Do Double by Doing Half

Picture by Richard North

My tasks these days have become a little less glamorous than they used to be, but I still have chores and things I want to accomplish each day. The only problem is that I don't always have the energy to do it all at once anymore.
Rather than not doing anything at all, or delegating to my dearest husband (who would do anything I ask him, but how unfair would that be?), I split up tasks to make them more manageable.
I start by just doing half of what I have to do. And then I cut whatever's left in half again.

Say you have to finish a report, write a blog post, do a load of ironing. Tell yourself that for now it will suffice to just do half the report/blog post/load of wrinklies. After that you deserve a break (grab a cup of coffee or practice corpse pose for a couple of minutes). When you come back to the second half of the task, do the same thing. Cut it in half again, and take another break. Keep doing this until whatever's left of the task is so small that you would just rather finish it right away. 

So which task did I have to use this on? I almost feel embarrassed to tell you, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I'll do it anyways: I had to slice 4 loaves of bread by hand yesterday, and it just seemed like too much to do at once. I sliced two, took a break, than one, rested for a bit, then the other. I still got the job done quite quickly since the break times took no more than 5-10 minutes, but I didn't feel stressed and rushed because I took care of my myself in the process.

What do you think? Wanna give it a try? Let me know how it went!

Set a Priority - Break the Rut

Photo by Stephen McKay

Ever find yourself just going through the motions of life without any particular goal in mind? You go to work, cook dinner, watch TV, go to the occasional family gathering and party, and each year blends into the next without anything changing much.

Coming back to the US after being gone for over 4 years we were surprised to find how little some things have changed, notably the people around us. Our last 4 years were full of exciting goals we pursued and consequently arrived at, so it's sometimes unsettling to see how others get stuck in a rut and don't even seem to notice the time going by. It's mostly unsettling because from past experience I know how easy it is to get into a rut like that, and how difficult it is to escape once you do.

I'll make today's 5 minute task a simple one to get started on creating a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. All you have to do is set a priority. Choose an area in your life: family, health, work, relationships, etc; that you will view as your priority for a certain amount of time. It can be a priority for a day, for a week, a month, a year. 

Then think of what you would like to achieve in this area. Do you want to spend more time with your family? Are you hoping to lose some pounds? Do you want to start exercising more regularly? 
Having this priority set will already make you feel more goal oriented and inspired, and help you set the stage for true action.

I'm someone who'd much rather actively create my life and my circumstances than undergo them passively. It does take energy and effort however, and it is never easy to become pro-active once you're used to the comfort of letting life wash over you. Just keep in mind that you can and should be pro-active about doing nothing sometimes too! Watching TV on purpose because you happen to enjoy a certain show or because you really just want to vege out for a day is totally different from plopping down on the couch cause that's just what you usually do.

What are your thoughts? Are you stuck in a rut? Did you ever break out of one? Share below!

Worth Every Minute: Productivity

I know many of you are looking for ways to become more productive. In the past, many of the posts have been about habits to become more productive, and today I want to share somebody else's take on the issue.

The post I want to share today is one about habits that are unproductive that we could let go of. It's interesting to take a look at these common activities and review them in the light of their effectiveness.

Even though the English in this post is not perfect, it's worth reading for the excellent advice it gives. For a long list, it's also pretty concise, so don't worry about having to spend too much time.
Let me know what you think! Or if there's anything else you would add to that list.

17 Unproductive Habits to Let Go by Timo Kiander on LifeOptimizer.org.

Have a little more time and want to see what else is worth reading/watching. Have a look at the other posts in the Worth Every Minute series.

Jumping Back on the Wagon

Picture by Odense Bys Museer

Since last summer, I've been slacking off a bit when it came to productive and life-improving habits. Sure, we were still eating healthy and I'm still finishing all of my class preparations, but that's about it. I haven't really been focusing on the long-term goals and the house-hold and my blogs have suffered too.

This has been bothering me, and maybe some of you too.

My hubby and I have been waiting for paperwork to get out of China and finally see our US family again. This being in-between where we were and where we want to be has left us feeling like we don't really care so much about the present anymore.
But just sitting around waiting is a waste of time. Especially if it just goes on for months without any idea of when it might get better.

Well, I'm done with it. And for those of you who have started hibernating and letting go of some of the great habits you've built up: this is for you too.

Over the months from September 2010 to August 2011, I started some great habits. I built them up slowly, but by June 2011 we were getting up early, getting daily exercise, eating well, blogging daily, and feeling great about all of it. I loved that time, but when I got first trimester morning sickness, it became impossible to keep up with. 

Now I want it back, but it seems like so much to do at once.

So what do you do? Start with one thing. Build up the habits the way you did before. Today I started with one of the first habits that I picked up before, and the easiest one for me: making a daily plan. I take out my diary (which has been gathering dust on the messy desk in the never-used office) and wrote down a rough outline of what I plan to do each hour. I left some space open to fill in later, but that'll slowly get filled up too. 

It worked pretty well. My day was much more productive than they have been this week, and I felt a lot more energetic. 

When we give up on a habit, we often think that's it. We tried it and clearly it didn't work. But it doesn't have to be that way. An ex-smoker who falls off the wagon doesn't have to settle for smoking for the rest of their life. A busy mom who's gained weight doesn't have to forget about exercising forever.
We each have our times when it's difficult to do the things we know are good for us, and make us happy.

When the time is right, however, you will feel the urge to get back into gear and you can feel confident knowing you've already succeeded once before!  

5 Tasks that Take More Time than You Think

Instant Noodles (source)

We're notoriously bad at gauging time. If you've been with this blog for a while, maybe you remember the post I wrote about Time: a User's Guide by Stefan Klein. You can read the post here if you haven't yet.

We overestimate and underestimate how long something takes all the time. When we overestimate we end up with extra free time we didn't expect, which is nice, or put something of we could've done, which is not so nice. But when we think a task is much shorter than it really is in reality, we can end up planning too much and stretching ourselves too thin.
To avoid that, have a look at these 5 common activities that may take more time than you think. Next time you do one of them, try to time or pay attention to how long you spend on them to get a more realistic idea.

1. Getting ready, whether it's in the morning, to leave work or to go out, always takes time. My hubby and I often find ourselves rushing out the door because we turned off the computer at 7:15, which is also when we have to leave. Gathering your stuff, putting on coats and shoes and checking you got the keys are all tiny time-consumers not to be forgotten!
   
2. Checking e-mails (or online networks) is an activity that can take anywhere from 3 seconds to 3 hours. It all depends on where you let the e-mails take you. If you're going to click through links and check out stuff online, you're on the dangerous path to losing track. Instead, try to focus on responding to important personal/business e-mails before diving into newsletters and notifications.
   
3. 'Preparing instant food' is a deceiving name for an activity that is usually anything but instant. It takes time to get stuff together and unwrap/put in bowl/heat up/or whatever else you have to do to prepare your meal. I've found very little difference between heating up instant stuff and making a salad in the amount of time it takes me to get the food on the table.
   
4. Shopping without a list is dangerous. Not only will you undoubtedly spend much more than you planned and buy lots of stuff you don't really need, you'll also need more time as you remember things in random order and find yourself running back to the produce section 5 times in one trip. Use a grocery list instead!
   
5. When it comes to dealing with people there are no quick fixes. Whenever you need to discuss something with another person, make sure you have set out enough time to do it. Relationships don't benefit from being rushed, so show your love and respect for those around you by not underestimating the time it takes to communicate with them.

Time is precious and knowing how much time you need to spend on anything can be the difference between feeling frustrated and rushed or feeling calm and in control. Do you find yourself often losing track of time? Or do you notice that the time you've taken out to do some thing just doesn't suffice?

5 Chores that Take Less Time than You Think

Picture by Cielo de la Paz

How often have you made the excuse that you 'just don't have time' to do this or that. We leave the dishes piling up in the sink because we figure that it takes too much time to do them right away, and we'd rather do something else. There's dirty laundry in every corner of the bedroom because we just can't find the time to sort through it and put it in the machine.

But these are only two of the many tasks that we often over-estimate. Somehow we fool ourselves into thinking that these tasks take more time. Maybe it's because of the different steps they contain, or the fact that we dislike them so much. But knowing how fast you can complete some of these chores can give you incentive to just finish them as quickly as possible and stop letting them nestle in the back of your mind.

1. Breakfast dishes really only take about 5 minutes to finish if everyone helps. Bowls and plates are easy to wash and dry. There are usually no pots to scrub, so it's a matter of minutes altogether.
   
2.  Cleaning the sink is just a matter of getting some product and wiping everything down. Unless you've recently cleaned out paint brushes in there or spilled something nasty, it doesn't take nearly as long as you might think.
   
3. Clearing up can be done in an incredibly short time. Set a timer for 5 minutes and see how much clutter you can clear away. Don't linger over stuff, just put it where it needs to go (or toss it out if it's useless.)
   
4. Making a proper breakfast is just a quick and easy task that there's no excuse for eating cereal every morning. We usually make some toast, scrambled eggs, and get some fruit on the table in about 3 minutes. It'll take me 5 if I have to do it myself. But even if you're one to roll out of bed and rush out the door, you can still enjoy a nourishing bite beforehand.
   
5. Making the bed doesn't take minutes, it takes only a couple of seconds. Don't know why you'd make your bed in the first place? I explain some of the reasons in this post.

Any other tasks that you can think of which seem to take much longer than they really do? Feel free to share in the comments below! I love to hear your opinions and ideas.

The "Right Time" Will Never Come

(source)

There is no such thing. The 'right time' does not exist. Sure, you may have had those moments where everything just clicked: the work went great, you felt like you were exactly where you were meant to be, everything just happened naturally. But I bet your own mind played into it much more than you realise.

Waiting around for the right time can be a great excuse to procrastinate when you don't feel like starting a task. The typical movie-example is of a character waiting for the right time to tell the truth, which of course always backfires because by that time, that character's already been lying for so long it doesn't really matter anymore.

The idea that a single moment is better than a whole lot of other ones, and that we should instinctively be aware of this one moment, is a useless and paralyzing notion. Waiting around is a waste of time. The only time we ever have is NOW. We don't have yesterday anymore, that time has come and gone. We don't have tomorrow, that time will be ours later (or may not be, you never know) and it can never be ours this very moment. So the only time you ever have to do anything is right now. 
That makes right now the only right time you will ever have.

Are you postponing an important task? An annoying chore? A vital decision? Don't wait around for any other time but now. Make the most of the present moment and use it to the best of your ability. 

And that's my cue to get up and get to that pile of clothes to iron that's been waiting for me to decide the time is right.

5 Ways to Cut Back Facebook Time

(source)

I've betrayed myself. Only months after I wrote this post on how and why to quit facebook, I went back. Now, since this is my blog, I have exclusive justification rights which I plan to exploit to the fullest! You may call me a hypocrite in the comments below, but up here, I'm the only one talking.

All kidding aside, I do have (good) reasons for returning to facebook. One is that I have awful friends who don't know how to keep an email conversation going beyond 3 emails. The other is that I am pretty much the same. Other reasons include all those pictures I didn't get to see of my friends and family: Kids growing up. great places to see, etc. And of course, facebook is a great (read: free) marketing tool for things like, um, this blog?

Still, my reasons for quitting in the first place haven't changed. I'm still worried about spending too much time on there instead of doing stuff that'll matter in the end, so I've thought of some ways to keep myself from spending too much time getting lost on the profiles of friends-of-friends I hardly know.

1. Unsubscribe from e-mail notifications.
   It's much easier to stay away from a website if there's nothing that's drawing you back there. One of the things that gets me on a website (facebook, couchsurfing, blogger) is when I get emails that alert me to some kind of change. I've now unsubscribed from every single notification on the website, and now only log on when I feel like it.
2. Limit the flow of information.
   There is more information floating around on facebook (or the web for that matter) than what we possibly could or would ever want to process. Use those little arrows that let you unsubscribe from the stuff you don't really care about. Lots of facebook contacts are acquaintances of mine. It's nice to know when something important happens, but I really don't need to know what each one had for breakfast.
3. Set a specific time.
   Control yourself by setting a limited time on which you will look around facebook stuff. I suggest doing this for most activities because it will make you more focused and involved with the activity at hand. A limited time means that the time you spend on your activity becomes more valuable. You can use the tool I mentioned in this post to help you.
4. Set priorities.
   If you know what you want to see, who you want to get in touch with, what you want to do; then you'll be able to focus on that one thing and do it quickly and efficiently. Don't just 'go on facebook', do something specific like 'looking at friends' holiday pictures', 'updating your status' or 'sending a birthday message'.
5. Quit the games!
   No further explanation needed, I'm sure. When I quit it was the height of Farmville. I see that has come and gone to make room for other, similar stuff.   

A great way to motivate yourself is to track how much time you spend on facebook for a week, and see which other goals you would be able to accomplish within that time (or part of that time).

Worth Every Minute!

I've read so many great blog posts lately, that I find it difficult to choose one to share. But there was one that I just knew I had to share.
Perseverance hasn't always been the easiest for me, and I still need to be reminded of how important it is to just keep going at it from time to time. Chances are that if you try long enough, you'll eventually get the result you're looking for. You're increasing the odds with every attempt.

Today's article talks about just that. It gives you the reasons you need to keep working at your goals. For those of you who are working toward a goal that seems to be impossible to reach, this could be a great help!

So without further ado:

How to Succeed: Keep At It Until You Get Lucky by Donald Latumahina on Lifeoptimizer.com

Let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did!

For more worthwhile reads, check out the other posts of Worth Every Minute.

To Do What You Wanna Do, Be Who You Wanna Be!

Picture by Sam Davis

Self-discipline and motivation has been a struggle for me since day one. I can remember my kindergarten teacher complaining about the fact that I couldn't finish tasks. In elementary school, I would finish 90% of a drawing in 20 minutes, and take forever over the last 10%.

And then my dad told us a story. I don't really remember much of it, but it was about this little guy, a toymaker, who could never finish all the toys he started making. His workshop was full of unfinished toys. This struck me, at the time and still now, as incredibly sad.
I realized that that was not the kind of person I wanted to be.

When you find it hard to do the kind of things you set out to do, or to follow the planning you have made for yourself, take a step back. Don't keep pushing yourself, because you risk starting to resent the task that you have set out to do, which brings you nowhere closer to finishing it.

Instead, take that step back and get some perspective. Imagine how the task fits in with the kind of person you want to be. 
Take 3 minutes to ask yourself the following questions:

1. What kind of person do I want to be?
2. How would that kind of person tackle this task?
3. How will finishing this task reflect on me as a person?

Realize that who you are is no more set in stone than the clouds in the sky. 'YOU' is a fluent concept. You are allowed to change and improve upon this concept, and more importantly, you can radically change it to become what you want it to be. 

True, some things we can't change, and some parts of our personality are less flexible than others, but I believe that who we really are as a person doesn't depend on those everlasting, unchangeable aspects (race, nationality, gender, sexuality) but on the choices we make every day.
I want to be the kind of person people can trust, and that I can trust. With every choice I make as that person, I come closer to becoming her.

Triple Inspiration in a Single Minute

Hello dear readers, it's another Sunday.
Unbelievable how the weeks keep flying by, isn't it?

Last week's quotes are all used up by now, so I've got three fresh ones for you to keep in mind for the next seven days.

If you want to have a look at all the old posts in this series, you can click here.

Get Productive!

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."
(William James)

Get Happy!

“Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us a wild-goose chase, and is never attained.”

(Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Get Inspired!

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible."
(Arthur C. Clarke)

Stop-Checking-Stats Challenge

This is for all you fellow bloggers and website owners out there. Something you have told yourself endless amounts of times, I'm sure, but something that keeps creeping up again and again. How do I know? That's pretty much how it works for me, and I'm nothing out of the ordinary.

Stats are the underestimated drug of the blogger. And yes, it's a drug. Stats are addicting, and bad for your health (mental health, mostly). They have yet to contribute to anyone's life. Okay, I'll give in a little. Stats have helped me on one account: I found out where most of my readers are based, so I can sometimes adapt my links to where most of you guys are at. But I could probably have guessed that anyways. 50% from Belgium ... where almost all my family and friends live.
So I'm going to quit. Cold Turkey. Who's with me?

I'm not a masochist, so I won't cut out ALL stat-checking forever. But I'm taking a big step: I am now allowed to check my stats once a week, on Sunday morning. 

How do you keep yourself from checking stats? If possible, block the pages you go to. If that's impossible (because even though you're a fervent blogger, you have no idea how to actually DO stuff on the internet (yes, that was a confession)), think of a punishment you can give yourself for every time you check stats when you weren't supposed to. I'm going to make myself wash dishes. Something I utterly despise. 
Alternatively, you can also reward yourself for not checking your stats all day. Like making your hubby do the dishes. Chocolate works too. DO NOT reward yourself by checking stats! 

So, are you in or out? Is this a problem for you or not at all? Am I completely neurotic for having a stat-checking issue? If so, be gentle in your comments! 

MWH Stats for all to see