Not only is shaving in the shower quicker, it works better!

And, if you want to make a list while you are in the shower, you can add a waterproof marking tablet like I did a couple of years ago. When I get that idea, I just write it down! Available in many dive shops, these are designed for scuba divers to write notes to self or others while under water.

Yes, kids, these things to make a difference!

And, for all of us "list making" fans, add a waterproof tablet to the shower as well!

I got one a couple years ago from a dive shop. Here is a link to one place that sells them:

http://www.scuba.com/shop/product.asp_category_249

Designed to write on while diving, it works perfectly in my shower. And, when I get an idea, I write it down and can copy later to my real list.

Shaving, thinking, singing...all the right stuff to do in the shower!!

If the mirror gets foggy (even the ones that say they are fog-free will get condensation no matter what they promise), a little soapy water gets rid of the fog. Hmmm, there is a shower radio/CD player I've been thinking about.

I'm a business development consultant, and I bill by the hour. I'm terrible at keeping track of time, and I found myself, at the end of the day, doing a lot of guessing. So, finally, I downloaded this little freeware timer. It sits on my computer screen. When I start working on a project, I start it. When I pause, or take a break, I stop it. And when I'm done, there is the time I've spent, down to the minute. Transfer to timesheet. Done. Unbelievably simple, and embarassing that I didn't think of this years ago.

Peter, what is the tool you use? That sounds extrememly helpful!

Hehe nice idea. However, if you lived in Melbourne, Australia, your idea would be frowned upon because you waste so much water whilst you are shaving. To put it in context though, we are on water restrictions due to drought.

It really is amazing how the right change, even if it is very small, can have a huge impact. For example, awhile ago I decided to take the advice of keeping a red folder labeled "in" in my satchel. However, I began wondering why I still was finding many things stuffed in my pockets in the morning when I do my processing. I thought "maybe I just don't have my folder accessible enough" and I moved just the "in" folder to the front of my portable folders so that if my bag is open, I now have a clear shot at the "in" folder. Little change, huge difference. So simple, yet so effective.

Best,
Phil

Bert wrote: "Hmmm, there is a shower radio/CD player I've been thinking about."

I received one as a Christmas present, a Curtis AM/FM/CD Alarm, that I think is great. Oh yes, it has a mirror between the stero speakers. Such decadence!

Gentlemen, as a real time saver, we could wait until beards are in vogue again--or start a trend.

hl

I agree that the shower is a great place to be productive. I got a fog-free mirror just like you did about 6 months ago. Before that I bought a diver's marker board to capture ideas.

Shower productivity started for me when I started keeping my dental floss in there. For well over a year now I've been able to floss nearly every day. Before this I rarely flossed more than a few times a year, usually just before or after a visit to the dentist. Try it!

I started brushing my teeth in the shower years ago... I must have been too messy with my toothpaste or something.... the rinse your mouth from a cup thing never seemed to be enough so I decided I liked the more thorough feel of the "water pic" type rinse.... I love that water proof writing surface idea.... I wonder if it could be tiled right in to future showers ;-)

I can understand shaving or brushing in the shower because it's convenient to let the shaving cream or toothpaste go down the drain.

Shaving in the shower because you don't have time sounds a little mentally ill to me.

Are we really improving our lives here, people? Or just developing a most marketable version of the mess.

The argument here seems that while performing the usual task A (showering) you can also accomplish task B (shaving, brushing, list making) at the same time for a net gain - which apparently can then be used blogging about shaving in the shower and/or discussing shaving in the shower with other shower overachievers.

But showering is not merely the act of standing in a shower. It involves soap, washclothes, shampoo. It is an active process, if done properly, and these acts require hands. Hands which, if pursuing Task B, cannot be simultaneously pursuing Task A.

Therefore, unless you have figured out how to shave and wash your testicles, ears, underarms and other soft parts at the same time (which I have not) - if you spend 2.5 minutes shaving in the shower, you will still have to complete normal showering tasks and that will extend your actual shower time 2.5 minutes.

(Time is estimate only, for discussion purposes, and may very depending on your own personal hygene problems).

Therefore the result is no overall time gain.

Perhaps if you did the shaving while stepping out of the shower I could see the point. That step over the edge of the tub is definitely a lost opportunity. I often use it to hold on to something so I don't slip, but I could be firing up my PDA (unplugged I hope) or hand crafting a watch.

Shaving in the shower may work, it may feel better, it may result in a better shave.... But it doesn't mean you saved time. It means you were wet.... while you shaved, brushed, made your to do list, changed your oil, built a better mousetrap or whatever else.

And that's cool. If you like that kind of thing.

I'm also a little concerned about the wet list board. Does that list not have to then be duplicated on paper or software in order to be used, or do you run back home to your shower each time you want to peek at your list? Sounds like a task you're gonna have to do twice, resulting in - sorry - a net loss of time.

If my day is so frenzied I have to make to do lists in the shower, and then copy them to my planner, I am indeed in need of some help - but perhaps not of the organizational kind.

I know "GTD" is a religion now, but let's be reasonable.

If we have travelled or hyperlinked to a dive shop to buy a wet board so we can make lists in the shower in order to create the illusion of saved time so we can then sit around with others who spend their showering time doing something other than showering....

Have we really improved our quality of life?

Grow a beard!
Problem solved. Real time saved.

I remember reading an article in "Boy's Life" magazine when I was a Boy Scout in 1966(?)- The article described Albert Einstein's secrets for saving time from mundane tasks in order to better devote his time to thinking over complex mathematical or scientific concepts. One of his secrets was to shave while he showered. He chose not to wear socks and he wore loafers or slippers that did not have to be tied- you just had to slip them on. He wore bulky pullover sweaters because they covered up the fact that he did not wear a tie. Rather than go to a barbershop,he would have his secretary trim his hair. Many of the habits that Princetonians considered excentric in the 1950's were probably just Einstein's system for "getting things done".