Start Overcoming Busy Right Now – The 15 Minute Project
October 23, 2009 by Marci
Just the thought of decluttering and organizing can be enough to overwhelm some of us. When we look at the size of the job as a whole, it can seem impossible to tackle. That is why lots of us never even start. This week in our series “Start Overcoming Busy Right Now”, lets look at an awesome tool to make decluttering and organizing manageable. I call it the “15 minute project”.
What’s the magic of 15 minutes?
Has anyone ever asked you “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is “One bite at a time.” That’s exactly how to declutter and organize. To quote the Flylady “Your house didn’t get cluttered in a day, its not going to get cleaned in a day” – or somthing like that. Those words were very comforting to me when I was starting my journey to a clutter-free life. I took that step-by-step mentality and put it to work for me and my home. I discovered that any large project could be broken down into smaller tasks that are not so overwhelming. Instead of looking at my entire disheveled kitchen, I look at one cabinet or one area of counter space. I decide what I can declutter and re-organize in 15 minutes. Mentally, 15 minutes sounds a lot more do-able than the entire day devoted to one project. I am more apt to start a project I know I can finish.
Maintaining that clutter-free home
The 15 minute project can be used to start a major decluttering project or to maintain an already organized home. You might take 15 minutes one day and organize your spice cabinet or your make-up drawer. Another day, you might declutter your desk top. Taking just a little time each day can really keep your clutter from overtaking you!
How to start using the 15 minute project
Each of us has little pockets of 15 minutes we can use to get started. Pick a time, choose an area, set a timer and go to work. If that project gets finished and you think you have another 15 minutes, set the timer again. You will feel so good when your 15 minute project is finished. It will give you the motivation to keep going and finish the entire goal.
So, where will you do your 15 minute project today? Let me know about it! I’d love to hear how it works for you!
Remember, it doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start.
Comments (3)
Great advice! This is how I tackle everything in my life. Any project is do-able if you break it down in to smaller parts. I also reward myself with dark chocolate a lot!
I will work for dark chocolate too!!
Sounds do-able. I’m going to give it a try =]