Getting Tidy on the Subway
Ah, the NYC subway system. Best friend, worst enemy. Am I right? City Limits calculated that we spend 200 hours a year riding this wonderful collection of colorful and endlessly entertaining trains. According to my calculations, you could fold 40,000 shirts in that time. You could spend all of that time making 6,000 beds. Heck, you could be cleaning 4,000 toilets!
Now it's easy to spend subway-riding time zoning out and staring into space. And it's wonderful to be productive and read a book, scan the newspaper or listen to music. But wouldn't it be even better to spend a chunk of these hours getting tidy? To really maximize some of that time and get stuff done? Hell ya it would be! Here are some suggestion for you, straphanger.
1) Write a to-do list. What's a better time to map out your daily goals than your AM commute? Grab a pen and scrap paper and jot down the things that you are aiming to accomplish that day. If you're jammed into one of those horrifically packed subways cars (I hear ya, man), close your eyes and mentally create a list for yourself. Walk yourself through each task and think about the steps you will need to take to conquer it.
2) Clean out your pockets. This chunk of down time is perfect for going through your pockets and chucking the old receipts, candy wrappers or other worthless papers that make me shutter. Ball up the goods in a piece of paper or appoint a temporary garbage pocket and store them there until you get home and run directly to the trash. Donotpassgodonotcollect200dollars.
3) Delete worthless data on your phone. Go through your endless photos and delete some of the ones that are basically clones of the ones proceeding them (head...slightly...more...tilted...). Take a tour of that contact list and shorten it a bit. Be courageous and delete that person that you proclaimed you would never text again (you know who I'm talking about) three years ago.
4) Bring a chunk of papers from your paper to-do pile. Remember those paper clips that I spoke about? The subway is a great place to accomplish these sorts of tasks. You can finally fill out that application you've been avoiding or read that article that you ripped out of a magazine three months ago. Just make sure you have a pen.
5) Rev yourself up for the killer tidying sess' you're going to do when you get home. Give yourself a pep-talk. Think about sparkling bathroom floors, perfectly filed papers and closets containing only those things that you need. Then get off the subway, dash home and KILL IT!