If it sounds simplistic that’s because it is. But like with so many things the simplest things are often the hardest.
If you can’t explain it simply, you haven’t understood it - Albert Einstein
Whether we are talking about writing a novel or clearing the dishes there’s no real magic involved in getting things done. You just have to get started, and once you’ve got started, keep going. Even a tiny step every day in the right direction will yield positive results.
It’s easy to lose sight of this in a myriad of productivity hacks and planners.
I must have tried the full range of time management techniques over the years. But I can’t help thinking that all the time I spent, painstakingly transferring tasks over from one day to the next could have been better spent in actually doing the thing (even for 5 minutes).
And it might have meant that I had fewer things on my list in the first place.
In the spirit of effective time management this is not a long piece today. Rather, it’s a reminder to look at your to do list and pick one thing. Something that you want to make progress on this week and just do 5 minutes on that task.
It might be all you need to be able to tick it off completely (making a doctors appointment for example), or it might be a slower project. But the crucial thing is that you are making progress.
If you’d like to join me, in the spirit of gentle accountability why not add your ‘one thing’ in the comments and we can cheer each other on.
I love this I haven’t felt well the past two weeks and a nice reminder to roll slowly back into things and accomplishments. So working on socks, care of loved ones, and planting for me this week.
I'm going to work on embellishments on a denim jacket