Be prepared

Though I was a rather sordid example of a boy scout, even having been kicked out of the organization in grade school for failing at all sorts of activities (as well as having failed to obtain my basic tenderfoot merit), nonetheless, there remains one thing that I’ve taken with me all this while.

The immortal words – “Be prepared”, which is the official scouts motto is still practiced very much in all my activities. And yes, I make all conscious decisions with it in mind.

Simple things like, to recheck whether the doors are locked, giving myself an additional half hour or more leeway for appointments, mentally count the things off my imaginary to-do-list, bringing two sets of something “just in case” and even sending documents over emails, storing them in thumbdrives (which I carry with me) and having a printed copy as well, all at the same time.

And believe me, there were many a times when I’ve had to rely on such “back-ups”. When you make it a habit, the convenience of having things wherever and whenever you need them makes your day easier to live with. So what if you don’t use them? You wouldn’t have lost anything except a little paper, thumbdrive memory or a slight bit of energy getting them ready in the first place.

Hey, after all, its good exercise, both physically and mentally.

Having said that, to have such a routine put into practice will save your countless frustrating moments when you’d just wished you’ve done a little more to ensure that you don’t end up having to waste more time and energy putting things right. And believe me, there are too many things in a day that could absolutely ruin your mornings without having to add another problem that could have been avoided in the first place.

Oh, and about punctuality… If you get to a place half an hour or even an hour earlier, at beast, you can order yourself a relaxing cup of coffee and just spend some quality time with yourself while at worst, you’d discovered that you’ve left something important at home or in the office and because you’ve allocated extra time, you therefore can afford to go back and get them for the meeting.

See, you just can’t go wrong even if you wanted to, thanks to the “Be prepared” attitude.