Conscious Choice Seattle: Crazy about Quality

Photo by Richard A. Huston

The EM Difference

Quality is an overextended word in our culture. Businesses talk about quality of goods and services, from mufflers to mattresses to cell phone connections. Family therapists talk about quality time with the kids or spouse. Manufacturers use quality circles to include workers at all levels in the process.

Here at Evergreen Monthly, we dare to stretch the quality concept just a bit more—but decidedly in your personal direction. Each month, we will be listing ways to improve your quality of life. The idea is to make small changes that make a big difference. Pick the ones that resonate for you, pass on the others.

So, drum roll, please, we introduce this Quality Checkup with a special back page edition. Look for it regularly in our upfront Evergreen News section.

June 2005 | Back Woods

Crazy about Quality

Sleep better. Check. Eat with relish. Check. Laugh out loud. Check. Don’t put off improving your quality of life. Check

By Bob Condor

This month’s inaugural version of Quality Checkup focuses on what drives us crazy, or at least stresses us out in day-to-day life, circa 2005.

First things first: Get up at the same time every day. Research shows that the best-rested people rise at a consistent time each day, workday or weekend. It might feel good to sleep in on an off day, but the body struggles to reset its biological clock. You will feel calmer, less nuts and more awake—even before your first sip of caffeine.

Coffee breaker: Speaking of caffeine, make it a personal health goal to drink coffee in the morning and switch to green tea for the afternoon. You will enjoy the coffee more and feel less tired in the afternoon and evening.

Key move: Find a small bowl or crafted box that you love. Drop your important keys in it (house, car, bike lock). Put the bowl on a table or counter nearest your front door. There. You won’t have to wonder again what happened to your keys.

Things are fluid: Water. Drink it.

Eyes have it: When you talk to people, look them in the eye. Keep trying. People will respond to you. Some conversations will be instantly deeper and more meaningful. Others will actually be more efficient and brief. One tip for extra credit and extra quality of life: Make a list of people you love. Then fill in their eye color (be specific about the shade of blue or green or brown) as you figure out each one.

Flower power: If you missed the local tulip festivals, don’t beat yourself up. Get out and smell the roses of June.

Email, schmeemail: OK, admit it. You look at your email accounts too much. People who don’t seem crazed have some secrets to share. One is the group of people who never look at their email and feign ignorance about any message sent their way. That does not get the Quality Checkup seal of gentle approval.

Instead, pick three times each day to check your email. Fit them to your schedule. Then stick to it. See how it works into your job duties. If you must, switch to more frequent checks (top of the hour during the workday), but don’t slide back to random and virtually constant email checking. Master this rhythm. Then, be brave. Pick an off day per week that you don’t check emails at all. Feel your neck muscles relax. Watch your quality of life go up.

Bob Condor is the editor of Evergreen Monthly. He tries not to read emails on Saturdays, and he missed the tulip festivals this year too.

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