That title’s a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it? I don’t know about you, but when I’ve been going nonstop for days and days and then finally get a day where I don’t have to be anywhere it can be really hard to motivate myself to get moving. Would the world end if I surfed the ‘net and played piano all day? Probably not, but there are things that need to get done around here and I’ll be bummed later if I don’t use this time productively. This is clearly a day to bring out The Timer.
FlyLady has a saying, “If it isn’t fun, it won’t get done.” I don’t know that setting a timer makes mindless/tedious chores more fun, but it does make it all seem more like a game. I actually do jobs as fast as I can so I can beat the timer. Plus, we can do anything for 15 minutes, right?
I assign myself a wide range of activities so I can get make some headway in as many areas as possible. There are jobs I have to do every day like laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, and exercise. I also include things like organizing my closet or doing paperwork. Even if I’m not done with a specific task, I stop when the timer goes off and move on to the next thing. Sometimes I stick some fun things on the list, too, so I can get that piano playing in.
Here’s two hours’ worth of 15-minute sessions to get me moving today:
1. Write this blog post.
2: Throw laundry in washing machine and fold load of clothes from yesterday. Put away if there’s time.
3: Unload dishwasher and clean kitchen counters; sweep
4: Work on in-box
5: Keep going on laundry
6: Prepare for 4:00 meeting
7: Organize closet and wardrobe
8: Intervals
And that should do it. This “game” helps me a lot because instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything I could get done, I focus on specific tasks that I’ve assigned myself. And after an hour or two using the timer, I look around and feel pretty good about what I’ve actually managed to get done (instead of fretting about what I should have done).
Do you have days when you need something to get you moving? Would the 15-minute timer method work for you?
Thanks for the reminder about this method (as well as the specifics about how you personalize it). I’ve used a similar framework before in the past with great results, but I suppose I let it fall by the wayside. I like how you mentioned piano practice. I’ve used this method to carve out time and space to pray, read and journal. I gives me the freedom to add things that I want to do to my schedule without compromising the things I have to do. Also, I’m really impressed by what you managed to accomplish in your sample two hours. 🙂
You’ve touched on something really important, Marilyn: the fact that we’ve stopped doing something that’s been successful in the past doesn’t take away from how successful it is. The key seems to be in picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off and trying again. Isn’t it amazing how much you can get done in 15 minutes?(As opposed to fretting about how much I have to do?)
I’m pretty bad at beating myself up over letting something fall by the way side. I hope to improve at just dusting myself off and giving it another go.
As a side note, your post reminded me about how in several of L’Engle’s biographical books she references piano practice as one of the fun things that she regularly makes time for because it sets her right when she’s feeling out of sorts.
I linked back to your post because it was a really good reminder for me. I’ve already used this method once this week, and I have big plans for this weekend. 🙂