15 minutes to get on with it

15 minutes to get on with it

Since getting my Kindle I still have mixed feelings about it.

On the downside I do miss my paper books and being able to flick back and forth to remind me of something. I know I can do this on a Kindle but it’s just not as easy to flick back to something you want to read again.

There are lots of upsides though – It’s so light and easy to pop in my bag and I can carry as many ‘books’ on it as I want. I also love that I get my books instantly – no more waiting for the postman, or even more annoying, missing him and having to sort out collecting a parcel from the depot.

Best of all though is the price – I hadn’t realised how many free and 99p books were available and I’m having a great time trawling through them to find ones I might be interested in.

I’m always on the look out for advice and tips on time management that I can use and share with you and my latest find was The 15 Minute Rule by Caroline Buchanan.

It’s all about getting started on those jobs you never seem to get round to and are putting off.

We can procrastinate and avoid doing something for lots of reasons: it’s too difficult, you don’t enjoy it, you want it to be perfect, it’s too scary and so on….. Often we label these all up as ‘I don’t have time to do it’.

Well, as my Mum used to say – sometimes you need to make the time.

By breaking things down into 15 minutes it makes them seem much more manageable and we can all find 15 minutes, can’t we?

In Caroline’s book she recommends using the first 15 minutes as a chance to brainstorm the task and figure out how you’re going to approach it. You then use as many more blocks of 15 minutes as you need to complete the task.

I tried it myself over the weekend – I’d been avoiding sorting out some clothes handed down to my youngest. They’d been lying in the spare bedroom for a few weeks and I just kept pulling out things as I thought she’d grown into them. The girls had also enjoyed pulling them all out and playing with them so they were in a messy heap on the bed. So, I thought I’d give myself 15 minutes to see how far I could get and managed to sort though most of them. One more chunk of 15 minutes and I’ll get it finished.

Next, sorting out the pile of stuff on the dining table and, after that, maybe sorting out my office…..

By saying you’ll just do 15 minutes and then stop, it makes it much easier to get started. And once you get started, you’ll find it easier to carry on.

In the book, Caroline applies the 15 minute rule to other areas of life too and covers weight loss, love life, career, finances and friends & family in more detail. It’s definitely worth a read at only 99p if you want to explore it further.

See if you can think of something you’ve been putting off and then commit to spending 15 minutes on it and see how you get on.

 

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Alison Bradford

Alison Bradford is a business coach who works with smart, ambitious business owners to get clarity about how they can grow their business and increase profit. Sign up here to learn 6 easy ways you can boost profit in your business today.
3 Comments
  • sonia
    Posted at 15:23h, 26 July

    This is so cool. Love this tip. I usually think something is going to take me longer than it actually does, which puts me off in the first place. Doing the 15 mins rule, i can probably get what ive been putting off! thanks

  • Lulu
    Posted at 15:03h, 10 April

    I do a similar thing Alison but trick myself with saying I’m going to spend just 5 minutes on something. It works for me, as once I’ve got started I then (usually) find the job is no where near as awful as I first thought. Great reminder – thank you! I’ve been putting off a fair few things over the Easter weekend, time to pick one and get started I feel!

    • Alison Bradford
      Posted at 18:58h, 11 April

      Yes – we often already know the things we need to do or that work for us but we sometimes forget and a little reminder never goes amiss. I’m really liking the 15 minute rule at the moment. Just about to use it to go and start some ironing!! Let me know how you get on.