Take TenTM-Improve your life ten minutes at a time!
“The key to success whether you are trying to lose weight, break a bad habit or save money on your grocery bill is to consistently apply small changes over time.”
p. 27 Save More, Clip Less
One way I incorporate this principle of small changes over time is to choose a weekly project to work on ten minutes a day. Knowing it’s only ten minutes helps me to get started–even if the project seems overwhelming at first. Working on the goal daily helps me to develop discipline (hate the word, love the effects!).
Last week I mentioned that I had neglected our house so that I could work on my new e-book. Thankfully my teenagers are a big help so everything didn’t go to pieces, but I did have one wall in our entry way that was full of emptied boxes that I had not taken care of from our move, along with a pile of give away items.
I didn’t want to take a photo (it’s embarrassing), but in the interest of encouraging others in a similar situation, I’m revealing the mess.
Here’s what it looks like now. I flattened the boxes and put them in the recycling bin and I put all the give away items in the trunk of our car to be taken to Good Will this week on my errand day. I put the other items where they belong in various locations around the house.
I assumed that the project would take a long time to complete and kept putting it off, but finally on Friday I decided to just spend ten minutes. When the ten minutes was up, I saw how much progress I was making so I decided to go ahead and finish.
I ended up spending only 30 minutes total, and I felt so much better once it was done. The room now seems peaceful rather than crazy.
This week I’ll be spending ten minutes a day organizing the photos on my computer. If you remember, I had planned to do this a few weeks ago, but didn’t get it done. You can read more about my digital photo organization method here.
Would you like to join me in a ten minute a day project this week? Choose an area you want to change or a project you have procrastinated on starting.
When you decide what your Take TenTM project will be, leave a comment on this post to let us know what you’re planning–the more the merrier!
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I’ll join you. My project is going to be the dining room table/pile. I know it will take probably more than this week’s worth of 10the minutes a day but perhaps I’ll see progress and give it some extra time a day or two. Thanks for the challenge!
You can do it Kathie! 🙂
I love the idea of your TAKE TEN projects. But I have trouble getting started on a project that I know will take longer than ten minutes. I know I won’t stop at ten minutes, so I can’t even trick myself into it!
Your entry way looks fantastic btw!
Have you tried setting a timer Dana? It really helps. 🙂
Hi! Yes I will join you in a Take Ten Project. This week I will work on cleaning, rearranging, and organizing my office/workroom. The room is a mess. mainly because I work on projects and leave things a mess because I am off to another project. Before you know it my office is the kitchen table and my dining is workroom take 2. It will be fun getting this project done! Thanks!!
Sounds like the perfect kind of project Madeline.
Yes! I will join you in a Take Ten project. Mine is similar to yours. I switched from a PC to a Mac last year, and my computer files have been a mess ever since. It’s making me crazy! Thank you for the idea.
You’re welcome!