to come home from work now)

I had decided to boycott setting New Year's goals this year. Too much room for failure. What I didn't understand is that New Year's Resolutions needn't start until Chinese New Year near the end of January. They still count. So when I discovered this compelling drive to accomplish great things this weekend, I realized that either the key to properly setting ambitions is an ancient Chinese secret, or I was part Asian, following the proper lunar cycles. In any case, I met my deadline. Goal for January: Clean the garage, CHECK!