One of her soap boxes is baby steps. Our houses (and lives) didn't become complete wrecks in one day and we aren't going to salvage them in a day, either. Most of her assigned tasks are to be completed in 15 minutes. After 8 years of her coaching, I often apply this idea to my life.
15 minutes is short, right? I figure I can do any task, no matter how distasteful, for 15 minutes. But here is the distressing truth about distasteful tasks. Most of them take much less than 15 minutes. I spin huge and gruesome stories about how it would be great if I could do X but it will take so long and be so hard I just don't have the hours it will take to do it.
This week I've paid attention to these gruesome tasks and how long they really take:
Wipe down the bathroom - 7 minutes
Clean up all the kids toys strewn about the living room - 12 minutes
Wash the huge mountain of dirty lunch and dinner pans - 9 minutes
Help the kids brush/floss teeth, wash faces, file nails, put on pjs - 7 minutes
Put away 5 very full bags of groceries - 10 minutes
Collected overdue library books - 14 minutes
Trim the dog's nails - 2 minutes
Tidy the bedroom and make the bed - 4 minutes
On the reverse side, I often deny myself a few minutes of peace and relaxation because it takes so long. Here are a few things I've indulged in for 15 minutes with great results this week.
Sat in a peaceful room and flipped through a new magazine
Looked out at the sunrise and enjoyed some kombucha
Petted the dog
Read a book to a tired kiddo
Crocheted
Practiced my guitar
I'm always interested in the stories we tell ourselves about life that differ from the reality of it. My timer turns out to be a surprising tool for reflection.
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