The Power of Five Minutes

My black and gray fabrics organized through the power of five minutes.

 The title to this post came to me the other day after my post about list making.  I checked it by searching through Swagbucks and of course I'm not the first person to use that title!   There are also these titles:  The Power of 10 Minutes and The Power of 15 minutes.  So then the title, "Five Minute Miracle" came to me, so I checked that one as well....... Um No.  I didn't want to use that one either.  Oh well, this post is my own take on spending 5 minutes getting things done.

I don't want to come across as wanting you to be constantly hustling and working and striving.  No, not at all.  If anything, this is the lazy way to get work done.  I just know that for me I can do 5 minutes (or 10 or 15 or more) consistently and get things done.

Here are some ideas:

1. I've always loved the idea of spending 15 minutes a day on a certain project or housework job.  I first learned this trick from Emilie Barnes (Author) and then more recently from the Flylady.  (www.flylady.net)   But, honestly, some days after work, I am just too tired, either physically or mentally, or both, to even spend 15 minutes.  BUT... 5 minutes, that I can usually do.

2.  After spending 5 minutes, I often keep going because I start to feel that great feeling of accomplishment when I see the progress.  Even if I only do 5 minutes, it adds up.

3.  No need for a timer.  I just glance at the time, add 5 minutes to it in my mind, and when I reach that time, I stop.  (Or maybe keep going.  See #2)

4.  The biggest hurdle to working for 5 minutes is to know what you are going to do!  It could take me 5 minutes or more to figure out what I should do, which kind of defeats the purpose.   So I've started keeping a list of 5 minute jobs for certain areas.  Or I try to think ahead to what I can do for 5 minutes in whatever room I am concentrating on at the time.

I am currently organizing and cleaning in my sewing room and this is a list of 5 minute jobs I can do in there.

Organize one drawer or shelf
Trim scraps into usable sizes
Dust one small area
Fill bobbins for quilting or sewing
Put things where they belong for 5 minutes
Quilt for 5 minutes
Chain stitch quilt blocks
Do a quick 5 minute vacuum of the floor.
Throw away some quilt batting scraps
Organize yarn into one container.  (currently in 3 places)

Here is one drawer that I organized in 2 five minute time periods.  I just sorted them into color families and threw away a few pieces.

I use a lot of 2 1/2 inch wide strips and having them organized is a big help when making a scrap quilt.

Before:  Just thrown in the drawer.

After:  A little easier to find what I need.

I came to the conclusion that there are a lot of ugly fabrics in this drawer!  But, placed in the right  color combination in a project, they will be pretty. 

5.  Sometimes the 5 minute slot of time becomes available when we are waiting for other things to happen.  Such as waiting for the microwave to finish, oven timer to go off, or waiting for clothes to de-wrinkle in the dryer, or waiting for someone to finish getting ready to go somewhere, when you are already ready to go.  Or while in the drive through at the bank or restaurant, you can dust the area of the car right in front of you.  Just keep a dusting cloth nearby.   The secret is to be aware of these times and also to have an idea of what you can do without having to figure that out. (see #4)

6.  When you see something that needs to be done, go ahead and write it down on your 5 minutes jobs list because if you are like me, you won't think about it again until that job starts to bug you later on.

7.  You've heard of a backlog, I am sure.  Why not create a FRONT log?  Here is the definition:

1. Frontlog is typically used as a verb to indicate that you're going to do things sooner than later, even sooner than necessary. That way they are done, and out of the way. Let's frontlog this work because we know we're going to require several iterations before we get it right, so we don't want to wait for the last minute to start.
   
   

Create a list of things you can do ahead of time.  Just small things that only take about 5 minutes.   Think ahead to what you have coming up that you can go ahead and be working on.   For example, recently while at Dollar General, I went ahead and bought all the birthday cards I will need for the rest of the year.

8.   At work I have a list of little things I can do as the end of the day is approaching.  The reason for this is that I may be tired, but need to keep working.  There are always some little things I can do that don't take much brain power and will allow me to coast until the work day is over, but not feel like I am a slacker.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment to check off these small things and to make good use of all the time right up until the end of the day.

This idea is good at home too.  Save some easy 5 minute jobs for when you are tired, but want to keep on going.

9.  Delegate some 5 minute jobs.  Most of the time family and friends don't mind helping you out if the job is only going to take them 5 minutes!  And you won't mind asking them since there's not a big time investment involved.

10.   Don't limit yourself to just 5 minutes, if you have the time and energy.  This weekend I am still quilting the "Kindergarten Art Quilt" and I found myself quilting for 20 minutes at the time.  This way I give both myself and the sewing machine a break which helps me to not get burned out on the project.  I'm three fourths of the way through with the quilting!  I hope to be binding it next weekend, since I will be quilting for short periods both before and after work.

Have a great week!