Mirror mirror on the wall…

Who saves the most time of all …..

As a true Yorkshire man value for money is part of our DNA. “Beer always tastes better when it’s free” ….however value rises exponentially when you combine low cost, with the return of the most precious commodity on the planet, time. So bear this in mind as I take you on a classic marginal gain journey with an astronomical  rate of return.

Showering and shaving are an essential part of the road warriors modus operandi. Always necessary and sometimes pleasurable, but often in hotel rooms you have to go through 2 distinctly separate processes to complete the inseparable duo. This , however, doesn’t have to be the case.

Let me start with the end in mind , as is the way of doing things for many entrepreneurs. The end is an annual time saving of an estimated 12 hours , for an investment of 1 English pound !!! And that is calculated based only on the time I spend in the hotel ( about 100 days a year minimum). In most hotel rooms they provide you with a shower , a sink, above which there is a mirror and if your lucky, or unlucky dependent on the size of your hangover, an additional scarry magnified mirror sometimes with a neon light attached (arghhhhh). So you would normally get into the shower , wash , and step out and then prepare the sink and shave……I did this for years.

There is a better way.

Preparation requires you to go to your local Poundland, B&M, 99p store and buy a portable mirror with a rubber sucker attached. Like mine , you may have to be a bit flexible on colour and abandon all thoughts of quality , but as long as you get a mirror, a sucker and light weight , your good to go. Actually, don’t buy one, buy a few as you’ll likely leave one in a room along the way.

Then when you next go to shower, take your razor and your chosen cream/foam/oil and new mirror.  Stick it to the shower wall with the sucker and you can complete all of your tasks in the same place, thus saving some time (I estimated about 7 minutes per shower and shave ).  If you really want to be productive I also condition my hair , leave it on while I shave, then wash the shaving foam and conditioner off whilst I clean my teeth (careful to wash your mouth out only after the foam and conditioner are long gone) this gives me an added saving of a few more free minutes, and ensures that I am in and out of the bathroom in the minimum time possible.

This is a great demonstration of the theory of aggregated marginal gain. A tiny change to your routine which, over the course of a year, saves you a significant amount of time. This is now guilt free time that YOU have made, for many different and more pleasurable activities ( without having to justify it to either your partner or your kids!!!!!) 8 average length films, 3 quality nights out , half a day in bed or any number of more pleasurable things than preparing to shave !!!!! In a recent hotel room in Hong Kong , the bathroom was so small I could have combined my shower, wash, shave and teeth with another “S” ……..!!!! (Thanks for the room reservation Mr EE ) however decorum forbade me to go that far !!!!!

You may think that this is merely the ramblings of a delusional , middle aged man…….but I can assure you that the pleasure of knowing that you have created time , free time , by the application of a simple principle makes the use of that time even more special ……as I highlighted at the outset ……Beer always tastes better when it’s free !!!.