Just ten minutes
This week sees most of our clients returning to work, which means itâs the first Monday in months that I havenât been able to dedicate to writing (and related projects). Iâm fine with this, as long as it is this one time because itâd be a lot more stressful to not be on top of things tomorrow.
Normally, my writing Mondays â a fairly new conception â are holy, written in stone, as it were. I protect them with a fervor because they keep me focused, and moving towards my various goals. These days has become a powerful tool to me, although they canât get the job done completely, obviously.
The past few days Iâve stumbled onto several articles about how to get going, to get started, to get things done. Itâs only natural, people want, and perhaps need, to read about these things after a period of downtime (i.e., the holidays). Most of these pieces are, to me, utter rubbish. Itâs frustratingly bad advice, simplifications, or complications alike, to a truly personal problem.
So, Iâll share my advice on how to get started after downtime, how to get things done that you know you have to, but youâd rather procrastinate. Itâs quite simple, but it can be hard, nonetheless.
Do it for ten minutes.
Thatâs it. Just commit ten minutes to that horrible task, that thing you really donât want to do. Itâs just ten minutes, you can do it. Set a timer and get started, donât look up, no distractions, just that one thing, for then minutes. Then youâre free.
Ten minutes arenât always enough. Chances are, itâs not near enough, but if you get ten minutes in, that often makes it so much easier to add another ten minutes, or just tick the bugger off. And, if itâs not, then youâve done your ten minutes, made some progress, so now you get to do something else. Schedule another ten minutes later, or even better, make it twenty minutes. Twenty minutes isnât so bad, is it? Do that one thing for twenty minutes, then you get to play a game for ten minutes. Then you do that thing for another twenty minutes, and play a game again, for another ten minutes.
Rinse and repeat.
Itâs a well-proven technique that goes under many names. Theyâre not relevant, getting boring, but important things out of the way is. The best part is, it works every day when you need it, not just after holidays. So, getting closer to those goals, even on the days where youâre just not feeling up to it, isnât impossible. Itâs just ten minutes, after all.