Have you been putting off tackling that junk drawer? That pile of donated materials? The dreaded scrap bin?
Whether you’re putting off a specific project you know you want to do or organizing in general, starting with a Five Minute Frenzy will give you the motivation you need!
What is a Five Minute Frenzy, you ask?
I recently heard about this fabulous motivation tool on a morning radio show one day on my drive to work. The story starts when the host was heating something up in the microwave. Instead of feeling useless as the food cooked for 5 minutes, he went to go sort through his laundry. When the microwave beeped, he wanted to keep working because he’d already started. The idea was simple: he’d tackled the biggest obstacle of any task – getting started!
Here are the Rules for Conducting Your Own Five Minute Frenzy
1. Start with a simple task you’ve been putting off. This should not be something that will take hours. If it is a major undertaking, like a storage room (or your entire art room), complete it in sections. Sectioning off the areas of my art room helped me to tackle organizing when I took my position three years ago.
2. Set a timer for 5 minutes- no more, no less.
3. If after 5 minutes you don’t want to continue, then DON’T. More than likely, you will have gotten into a groove. But, if you’re not motivated on that day, don’t give up on the process or the task. Try another five minute frenzy in a few days.
Sometimes the simplest ideas really are the best. This technique has helped me get started on numerous projects. Give it a try!
What tasks have you been putting off? Do you think this technique might work for you?
How else do you get motivated to tackle projects?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
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