Can You Give It Fifteen Minutes?

Fifteen minutes might not be time to accomplish a lot, but fifteen minutes here and there adds up to great productivity. It’s the little things that count. Just as you can nickel-and-dime yourself broke, so you can second-and minute yourself unsuccessful.

Seconds are attached to minutes; minutes are attached to hours; hours are attached to years, years are attached to a lifetime; a lifetime is attached to eternity. Time matters. Make it count. Everyone is allotted 24 hours in a day. How you spend it is up to you.

Everyone is pressed for time. When I feel overwhelmed with a lot of projects and looming time constraints, I ask myself “Can you give it fifteen minutes?”

Fifteen Minute Organization – Question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. The office, the files, the closet may seem totally out of control but can be organized into manageable bites in only fifteen minutes. Work for fifteen minutes on one section today, and another tomorrow, and another the next day, and “Walla”, the job is done – in your spare time.

Fifteen Minute Planning According to My-Time Organizing System, “for every minute you spend planning, you can save from four to ten times that amount of time in execution”. Wow, what a trade-off; organization for more time. Devote fifteen minutes every afternoon before leaving the office to plan the next days events. Make a list of scheduled appointments, determine what you need for each and do advance preparation. Make a written list of important projects.

Spend fifteen minutes at home, before retiring, so tomorrow will go smoother from the get-go. Decide what you will wear and have it front and center in the closet. Include shoes and accessories. Refill your brief case and have it, keys and purse, by the door ready to leave. Place errand items by the door or in the car (returns, laundry for cleaners, books to the library, etc.).

Fifteen Minute Reading – So much to read, so little time. Our world is filled with information overload. Allocate a few minutes daily to sort through reading materials; clip, label, and keep legitimate articles and recycle the rest. Break your reading down into reasonable time frames.

A tome like the Bible can be read through in one year by spending fifteen minutes a day. Let me show you how simple it is. There are 365 days in a year. Subtract 100 days off for all those unplanned reasons. The Bible contains 1,186 pages. Divide 1,186 pages into 265 days, gives you 4.48 pages a day, or fifteen minutes for mind and soul nourishment.

Fifteen Minute Refreshing – When you are too busy to take a break is when you need it most.
After a short respite you returned relaxed, refreshed, and with renewed creative ideas. The benefits far outweigh the small amount of time given.

Fifteen Minute Energizer – What is worse, the task or the dread? Dread and procrastination are energy wasters. It takes more energy to begin a task than to keep it going. Overcome the Law of Inertia by asking yourself, “Can you give it fifteen minutes?” This gentle nudge is often all that is needed to get the ball rolling.

All have been allotted 24 hours per day; how you spend it is up to you. Redeem the time by manageable fifteen-minute increments