A trick with a paint stick saved me a ton of time on a ceiling patch last week

I was fixing a water stain on a 10 foot ceiling in a house in Bakersfield, and my mud pan kept falling off the stilts. I cut a small notch in the end of a wooden paint stick and hooked it over the edge of the pan, then wedged the other end under my armpit. It held the pan steady so I could use both hands on the knife. I got the whole patch done in one go without stopping. Anyone else have a simple hack for working on ceilings?