I'm famous in my family for having a poor long term memory. One time my wife asked how I felt about buying a new couch and I gave a classic avoidant husband reponse. A few weeks later she asked again I was totally enthusiastic. She would have been happier, but was flabbergasted by the changing winds and asked me why I had been so against it earlier. I told her I honestly couldn't really remember a good reason why and instead encouraged her to ask me the same question periodically until she gets the response she likes the most. In a funny sort of way, my poor long term memory works out okay for us because my wife has a poor short term memory. Yin and Yang, opposites attract and what not. 

On Easter I was in charge of hiding the Easter eggs. With my memory limitations, I imagined findings missed eggs for the foreseeable future. But then it dawned on me. An EZPZ solution to finding all those cleverly hidden eggs. Just take pictures on my phone as I hide each and voila! Instant treasure map.

So the next time you need to hide and later find something, take a picture on your phone to create an EZPZ treasure map. I'm sure there's app for that, too. Happy Easter!

Next post next Saturday, 6:30 a.m.

If you want to test or validate what you believe is your healthy marriage, take a trip to Ikea with your partner. Ikea is a veritable litmus test for the quality of a marriage. If you don't believe me, go on a busy weekend and drink in the ocean of couples bickering over the size, color, and price of bookshelves. The clever maze that ensures you are offered as many buying opportunities as possible has the unfortunate side effect of adding navigational anxiety to an already tense purchasing scenario. Add to this recipe disgruntled, tired and hungry young children and fireworks are sure to ignite in 3, 2, 1.

Please don't misunderstand, this is intended as an observation and not as a criticism. Recently, my biggest challenge with respect to Ikea is of a hauling variety. Namely, figuring out how to lift and move unwieldy packages that weigh close to 100 lbs without injuring myself. And sometimes how you fit the same packages in the smaller variety of family car I drive these days. As it turns out, the EZPZ solution to both of these problems is the same. Just open the box! Most individual pieces are not that heavy and separating things gives you more options when you have tight quarters. One word of caution, though. There is a risk that pieces may come tumbling out and get damaged or lost, so open with care.

If you survive the marital gauntlet and the hauling proves to be a bigger challenge, try this tip and impress your partner with your ingenuity. 

Next post next Saturday, 6:30 a.m.

Have you ever missed an important meeting? Cue feelings of panic and dread...activate excuse-making machinery...then finally comes acceptance. Maybe you were so engrossed in your task that you lost track of time. Maybe another meeting ran over and you didn't realize. And maybe, just maybe, this could have been avoided if the important meeting hadn't been camaflouged among your other meetings by your monochromatic Outlook calendar.

The problem with lists, and your daily calendar view is basically a list, is that without doing anything extra, each appointment has the same appearance, regardless of importance. You could scan each item quickly, but that takes some extra time and mental processing power.

Do you wish there was a way to highlight your most important meetings? Would it be helpful if they stood out with just a glance? And would it be valuable if this all happened automatically?

 The solution is to set up your calendar so your most important meetings are automatically displayed in a different color of your choice. Red is an obvious and fine choice, but any color with the desired impact will do.

I know what you're thinking. This sounds complicated. And will I screw up my existing calendar? Not to worry. I'll hold you hand through the entire process.

EZPZ Calendar Color-coding

1.  In Outlook Calendar, click on the VIEW tab

2. Click on "View Settings"

3. Click on "Conditional Formatting"

4. Click on the "Add" button

5. Name the color-coding rule you are about to make. So for example, "Exec mtgs" for meetings with you boss or senior management. And pick a color that will resonate with you as signifying something special and stand out.

6. Click the "Condition" button

7. No need to go crazy here. If you always want to highlight meetings where the CEO, say Mr. Albus Dumbledore is attending, then clock on the "Attendees" button and insert his name. My advice here is to keep the rule you are making simple. 

And now, according to the "Exec mtgs" rule I just created, any meetings with Albus Dumbledore as an attendee will now magically appear as red in my calendar. One the rule was set, I didn't have to use a single keystroke or think about it to make those meeting stand out from all my other meetings.  

A little background music by Color Me Badd while you set up your calendar...

Next post next Saturday, 6:30 a.m.