No matter how organized you are, there will always be days when small tasks pile up. Even if these tasks are easy, having a lot of them in front of you can be extremely demotivating. One easy way to prevent this is to divide small tasks between different times of the day or organize them by importance. Another, even easier way is to use the one-minute rule. TO use this method, simply ask yourself “Will this take one-minute or less?” If the answer is yes, complete the task. If the answer is no, schedule it for later.
How Much Can You Do in a Minute?
One-minute or less might not seem like a lot of time (though that is kind of the point), but you would be surprised what you could do in that time. Is your coffee table cluttered? It will take you one-minute or less to put away the magazines and empty cups. Is your bed disheveled? It will take you one-minute or less to make it. Other things you can do in one-minute include, cleaning out your hairbrush, organizing your shoes, putting away your dance bag, and picking up laundry off the floor. Even tasks that might seem like more than one-minute can usually easily fit into a 60-second time limit. Look at the tasks before you and judge them accurately. If you’re looking at a hairbrush and thinking “that will take 15 minutes to put away,” demotivation has gotten the best of you.
What About Longer Tasks?
Obviously, you can’t do everything in one minute. You can’t go grocery shopping, do laundry, or clean your bathroom. However, eliminating the small tasks that clutter your to-do list will make your mind feel more clear, and help you better assess the things that will take more effort for you to do. If your to-do list is full of small one-minute tasks, you will quickly begin to think that it is impossible to get everything you need to do done, but if you eliminate small tasks and do them with the one-minute rule in mind, your to-do list will shrink and you will be able to effectively organize your remaining tasks.
You would be amazed how much you can do in one minute, and how motivating it is to get those tiny tasks out of the way.
