Not too long ago I borrowed the e-book, The 8-Minute
Manager. I was excited to read it
because I love the idea of becoming better organized. I only made it through the first
chapter. The concept is a valuable one,
taking 8-minute increments each day and doing projects around the house, but
the only problem was, she kept recommending that the reader purchase this and
that to help organize various spaces.
Since I am on a very tight budget, that wasn’t going to work for
me. I decided I need a combo book, The
Tightwad Gazette meets The 8-Minute Manager. Instead, I returned the book and started
doing one 10-minute project each day.
(Yes, I expanded my time by 2 minutes).
To be honest, I don’t watch the clock or set a timer, but I just choose
a small project of about 10 minutes. Then
I squeeze it in when I’m cooking dinner or have a lull in the day
somewhere. I began in the kitchen
because it was the room that was bothering me the most. I decided that there are areas of my home
that drain my energy. I am beginning
with those first. Anything that nags at
me every time I walk by is getting my attention first. For example, I have five potted plants, and
I’ll admit they don’t get nearly the TLC that my outdoor gardens get. Every time I looked at the African Violets on
my kitchen windowsill, a little voice said in my head, “Those plants look
terribly neglected and just downright sad.
What kind of housekeeper are you?”
I decided those kind of negative thoughts are not good for me, so I
tackled the plants first. It took me two
day’s worth of 10-minute projects to get all five plants repotted, trimmed and
cleaned. Here’s the amazing thing- now
when I look at those plants, rather than feel badly, I feel a sense of
accomplishment. Now the voice inside my
head says something like this: “Look how great those plants look! Aren’t they happy! You keep your house in good order.” Next, I tackled my kitchen drawers, one by
one. Each day I emptied one drawer,
sorted through the contents, threw half of the stuff away, wiped out the drawer,
and replaced the contents. All in about
10 minute’s time! Little by little my
kitchen is beginning to look so much cleaner and much more orderly. That negative voice in my head is being
replaced with positive thoughts. I used
to think I had to tackle a room as one huge job, setting aside an entire day to
thoroughly scrub and organize. It
felt so overwhelming that I never got to it.
Now I can work on small jobs, one at a time, until the entire room is in
good shape. I’m reminded of a quote that
I’ve loved for many years. President
Monson quoted it in General Conference last year, and I think his version is
slightly different. I don’t know who the
author is, but it’s definitely true.
By the yard, life is hard.
By the inch, life’s a cinch!
