Erin Zammett Ruddy - The Little Book of Life Skills

As a writer for major lifestyle magazines for the last twenty years, my job has been to get experts advice on everything from making a meeting run smoothly to cooking a perfect burger; from asking for a raise to asking for space to asking a neighbor to take down his Christmas lights come March. (All of that is in the book, by the way, except the Christmas lights thinghonestly, you should just move, because that ones really tricky.) I love talking to people who really know their stuff, regardless of what that stuff is (office organization? yes! lawn maintenance? sure! the perfect blowout? 100 percent!). And I know how to deliver that stuff to readers in a way that makes it applicable to their lives, because a highbrow expert isnt always in touch with those of us who dont own cheesecloth or, um, a mop. I can always relate to the reader because I am the reader. Yes, even on the stories about, say, decanting your entire pantry into beautifully labeled glass jars. Honestly, am I ever going to do that? Unlikely. Do I want to read about it? Hell, yes!

So, why did I set out to write this particular book? Because I need this particular book. My father, a former air traffic controller, has been all about order and mental checklists and a little something he likes to call doing things the right way the first time long before it was all trending. When I was growing up, every spring my sisters and I had to help him dry and fold the pool cover once the pool was open for the season. This was a long, methodical ordeal that had eighteen steps and inevitable fire drills (Quick! Get it off the lawn! Its burning the $*@# grass!). Then one of us would loudly lament why we couldnt just roll the thing up and call it a day. Wed be answered with a glare. And every fall, as wed pull the pristine, moldless cover back out of the shed, my father would beam with pride and say something about why we dont half-ass things. The man is efficient, he is organized, and he really does do most things exceptionally well. He also hasnt seen the inside of a control tower since the 1980s but still approaches every task as if the fate of an entire plane of people rests in the balance. Needless to say, things can get intense when hes involved, but, boy, is he a good person to call when you need help making a decision (um, me, every day).

I wish I could say his methods all rubbed off on me and I grew up living my best life surrounded by hospital corners and checked-off to-do lists and keys that never got lost. I did not. I got very little of my fathers affinity for precision (and none of my mothers near-professional laundry skills). If I may play psychologist for a moment, Id say its because when you have a parent constantly second-guessing the way youre doing seemingly inconsequential thingsIs that how youre going to cut that bagel? You cant pack your suitcase that way! You really take exit 42 off the expressway, Erin? That red light is a minute and forty-five seconds, Ive timed it!you sort of give up on striving for the right way and settle for Whatever, Im still getting it done, arent I?

Of course now Im forty-two and often catch myself midtask (emptying a dishwasher, de-crumbing a counter, arguing with my husband for leaving so many crumbs on the counter) thinking, Ugh, there must be a better way to do this! And there is! Keep reading! Like so many of you (just guessing here), Im craving more efficiency and less stress in my day-to-day routine, a need thats risen steadily as life has gotten more complicated. I mean, there was a time when taking forty-five minutes to zigzag my way through the grocery store like a drunken baby (chomping on a bag of barbecue Baked Lays, obviously) and forgetting two of the seven things I ran in for was a perfectly reasonable way to spend my time. That is no longer the case for a million reasons, but the biggest is probably this: I now have three children, and if youre not staying efficient with kids in your house you will get swallowed whole by a pile of laundry faster than you can say, If you brushed your teeth, why isnt your toothbrush wet?! Or so Ive been told.

The fact is, theres a particular order in which everything we do in a day should be done, a best practice that will heed maximum results with minimal frazzle. There are also important tricks and tips for taking better care of our hearts and minds, things I didnt even know were life skills when I went off to college (I also thought fabric softener was detergent, so theres that). But so many of us (hi!) just plow through our busy lives without paying attention to how were getting from one task to the next. This book is not going to make you feel bad about the way youve been doing things, though. Nor is it going to tell you that what youve been doing your whole life is completely wrong. Because its probably not. But theres a good chance its not the most efficient, effective way to do things, either.

But wait, cant you just Google the right way to do anything? Of course you can. I certainly have. Type in how to iron a shirt and youll get 1.2 million results. (That is not an exaggerationI just typed it in and thats what came back.) Which is precisely why this book is needed. Who has time to sift through all that often-conflicting content and decide what to trust? Do you really need to watch a seven-minute YouTube tutorial on ironing? And what ifOh, look! Celebrities without makeup! And now youre in a wormhole of Kim Kardashians Instagram comments. Hey, it happens to the best of us, but werent you trying to be more efficient here?! News flash: Looking for advice on the internet can be an overwhelming time suck. And thats not including the fifteen ads youre now going to get for new irons.