A few weeks ago, I wrote a rather tongue in cheek post on time management.

Time management isn't necessarily one of my strong suits, but as I continue to find personal and professional projects that I want to tackle, growing my blog audience, writing my next book, mowing the lawn- I need some type of system to help me be productive in a way that feels satisfying to me at the end of the day.

Last Saturday, I found myself in the middle of a typical morning - brain dumping all of the tasks I wanted to tackle while I drank my coffee - then feeling paralyzed at the thought of choosing which place to start.

Typically, after this kind of a brain dump, I'd eventually pick one task, work on it for an hour or so, get tired or bored, lay down to take a nap, and that would be the end of it. I often wouldn’t get very far with my list. I would try to tackle the entire project in one go, but when I either got bored or ran out of steam, I would fizzle out and so would the rest of plans. Then I'd get to the end of the day feeling frustrated with myself for not having done more when I had the chance.

But last Saturday, with the idea of the five minute action in mind, I sat down at my desk, set a timer for 10 minutes, and started.

I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I sat down to write with the timer on my desk. It was tough to sit there, but after about five minutes, I started to write. When the timer went off, I’d started to write and so I set the timer again. After 30 minutes, I was getting antsy, so I got up from my desk.

Then I went to the next task. Cleaning out my clothes in the spare room felt like a monumental task, but I took my phone with me, set the timer, and just started. I started. That was the key. (Isn’t that always the key? And yet doesn’t it always feel so hard?) Once again, I reset the timer multiple times before moving on to my next task.

I’ve always joked that I'm a commitment-phobe - not with relationships, but certainly with my time. If you want to see me truly unhappy, lock me into doing one thing for several hours (except for going to a baseball game). I'm not wired like that. I don't think in a linear fashion, and I certainly don't like to work in a linear fashion. I'm scattered. I like variety - a lot of it.

And I found that using a 10 minute timer as my gauge worked with my personality and not against it.

Sure I did several tasks for 30 minutes or more, but I only made 10 minute commitments. Three-10 minute commitments felt more manageable to me than one 30 minute chunk.

For me, life always works better when I embrace my personality and tendencies and work with who I am - not trying to change who I am, but finding subtle ways to be the best version of me. I'll never be Marie Kondo (yes those socks bring me joy!!!), but I can find a way to be more productive in a manner that works and feels good to me.

I don’t know if this 10 minute thing will work for you. Heck, I don’t know how long it will work for me. But I’m going to ride the wave and see how far it takes me.