The Power of One

ONE… a very powerful word.  Turn on a timer for 60 seconds.  Close your eyes.  Breathe deeply and slowly.  

See how long a minute is?  What can you endure for one minute?  How long does it take you to pay someone a compliment?  Can you show someone kindness in one minute?  No matter what you’re doing, one minute can be a very long time.

How can we make use of our minutes? 

One way is to look at the simple tasks that we do on a regular basis and make a mental note of how long they take.  For example, I cook my breakfast in the microwave for 3 minutes almost every morning.  I would listen to the news, wander a bit while I was waiting.  I then realized that I can actually empty my dishwasher about 3 minutes…so now I always run my dishwasher in the evening so it will be ready to be emptied while breakfast is cooking, and it doesn’t seem like a chore anymore!

Go through your task list. Try to get a handle on how long things take. Does it take 10 minutes to fold laundry? Does it take 5 minutes to start a load of laundry? How long does it take to clean out a shelf in your refrigerator?  Does it take 3 minutes to organize the mail that came today?  How many emails can you go through and delete in 5 minutes?  As you go through your day when you have pockets of time, you can use these pockets more efficiently when you have a rough idea of how long things take. 

Tips:

Take note of three tasks that take 5 minutes or less. 

Make a list of daily tasks.   How long does each one take?

Appreciate every minute,