diff --git a/Annex.hs b/Annex.hs
index 9915112a59..b2257281fd 100644
--- a/Annex.hs
+++ b/Annex.hs
@@ -86,9 +86,7 @@ getState c = liftM c get
  - Example: changeState (\s -> s { quiet = True })
  -}
 changeState :: (AnnexState -> AnnexState) -> Annex ()
-changeState a = do
-	state <- get
-	put (a state)
+changeState a = put . a =<< get
 
 {- Returns the git repository being acted on -}
 gitRepo :: Annex Git.Repo
diff --git a/Content.hs b/Content.hs
index 9040383be9..0758fcdb13 100644
--- a/Content.hs
+++ b/Content.hs
@@ -72,8 +72,7 @@ calcGitLink file key = do
  - updated instead. -}
 logStatus :: Key -> LogStatus -> Annex ()
 logStatus key status = do
-	g <- Annex.gitRepo
-	u <- getUUID g
+	u <- getUUID =<< Annex.gitRepo
 	logStatusFor u key status
 
 {- Updates the LocationLog when a key's presence changes in a repository
diff --git a/LocationLog.hs b/LocationLog.hs
index 6759b47fec..b2d423cf99 100644
--- a/LocationLog.hs
+++ b/LocationLog.hs
@@ -150,16 +150,13 @@ mapLog m l =
 		then Map.insert u l m
 		else m
 	where
-		better = case Map.lookup u m of
-			Just l' -> (date l' <= date l)
-			Nothing -> True
+		better = maybe True (\l' -> date l' <= date l) $ Map.lookup u m
 		u = uuid l
 
 {- Finds all keys that have location log information.
  - (There may be duplicate keys in the list.) -}
 loggedKeys :: Git.Repo -> IO [Key]
 loggedKeys repo = do
-	let dir = gitStateDir repo
 	exists <- doesDirectoryExist dir
 	if exists
 		then do
@@ -172,3 +169,4 @@ loggedKeys repo = do
 		else return []
 	where
 		tryDirContents d = catch (dirContents d) (return . const [])
+		dir = gitStateDir repo
diff --git a/Remote.hs b/Remote.hs
index bbecdb9995..211168b153 100644
--- a/Remote.hs
+++ b/Remote.hs
@@ -75,10 +75,10 @@ genList = do
 			return rs'
 		else return rs
 	where
-		process m t = do
-			l <- enumerate t
-			l' <- filterM remoteNotIgnored l
-			mapM (gen m t) l'
+		process m t = 
+			enumerate t >>=
+			filterM remoteNotIgnored >>=
+			mapM (gen m t)
 		gen m t r = do
 			u <- getUUID r
 			generate t r u (M.lookup u m)
@@ -97,9 +97,7 @@ byName n = do
 
 {- Looks up a remote by name (or by UUID), and returns its UUID. -}
 nameToUUID :: String -> Annex UUID
-nameToUUID "." = do -- special case for current repo
-	g <- Annex.gitRepo
-	getUUID g
+nameToUUID "." = getUUID =<< Annex.gitRepo -- special case for current repo
 nameToUUID n = liftM uuid (byName n)
 
 {- Cost ordered lists of remotes that the LocationLog indicate may have a key.
diff --git a/UUID.hs b/UUID.hs
index eb1fb319c6..0d7aee1414 100644
--- a/UUID.hs
+++ b/UUID.hs
@@ -79,8 +79,7 @@ getUncachedUUID r = Git.configGet r configkey ""
 {- Make sure that the repo has an annex.uuid setting. -}
 prepUUID :: Annex ()
 prepUUID = do
-	g <- Annex.gitRepo
-	u <- getUUID g
+	u <- getUUID =<< Annex.gitRepo
 	when ("" == u) $ do
 		uuid <- liftIO $ genUUID
 		setConfig configkey uuid
@@ -88,8 +87,7 @@ prepUUID = do
 {- Pretty-prints a list of UUIDs -}
 prettyPrintUUIDs :: [UUID] -> Annex String
 prettyPrintUUIDs uuids = do
-	g <- Annex.gitRepo
-	here <- getUUID g
+	here <- getUUID =<< Annex.gitRepo
 	m <- uuidMap
 	return $ unwords $ map (\u -> "\t" ++ prettify m u here ++ "\n") uuids
 	where