“You can do so much in 10 minutes time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good.” ~ Ingvar Kamprad

Time is something we all have in common, every single one of us. 365 days a year. 52 weeks in a year. 24 hours in a day. 7 days in a week. Even scarier . . . 1,440 minutes in a day, 10,080 minutes in a week, and 524, 160 minutes in a year.

I compartmentalize quite a bit. It’s easiest to “do the things” in timed increments rather than open-ended, mindless, drag-it-out episodes. Having a set idea of how much time I can spend on something seems to enhance my productivity. If the event is something I don’t enjoy, having a time limit encourages recognition that although something may be an unpleasant experience; it will not last forever.

Sometimes, things that we procrastinate doing actually take 10 minutes or less to finish. Such as:

• Vacuuming or sweeping the floor
• Doing dishes
• Cleaning out the refrigerator
• Taking out the trash
• Putting on my make-up
• making the bed
• Putting away clean laundry
• Folding laundry
• Scrubbing the tub
• Mopping the floor

There are multiple things than can be done in 10 minutes or less. I plan to work in the yard for 10 minutes because I feel like I’m too busy or have other things I need to do. Those 10 minutes will stretch into 30 or 40. The key is being flexible and loose in the planning.

Tonight, even though I had worked all day and was exhausted (both physically and emotionally), I took about 10 minutes to work on cleaning my Franklin treadle sewing machine. Returning it back to it’s lustrous beauty will be a long process requiring patience.

Tomorrow will be a electronic device-free day for the majority here. I will probably check it in the morning and then again later in the afternoon and evening. I need that time away from meaningless drivel to focus on some things needing to be finished here at home.

What things do you avoid that could be completed in less than 10 minutes time?