“You can do so much in ten minutes’ time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.” – Ingvar Kamprad , IKEA Founder
Interesting people value their time.
They learn to handle and succeed in most areas of their lives, but the one part that is always a challenge is managing time.
There are so many things to do and people to interact with that there is simply not enough time in this life to do it all.
10 minutes might not sound like a lot of time, but I agree that there is a lot that can be done with it.
1. 10 Minutes Per Day
10 minutes per day of an activity is enough to establish it as a habit.
You can do:
- 10 minutes of rigorous exercise/calistenics
- 10 minutes of Yoga
- 10 minutes of language study on an app like DuoLingo
- 10 minutes of meditation or breathing exercises.
- 10 minutes to prepare healthy food choices.
- 10 minutes of quality reading
- 10 minutes brushing and flossing your teeth (actually much less than 10 minutes here)
- 10 minutes of researching a new project you’ve been putting off
- 10 minutes calling up a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in a long time
- 10 minutes planning or researching a next trip or adventure
- 10 minutes working on a small part of a larger action (Click here to read my article on the magic of small actions)
- Many many other useful things.
For many activities it is more about daily frequency that doing them in one large chunk of time.
10 minutes a day is more than enough for many extremely beneficial habits.
2. 10 Minutes as a Start to Something Larger
As I mentioned in my article on smaller actions, often just 5-10 minutes of starting an action is more than enough to build momentum to completing that action.
Commit to just 10 minutes to start something that you’ve been putting off.
If you happen to keep going beyond the 10 minutes (and you very likely will), great! You’re well on your way to getting things done!
3. Reaching Out to People
10 minutes is more than enough time to call, text, message or email someone you haven’t spoken to in a while.
The payout on this time can be huge mentally and emotionally for both you and the person you’re contacting.
10 minutes to check in on a business contact can also lead to new opportunities in the future. Holidays and other special times are particularly great times for this.
4. Some Tasks Just take 10 minutes (or less) to Complete
- Taking out the trash
- Checking the air in your tires, fluids under the hood.
- Straightening up a room
- Making and enjoying a healthy cup of tea
- Making a phone call
- Checking to see if you can save 15% on your car insurance by contacting Geico…
10 minutes is more than enough to complete a task. Do these easy 10 minute things and have them be DONE once and for all.
By now you should see the value of 10 minute blocks of time. By seeing the value you should now look to defend them and treasure their worth.
How many 10 minute blocks of time do you waste watching television? Checking Social Media?
It is incredibly easy to waste 10+ minutes of time checking Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, etc
People are usually aware when they have to waste a whole or half day at a mechanic’s shop or the DMV.
They are less sensitive to the 10 minute blocks of time that add up to huge chunks of time in the long run.
How are ways that you can make better use of time when “wasting” it is inevitable?
You can listen to podcasts and audio books.
You can use learning apps like DuoLingo or a meditation app like HeadSpace.
Carry a small interesting book around with you when you’re going to a place that might involve waiting.
In closing, to live your most interesting life you have to use time as efficiently as possible.
Never underestimate the power of 10 minute blocks to help you get to where to want to be.
Make your life more interesting 10 minutes at a time.
Until Next Time, Stay Interesting!
All the best,
D
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