The 5-Minute Productivity Breakthrough

Contributed by Brad Isaac

Do you have something you are putting off?

You might be putting off exercise. You may be putting of writing a business plan. Maybe it's something else. Whatever it is you are putting off can be achieved if you simply put 5 minutes toward achieving it.

I can almost hear a collective sigh. "Only 5 minutes? Brad, you've lost it this time."

Have I? Not really. If I can get 5 minutes of solid, no-nonsense, best effort, you'll get more done.

It works very much like Isaac Newton's theory (cool first name by the way). Newton's law states an object in motion, tends to stay in motion unless acted on by some external force. All we have to do is get ourselves in as much motion as possible for 5 easy minutes and the rest will take care of itself. You can do 5 minutes can't you? Sure you can.

Simply tackle your chosen task for 5 minutes. Set a timer and get to it for a full 5 minutes. At the end of the time, decide if you'd like to continue. If not, you've met your commitment. You are free to stop. However, more than likely, you will want to continue. You'll want to finish what you start. Like Newton's law, you will be in motion, so you will tend to want to stay in motion.

One of the keys to this method is putting forth the very best effort for all 5 of those minutes. No we aren't allowed to go to the bathroom, eat or watch TV during those minutes. Just focus for a full 5 minutes working on your task.

Here's a real life example. Your conscience is nagging you to get outside and get some exercise. Your body is saying "I'm tired. I don't wanna!" Your conscience keeps nagging, your body keeps pushing back. By the way, this is what we call stress, but that discussion is for another day. Anyway, you have a battle on your hands for sure.

How do you deal with it? Simple...Negotiate with yourself. Say "Ok, I'll take 5 minutes to get dressed and get outside and exercise my very best. At the end of 5 minutes, I can quit. I can easily do 5 minutes...anyone can!"

And think about it, who can't do 5 minutes of anything? You can do just about anything and do it well for 5 minutes if you put your mind to it. Writing your first small business plan may seem quite overwhelming. But what if you are just viewing it as a 5 minute task? Suddenly, it seems like a small inconvenience to get started. You work for a solid 5 using your very best energy and dedication and you will most likely find something about the process you like. You will want to keep at it. You will want to uncover more opportunities. You will want to keep making progress.

About the Author

Brad Isaac is the creator of Achieve-IT! Goal Setting software for Pocket PC. He has made human achievement and motivation a study for over 20 years. You can read his unique goal setting insights daily at the Achieve-IT! goal setting blog. Be sure to subscribe to his newsletter for even more great goal setting articles.

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