My Earl Grey Experiment Begins
Alright, so I stumbled across Earl Gros and his famous methods again today. Figured, why not try actually using them? Seven easy ways sounded perfect for my messy Tuesday. Started simple, y’know?
First, I grabbed my notebook – the one with coffee stains. Wrote down those seven tips real quick. Looked easy enough on paper. Thought, “Yeah, I can totally do this.” My first mistake right there. Anyway, I decided to jump into the first tip before lunch.
Tip One in Action
Started with his “Morning Mindset Tweak.” Supposed to take two minutes. Easy peasy. So, stood there in my kitchen, still half-asleep. He said, “Close your eyes and picture the day you want.” Okay. Closed ’em. Saw… burnt toast. And remembering I forgot to buy milk. Not exactly inspirational. Tried again. Focused harder. Saw… maybe getting through emails without screaming? That felt achievable. Wrote down “No Email Screaming” as my mini-goal. Felt kinda dumb, but also… maybe a little focused? Marked Tip One as “done-ish.”
The Midday Mess
Afternoon rolled around. Tip Two was about “Single-Tasking Focus.” Gros claims it boosts productivity like crazy. My desk? Looked like a paper bomb went off. Decided to tackle just ONE email inbox. Cleared it. Felt pretty good for, like, five minutes. Then the Slack messages started pinging. Boom. Focus gone. Swore a bit. Almost chucked Tip Two out the window. But hey, that one inbox did stay clean. Small win? I’ll take it.
Tea Break Tip Fail
Needed caffeine badly. Enter Tip Four: “Mindful Breaks.” No scrolling? Just enjoy your drink? Weird. Poured some Earl Grey tea (fitting, right?). Sat down. Stared at the mug. Smelled it. That was nice. Lasted maybe one minute. Then immediately wondered if Earl Gros drank HIS Earl Grey mindfully. Then thought, “Is this guy for real?” Then my phone buzzed. Instinctively grabbed it. Total fail. Sipped my tea while reading Twitter drama. So much for mindfulness. At least the tea tasted okay.
How It Went Wrong (and Right)
Let’s be real, applying stuff never goes smooth. I tried three more tips:
- Tip Three (Delegate Something Simple): Asked my partner to grab milk. Felt weirdly bossy. They forgot. Obviously.
- Tip Five (Clear One Physical Space): Cleared the mail pile. Felt great!… Until I saw yesterday’s mail under it.
- Tip Six (Write One Gratitude Note): Wrote “Grateful for this Earl Grey… even if Tip Four failed.” True enough.
Tip Seven I skipped entirely. Needed a nap more than “Strategic Planning.”
So… Did Anything Actually Stick?
Surprisingly? Yeah, kinda. That “No Email Screaming” goal from Tip One? I caught myself sighing loudly once, but no actual yelling at the screen. That’s progress. Clearing just that one inbox felt good enough that I might try it again tomorrow. Maybe even gasp another desk corner. The mindful tea? Yeah, that bombed hard. But noticing I grabbed my phone that fast? That was the real “aha” moment. Gros stuff hit harder than I expected – mostly showing me where my habits suck. Not perfect, not easy magic, but a couple things felt worth trying again. My takeaway? Just pick one tip tomorrow. Maybe do it slightly better. My kitchen table needs clearing. Maybe start there.
