10 Minutes

I have the words "Ten Minutes" on the chalkboard above my bed. These two simple words have changed the way I see myself and life in general. For years I've had big plans of things I'm going to do. Books I'm going to write. Weight I'm going to lose. Skills I'm going to learn. But I always seem to get overwhelmed by how much work it takes to actually achieve these goals. And I always say that if I can't dedicate myself fully to my goal, than it's not worth even trying to achieve anything. In short, I give up. Pretty quickly.

The "10 minutes" idea came into my life after I started learning guitar. My father recommended practicing at least 10 minutes per day. Mostly because my fingers had not developed the strength or calluses needed. But I started thinking about how 10 minutes per day didn't seem like much. I could do that. I can do anything for that amount of time and I know I have at least ten minutes that I could spend each day. Each day I play, at least 10 minutes and most of the time longer. I've also started writing at least 10 minutes per day. Often longer, but at least those few minutes.

And I've realized that breaking my goals into small manageable chunks makes all the difference for me. I don't feel odd about writing when I'm only doing 10 minutes. I don't get self-conscious and stop writing. I don't worry about if the writing is award winning. I just fill those 10 minutes and by the time they are over, I'm normally full tilt into something I've been meaning to write. I've been strength training for at least 10 minutes a day. Everyone can strength train for ten minutes. In fact everyone can dedicated ten minutes to almost anything.

Suddenly things don't seem so insurmountable. I feel like I can achieve all sorts of things, in just 10 minutes per day. And those are minutes that I always feel I have available to spend. If I told myself that I'd be writing for an hour, my mind would say that I don't have that kind of time. I'd talk myself out of it before I even started. But my brain never balks at 10 minutes. I have that kind of time. And using this one little trick, this one little thought, I'm starting to feel better about those goals. Suddenly I might be able to achieve things.

Excel for Self Improvement

If you haven't already guessed I'm a huge Excel fan. I spend more time on Excel than almost any other program on my computer. Since my current job deals exclusively with data I'm constantly working in one spreadsheet or another. When I first started I hated the program. It was boring and confusing to use. But that's just because I didn't know what I was doing.

Everything changed for me when I started using spreadsheets for personal things. Jeff has regularly used them to do our taxes but I always figured that as just more boring number crunching. Then one afternoon right before one of our trips I worked out a trip countdown spreadsheet. Using autofills and formulas I created a rather useful countdown that I could actually watch our progress on. I was instantly hooked. Here was a fun use for what seemed like a boring program. Excel allowed me to create countdowns, databases, and most importantly, goal trackers.

I've always been a bit of a list maker. I create lists of books I've read, places I've been, quotes I like, and goals I want to achieve. One of the hard things about setting goals for me is not having any way of tracking them. If I set the goal that I want to write more I have no way to measure that. After a couple days of concentrated effort I fall off the wagon without ever really noticing. I just wake up one morning and don't think about it. The same with my ideas for weight loss. I find that I do better if I break my big goal into smaller goals. The goal then stays in the front of my mind. That's where Excel comes in.

I've created spreadsheets for my weight loss plan. I track the pounds that I've lost on one sheet and my daily calorie intake on another. Using basic formulas I can simply plug in the number of calories I've eaten and the computer will list how many I have left for the day. I can also track my exercise for the day and match that against my weekly goals. Even if I fall short for a couple days I'm still keeping the goal at the front of my mind. I'm still working towards it.

I do the same with writing, setting workable goals for each day and then goals for the long term. My plan was to be writing 1000 words a day, not a ton but enough that it's a bit of a time commitment. I'd been failing to make that mark (not counting blog writing) and have been giving up entirely. I used to figure that if I wasn't reaching my big goal, it was never going to happen. Now I break that goal up. I'm starting with 200 words a day, an easy goal to achieve. Every month I move that up by 50. If I go over, no big deal, but at least I should be writing that many words. I keep increasing until I reach 1000. But those little goals are the secret.

I've finally realized that consistency is more important than talent. Consistency is more important than willpower. Consistency (creating a habit) is the only way I know to achieve my goals. And Excel helps me break them down. Helps make me accountable. Even if it's only to myself. I know it seems strange (and reading back through this makes me feel a bit like the crazy list-lady) but so far it's been working for me. On my writing desk I have a great quote from children's writer Kate DiCamillo, "I decided a long time ago that I didn't have to be talented. I just had to be persistent, and that that was something that I could control...". Every time I mark a box complete, or stay under my calories for the day, I think about persistence. And how Excel hopefully helps me to achieve it. Hey, whatever works.