A Useful 10 Minutes
Create 10 useful minutes a day. Whether this is something you have been meaning to start or something you have been putting off. Give it 10 minutes.
A useful 10 minutes for motivation
To prove to yourself that you have at least 10 minutes of focus in the tank.
Why a useful 10 minutes?
It’s a starting point which becomes a stepping stone to bigger things.
What can I do with a useful 10 minutes?
-
Build structure in your life by dedicating time.
-
Build a habit of taking time out to do something for you.
-
It helps compound the 10 minutes into something bigger.
-
It helps with procrastination by knowing you have a small limited amount of time to start. (Parkinson’s Law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.) You’ll be surprised by how much can be achieved in such a short space of time.
-
It helps stop people from monopolizing your time by helping you develop a boundary. This is your 10 minutes, and you will not allow people to intrude upon it.
-
It sets time aside you for.
-
10 minutes shows us that we can actually take time for ourselves.
-
10 minutes is the minimum. This is non-negotiable. However, if you need to take more then that’s no problem.
-
10 minutes to reflect. Reflection is a great way to step back from ourselves and observe our thoughts, feelings and actions.
-
A useful 10 minutes creates boundaries to prevent overworking. For some individuals taking too much time can be problematic.
Ways to use the 10 minutes:
-
Self-care
-
Meditation
-
Reading
-
Exercise
-
Simply taking a break
-
Time to reflect
-
Talk with someone close
-
Go for a walk
-
Doing whatever feels right for you
The nuts and bolts of 10 minutes:
-
People often fail to take their 10 minutes, not because they don’t want to, but because they haven’t planned it into their day or they do not know what it would look like.
-
Decide in advance how you will use your time and when you will take it. Write down why this time and why you will use it in a certain way. The more detail the better. Make it a personal mission.
-
A useful 10 minutes must be planned into the day.
-
Make it multiple 10 minutes if needed. Perhaps 10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. And maybe another 10 in the evening.
After the 10. What happens when you take the 10 minutes?
-
You realize how valuable having allotted time is.
-
That even if tired you know you can do the 10 minutes without expending yourself.
-
That you can fill the 10 minutes with a lot of productive work.
-
That it’s possible to take time for you!
The power of 10.
I mentioned reflection as a way of using 10 minutes. Here are some reflective questions of having a useful 10 minutes:
Why do I need a useful 10 minutes?
I’m always putting things off.
How will you use the 10 minutes?
To focus on returning emails.
Why is using the 10 minutes so important for this task?
I always feel like I’m behind which causes me stress.
When will you start?
I will allot time in the morning at 9:30am.
How will you manage this time against distractions?
I know this is my time as I’ve planned in advance which allows me to stick to it.
Here are some generic questions to get you started on your useful 10 minutes:
-
Why do I need a useful 10 minutes?
-
How would it help me?
-
What issue first comes to mind when you think of using a useful 10 minutes?
-
Why this issue?
-
Is the issue really that big that you can't have 10 minutes?
-
Now we've decided you do have 10 minutes when will you get started?
-
What would it feel like to become effective in using the time?
-
How will I prevent distraction?
Remember, this is your time!