15 Minutes is All it Takes. . .

. . . to make a difference. To make a dent.

One late afternoon last week, I found myself in a holding pattern. I had small chunk of time to fill between our normal must-get-this-done-today tasks and get-ready-for-the-evening tasks. Have you ever watched a hummingbird flitting in and out, fluttering and hovering, trying to decide what to do? That was me.

As I opened the pantry door to toss shove put away a stray item from the kitchen counter, I saw a mess of a floor. I turned around and closed the door. Out of sight, out of mind. But, no. This absolutely crazy thought came over me.

"It would take only a few minutes to clean that up," I say to myself.
"Really?", my Self asks. "But, then, it will probably make more work. I don't have time to do all the floor, and the shelves, and the checking for expiration dates, and the . . ."
I answer my Self, "You do not have to do the whole thing. Just straighten up the floor. That will be a big improvement alone!"
My Self says, "I don't know. Do you really think so?"
"Let's find out," says I.

And so we did. And how long do you think it took to go from this:

to this:

If you read the title of this post, you know the answer already! 15 minutes. That's it. Do you want proof?

Start Time

End Time

Moral of the story? Tackling a job in small chunks really is progress. It probably took me longer to play out that little conversation in my head than it did to actual finish the task. When that was finished so quickly, it motivated me on to the next thing. A little progress goes a long way, it's contagious! And, yes, really, that conversation happened. Just like that.

linking up to Homemaker's Challenge: Accomplished