Teenagers: The (lack of) efficiency

In order to get more out of your day, you have to be efficient.

Try telling that to a teenager and you'll get eye-rolls and other funny/sarcastic comebacks like, why the rush? We need to savor the moment!

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Lean Six Sigma Wastes
Adults, without even thinking about it too much, know how we can save time and movement by for example:
  1. Getting more done at a physical location. E.g. brushing teeth and bathing, not necessarily simultaneously, but during the same trip to the bathroom
  2. Getting something done while waiting for something else. E.g. brushing teeth while waiting for your teacher to respond to your WhatsApp message
  3. Being able to maximise the use of a resource amongst many users. E.g. taking a quick shower because someone else is waiting, or using it first before everyone else ends up rushing.
Efficiency and productivity are definitely not typical traits a child is born with - perhaps not for those born in first world countries where everything, including food, water, clothes, is free-flowing and never out of reach. Hence, it is something we have to teach, by example and word.

Seriously, if you compress a shower and teeth brushing - I use the word "compress", not "rush" meaning it's like using ZIP where you squeeze things together with minimal gaps - I think you can complete these tasks within 10 minutes, if not 7. I don't see why a teenager would require 30 - 45 minutes.