Steven Robbins here. Welcome to the Get It Done guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Kristen writes in. I'm moving into an apartment with a friend soon. We've never lived together before.

What can I do to make sure our close proximity goes well? There's nothing like the intimacy, shared friendship, and joy that comes from living with a good

friend.

You can hang out, go on trips together, eat greasy Chinese food in Chinatown at midnight,

watch the Oscars together, vote on Project Runway, and cheer at the Super Bowl.

Then, one of you will leave a dirty tea cup in the sink, and the other will brutally assault you

with a potato peeler in one hand, an ear-wax cleaning tool in the other. Clean vegetables, clean

ears, clean dishes. That's what her mother used to say. And therein lies the rub. We're all different.

We have different habits, preferences, and ways of living, despite the best

efforts of our corporate overlords to turn us into identical featureless cogs. There's nothing

like living together or sharing an office to prove how incompatible we are even with our closest

friends. And make no mistake, this isn't limited to apartments. Melvin and Bernice tried to share

an office. You'd think,

given how close they are, and we have no proof that they're anything more than friends,

that they would get along. But Melvin kind of sways back and forth when he works and

make strange little grunting sounds. These interfered with Bernice's hourly goddess chance.

Fortunately, Melvin had an excellent

medical plan. Ground rules for roommates. If you're going to be sharing space with someone, friend

or not, sit down beforehand and discuss the conditions. You may as well start with pet peeves.

A pet peeve is something that drives you nuts for no good reason. They're irrational, and you can't control them,

so get them out on the table right away.

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