Sunday, April 11, 2010

Shrink the task

My husband bought me a great book this week called, 'Switch: How to change things, when change is hard'.

One of the chapters is all about 'shrinking the change'. It's about taking something overwhelming and unpleasant (cleaning the whole house, for example) and 'shrinking' the task into a palatable slice.

The online domestic guru, 'FlyLady', is great at this. She advocates setting a kitchen timer for five minutes and attacking the worst room in the house, then stopping after five minutes with a clear conscience.

The idea is that, once you start, you'll probably keep going. It's about setting in motion a 'virtuous circle' of action by first shrinking the unattractive task to a manageable size.

Start today

What tasks can you shrink at work and at home?

Take anything that you have been procrastinating about because the task seems overwhelming, and 'shrink the change'.

• Piles of filing to do? Set yourself a 5-minute deadline.

• Mountain of washing to fold? Just fold the sheets and towels.

• Should do an hour's exercise? Just walk around the block.

Chances are, once you start, you'll keep going.

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