The 5 Minute Plan

I've mentioned here a couple times lately that I'm part of a MomWriters group for goals. It's honestly helping me keep on track and I'm loving the inspiration it gives me to get stuff done.

Today, the leader posted a challenge for us that involved finding where our spare time is and using it effectively. She said to fill it in with "quickie goals". It really got me to thinking. I have a ton of stuff around my apartment that seems to never get done, but to be honest, it would only take me about 5 to 10 minutes to do (if that). The biggest reason they never get done is because either:

A. I can't think of something to do when I find myself with spare minutes; or
B. I remember at a time when I simply can't do it (like vacuuming at 10:30 at night).

To counteract this, I'm making a list of goals I can get done in 10 minutes or less. This includes wiping down the front of cabinets, vacuuming the living room, cleaning the windows and cleaning out the "corner o'stuff" I have building up in my room. It's amazing the number of things I can think of that truly take less than 10 minutes, especially around the house. I always feel domestically challenged (thus my name) because it all seems to need done right then. If I break it into manageable chunks of "I have 5 minutes, let's do one thing" instead of "This will take me hours to do" then I think I can handle it.

I get that this isn't rocket science (Thank goodness, I could never handle the math!) but for me, this is a different way of thinking. Dave will tell you that I'm very book smart (true) but I lack common sense (also true) so for me to put it in this context, I might actually get things done instead of floundering hopelessly in the sea of "everything needs done right now and I don't have time!" Instead, I can pick one thing on the list, do it and check it off. At the end of the day or week (depending on the task) I can look back and see how much I've done and restart again the next day/week. Maybe its simple to you, but for me this seems like a godsend, as long as I put it into practice.

My question to you: What is on your daily/weekly "10 minutes or less" type list?

My Never Ending List

Today I tackled my list of things that need done. I swear, the list is never-ending so it feels like I never get anything done, even when I do. I managed to deal with some issues with our cable bill, get quotes for auto insurance, get Beautiful G to school (this was a big deal, since I almost forgot she had school! Break messed me up!), work, and spend some time doing some preschool stuff with Sunshine, which fell by the wayside when Beautiful G was home.

I also learned what I need to add to my list. Grocery shopping, getting my hands on a copy of our renter's insurance bill so I can get a multi-policy discount, figure out why having my land line turned off netted me 3 phone calls after I said "turn it off now", more work, diversifying my work, getting an emergency kit made up, and getting more prep done for Sunshine's preschool stuff.

I guess the good news about having a never-ending list is that I'll always have something to do. I'm never bored, even if my list seems longer than the Great Wall of China.

I will share one thing I've learned about dealing with my list: DIN. Do It Now. As long as I'm not in the middle of something really important, if I remember something needs done on my list, I try to do it now. A lot of stuff doesn't take as long as I think it will and by doing it now, it shortens it even more (for example, if I clean the kitchen now, it means it will take less time than if I push it off to tomorrow morning, because by the time I get to it tomorrow morning, various family members will have made a bigger mess by then, giving me more work to do...)

What's your tip to shorten the never ending list?