Improve your life! Without really trying!!

And there was me thinking I'd run out of lists to write about - luckily The Guardian came to my rescue with 100 ways to improve my life without really trying!  Shall we give them a try?!?

1 Exercise on a Monday night (nothing fun happens on a Monday night).
Hmmm - it's Wednesday.  Am I going to wait 5 days so I can try this before writing about it?  Or am I going to say "Only Connect happens on a Monday night, so that's obviously incorrect"?  Yup, you guessed it.

2 On the fence about a purchase? Wait 72 hours before you buy it.
I either need something immediately, in which case I buy it immediately.  Or I don't need something immediately, in which case I spend an inordinate amount of time researching the various options before deciding exactly what I'm going to buy.  And then I spend a further inordinate amount of time checking the prices out in various locations (including waiting for any sales and checking for any vouchers).  And then I buy it.  So maybe for me this advice should be "wait no more than 72 hours before you buy it".

3 Tip: the quickest supermarket queue is always behind the fullest trolley
The thinking here is that greeting, paying and packing take longer than you think and I can believe this is true.  However, I'm quite happy in a slow queue so I'm not sure it would improve my life.  Unless the full trolley is REALLY full, in which case I like to stand there and ponder "hmmm - they've bought a LOT of stuff".

4 Bring fruit to work. Bring fruit to bed!
To work - yes, I can see that.  To bed?  I think it best we don't spend too much time considering exactly what The Guardian means here.

5 Consider going down to four days a week.
The Guardian points out that it’s likely a disproportionate amount of your fifth day’s work is taxed anyway, so you’ll lose way less than a fifth of your take-home pay - so yes, in theory, this is a great idea.  However, let's just say that my lovely wife's Fridays often involve considerably more work than mine do - and I get paid for five days a week.

6 Everyone has an emotional blind spot when they fight. Work out what yours is, and remember it.
Now this is going to make you sick, but I really don't have any fights in my life - and I'm married with teenage(-ish) daughters.  Either we're a happy bunch or I'm just a massive pushover - and I'm obviously going to go for the former.

7 Plant spring bulbs, even if they’re just in a pot.

Yup - I agree with this.

8 Send a voice note instead of a text; they sound like personal mini podcasts.

Sorry?  What?  That might make my life better if I got a kick out of imagining I was some kind of secret agent.  But not if I want people to actually pay attention to what I'm trying to tell them

9 Keep a bird feeder by a window, ideally the kitchen. 

Apparently, it’ll pass the time when you’re washing up.  Now, bird feeders are fine things indeed - but you need to constantly refill them because the squirrels eat the lot, which does not improve anyone's life (except the squirrels).  A better option is not to do any washing up...

10 Always bring ice to house parties (there’s never enough).

OK - you got me.  What's a house party?  Whatever it is, if I was to hold one and everyone was to turn up with some ice, I don't think I'd enjoy it.

Ten helpful suggestions feels like enough for one post - so how did they do?  Planting spring bulbs is the winner for me because I love watching the various flowers appear - and bird feeders would also get my vote if we didn't have a squirrel.  But do not send me a voice note asking me if I want some ice brought to my house party - and especially not on a Monday, because I'll be watching Only Connect.

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