Mis En Place

I read an article a while ago about this notion about Mis En Place

French for 'put in place'. 

It is the first thing they teach students in cooking school, 

and for some, the article said, 

it becomes a way of life.

The article completely piqued my curiosity

about Mis En Place

See an explanation of mis en place here.

I've been trying to apply this principle

to my life

To adopt it as a life style

Application Example:

Tonight I made my list of things to do

Like I try to do nearly every night

(Because I learned in my Learning How to Learn class on www.coursera.org

That the ideal time to make your list of things to do for the next day at night before you go to bed

because your brain will process how to get that list done while you sleep

And I'm all about letting my brain do the work whilst I sleep.)

I've learned over time that the first step to an effective list of things to do is

the list

And the second step is 

the organization and prioritization

of that list

And the third step is sort of a mis en place principle

of getting everything you need to accomplish that task

on that list

(For example, if you need to call the utility company

Your list says call the utility company

then next to it is the phone number

and next to that is the account number

Now everything you need to do that task is there

And in my experience

procrastination goes way down)

So tonight I made my list

Then prioritized my list

And organized my list

And added all of the things I needed to complete the tasts

And put my running clothes out

And laid out my outfit for tomorrow

My food for the week was made on Sunday

And the letter I need to give to my neighbor is by the door

And the book I will read in court is in my purse

And the thank you card I want to write is in the book

And when I get to work

My list of things to do is already there

Because I read one time that you should always end your work day by writing your list for the next day

Because the next day when you get to work, you don't waste time trying to remember what you needed to do

So, every once in a rare while

I get organized

And I just enjoy it
Because life gets messy
And it's nice to know that for a few moments
I had it together.