I know all of you can relate to procrastination.  Procrastination can be a sign of feeling overwhelmed.  It is for me.  The more that piles up….for some reason; I procrastinate more.  Which you would think is the worst thing to do - given the fact that it only breeds more feelings of overwhelm.

So when I feel myself starting to let these feelings creep in; I rely on the "5 minute principle".
I learned this principle just after giving birth to my first son (now
3.5 y.o) and I have been using it ever since!  I felt very overwhelmed
with the responsibilities of a new child; housework; feedings; lack of
sleep; all while trying to run my business.  During that time I found a
cool little website called FlyLady.

Among
one of her helpful hints for organization; housecleaning; productivity;
was her ‘5 minute principle’.  She suggested setting a timer (even a
microwave or stove timer) for 5 minutes.  She says "You can do anything for at least five minutes".
And it is true.  I started setting my timer and I would tackle a load
of laundry - make a bed - prepare a bottle and only in five minutes.
Then I would feel motivated to see what else I could accomplish in
another five minutes…next thing I knew, I had reset the timer for 15
mins and so on…

To this day, I take five minutes and clean up
my office before working, take five minutes to make the beds when I
wake up, take five minutes to tackle a work project.  Even if I decide
to stop after only five minutes; I have taken a ‘bite out’ of the
project.  Most times I have decided to proceed, because the ideas have
already started to flow.  But by telling yourself, "take only five
minutes"; you give yourself permission to stop if you want to, because
at least you did it for five minutes. 

So the next time you become overwhelmed or start procrastinating, set a timer, dig in
for five minutes and stop or continue, at least you are tackling a bit
at a time in manageable portions. 

Go ahead try it; see what you can get done in these next five minutes!

Last 5 posts by Amy Ewart

• It's not just about Outsourcing...it's about a Lifestyle! - May 30th, 2007
• Roll with it!! - November 24th, 2006
• Stop trying so hard... - October 14th, 2006
• Solo-E's - Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Nominate Now! - August 23rd, 2006
• Good Morning - Good Night! - July 10th, 2006

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 at 12:20 am and is filed under Self Employed Work Habits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.