Life isn’t always easy, and sometimes it isn’t even productive. There’s so much to do and so little time to do it in, we never really get it all done. In fact, we sabotage ourselves by procrastinating, hemming and hawing, and imagining that we have so very much to do that we shouldn’t even bother with the small stuff. Sometimes, we really shouldn’t bother with the small stuff, but most of the time, we should forge onward and get it done. The smaller our “to do” list is, the better that we will actually feel.

Think about it for a minute. Whether you are a mental list maker or a die hard pen and pad list maker, the shorter your list is, the happier you are. As soon as you cross off even just a single task, you instantly feel better. Granted, the more difficult the task or the more dreaded it was, the larger your sigh of relief and the greater your sense of relief.

The truth of the matter is that we could accomplish much more throughout our day if we simply tried a new plan of attack. Instead of bemoaning the fact that we don’t have enough time to get anything done, let’s try to get more done by rearranging the way that we do things. Instead of allowing minutes to slip by simply because there aren’t enough of them to actually accomplish any tack, even a simple one, let’s rearrange our tasks to fit into these small time frames so that we can clear up a larger bulk of time for the bigger things

Where can we find these single minutes, five-minute blocks, or ten-minute blocks of time? Think about it long enough, and you will discover so many, that you’ll open up a whole new world of possibilities for yourself. In fact, many of us experience the ‘locked in time’ moments when we are simply waiting for something and sit there doing nothing. The rebooting of the computer, commercial breaks during television shows, holding on the telephone waiting for our turn, waiting for the delivery man to finish jotting down his arrival time and arrive at our door, or waiting for the microwave to finish heating our beverage or snack are all prime examples.

Things to Do in One Minute

• File a hangnail.
• Water a house plant.
• Set up a task to complete later. For example, get out the things you will need to get it done.
• Make one bed.
• Empty the trash or spam folder in your e-mail account.
• Clip some coupons.
• Bring the laundry downstairs.
• Write out a check for a bill payment.

Things to Do in Five Minutes

• Make an appointment or cancel an appointment.
• Sort the mail and toss anything that’s not worth looking at.
• Clean out your purse or wallet.
• File all of your nails.
• Trim your child’s bangs.
• Make all of the beds.
• Vacuum one room.
• Clean a mirror.
• Clean a window.
• Wipe down the kitchen counter-top.