Do It in 15 Minutes

Tackle anything, from organizing your office to getting more customers, in just 15 minutes.

There must be something in the air. Many of the people I have spoken to recently have talked about wanting to get rid of some of the stuff cluttering their lives. By that I mean the physical things--clothes, books, furniture, knickknacks and more--that fill up our space and complicate our lives.

If you have ever spent hours searching for something that was hidden among the many “treasures” you have collected over the years, you know how things become a time and energy drain.

You may think that you do not have the time to get organized and clear away the things you do not need. In fact, you do not have the time not to. Make it simple. I keep a donation box in one room of the house. Every time we run across something that we no longer need (but is too good to throw away) we toss it into the box. Every few weeks, we give what we have accumulated to a local charity. This way, we are clearing out closets and drawers in between major organizing days.

How many things are you holding onto? Let go of the clothes that no longer fit your body or your life, the books you will never read again, the kitchen gadget you just had to have (but have never used), the broken table you keep meaning to fix, etc.

Freeing the clutter from your home and office can also free the clutter from your mind. You will find yourself feeling open to new ideas and opportunities, and ready to take on new challenges.

The article below is one I wrote some time ago about marketing in short bursts. The same principle works for organizing. Start with at least one 15-minute project today. You will be amazed at the results.

Cathy

P.S. Need some help getting started? My friend Marla Regan is a professional organizer who has written an ebook called “Clutter Busting.” http://www.idealady.com/clutter.htm

******************************

*15-Minute Marketing (and More)*

Do you think you don’t have enough time to market? Here’s a solution that can help you get started on marketing, or any other task you’ve been putting off.

Promise yourself you will spend 15 uninterrupted minutes working on one aspect of marketing. Edit the copy for your brochure. Update your email signature file. Make some phone calls. Revise a Web page. Send a letter. Post a message to an email list. Or identify a media outlet and send your most recent press release to them.

You’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish in just 15 minutes. Think you can’t get anything done in that short time? How long does it take to clean your house? How long does it take if your mother-in-law will be there in 15 minutes? I rest my case!

Set a timer (so you don’t watch the clock) and focus on your task for 15 minutes. Don’t answer the phone or get distracted by anything else. When the timer goes off, you can stop. Of course, if you are on a roll, you might want to keep going for a little longer, but don’t keep at it for so long that you lose focus.

There is nothing magic about 15 minutes. Make it 20 or 30 minutes, if you wish. Just commit to spending that time intently working on the task at hand.

By the way, this technique can work for anything else you’ve been putting off. Tackle filing for 15 minutes a day and watch the stacks of paper shrink. Instead of setting out to organize your kitchen, spend 15 minutes on the junk drawer (every kitchen has one). Then tackle another drawer or shelf in your next 15-minute project.

Schedule your 15 minutes every day and see how that 15 minutes affects your results!


	Search