Five Minutes at a Time

In the spirit of getting it done, I wanted to share what I have been doing as of late when I am feeling stressed by my house!

You guys know I love my timer - I have talked about how we can use very short increments of time to get alot done.

One thing I have done lately is refine the use of those short increments. I also have been sucking every second out of those 15-30 minutes stretches that happen on occasion!

One key to using those little short stints well, is knowing what is causing the most stress when they become available. My mental or written Stress List helps that. When I have a free 5 minutes, I think to that list and what is causing me the most stress that I can work on getting done in the time I have.

One way I have applied that to myself lately, is that I realize I have a few minutes ...big boys are playing quietly in their bedroom AND baby is asleep, I have 20 minutes or so! I considered what is stressing me the most right now ..and hands down it was my house. Everything was cluttered, bathrooms needed cleaned, laundry put away...all of it. So, I set my timer for 5 minutes, my mindset on perfection not being necessary, grabbed my lysol wipes and a broom and got to work!

Twenty minutes later I had decluttered and swept the upstairs hallway, wiped down the boys bathroom, decluttered my bedroom and started working on the laundry.  None of those areas were done to perfection, but I was trying to remind myself to think of it as "5 minutes more done" rather than half-way completed :)

Miraculously, all was still quiet and I had another 20 minutes to work on stuff ...the entry way, more laundry, the dining room table and my bathroom.  I was sweating when it was all said and done but I felt a million times better.

Your house may not be at the top of your Stress List ...it may be paying bills or making a phone call, it may be running an errand or fillling in the holes in the walls in the hallway. Whatever is stressing you out, try to put 5 minutes towards getting it taken care of. It will help..I promise!

Anyone got any ta-da's to share? What did you get done today?!

Get it DONE!

Most of the things on my Stress List can be taken care of by simply taking care of business, just doing it, just getting it done.

There are things that we cant get rid of, or get better control of, or pray away (unfortunately) ..they just need to be completed. Grocery shopping, cleaning house, putting the clothes away, paying the bill, cleaning the toilet ..just do it already :)

I have found that often, I put more resources into putting it off and stressing over it than I would if I just use the resources (time, energy, effort) and take care of it.

How many things on your list of stresses are the result of you putting it off and off? If you keep a Stress List three days in a row and find that the same things keep showing up, them take care of that stuff if at all possible. Dont put it off anymore. No sense in putting mental and emotional resources into something that probably will take less resources just to get taken care of. 

Also, consider that sometimes just doing something about those areas that cause us stress, is in itself stress relieving. Instead of fretting over needing to do something, use that energy to make a step in the right direction and you may be surprised with how much energy you gain from even that little bit!

... not much more to say about that one. This must be some kind of record :)

"For the Kingdom of God is not matter of talk but of power." 2 Cor 4:20

What is on your stress list that needs doing?

Resource Management: Do It

Many of the things that end up on our list of things to do, are just that. They are simply things that need doing.

We can think of a thousand things that fit under that category, right?

As a mom of two small ones, a wife, a part-time ICU nurse, a member of my church and of an active Mommy and Me playgroup ...I have a million things on a regular basis on my "to do" list!

I have home-related things, I have finance-related things, I have education-related things, I have church-related things, I have ...the list goes on, just like yours.

There are many, many suggestions out there that can help us prioritize the list of things that we need to simply get DONE.

All those lists overwhelm me :)

So, I have come up with my own plan for attacking those "Get it DONE" things that help me bring my mountain down to size, and leaves me feeling less stressed in the process.

First, my lists give me an idea of where I stand. Anything that I place on my Stress List, that I have identified as just needing to be done is right there in front of me. That is the first step ...seeing the monster for what it is.

Some things on my SL* may be, pay the bills, clip coupons, write a note, do the laundry, wash the sheets or vacuum the car.

Then, I have to decide what I am going to do with the limited resource of time and energy that I have at the time I am creating my list. Some days, I may have little to do outside the house so may have some hours to put to attacking that list. I may only have an hour before the kids get up, or I have to leave on our next adventure. Either way, I have to weight what needs doing with what resources I have at the time.

Prioritizing is one of those subjective things that you have to work out yourself. I do have my list of priorities close to my eyes, with it in the same place I write my lists. I like to remind myself of the fact that my kids come before the house (so the laundry can wait), that financial freedom is important to me (so taking the trouble to cash out money for the monthly envelopes is worth it!), and that I need to spend time with God before I get started on anything else. Its a good idea to keep track of what you are aiming for :)

Weeding out what needs to be done NOW, can give you a good idea of the order you need to things in. It will relieve the stress related to time pressure, and having it out of the way leaves room for doing other things. If it is a "get done today" thing ...do it. If you dont have anything that NEEDS to be done today, find something that needs doing soon and get it done. That way, you dont have to stress about it as the time closes in. Waiting til the last minute adds lots of undue stress to something, so plan ahead and do what you can before you HAVE to have to done right then.

And, lastly ...and my favorite "get it DONE" tool ..set a timer.


It is amazing what you can do with a bit of focused energy and attention. Using a timer to give myself boundaries helps my stress, because not only does it help me get it that thing quickly but because it gives me permission to stop when the timer goes off.


I literally use this tool every day. If I want to work on the garage, for instance. I will set my timer for 1 hour, attack the garage for that amount of time then stop when it goes off. I have gotten an hours worth of work done, it shows because it was focused work, and I can move on to something else if I need to. Next, I need to load the dishwasher. Set the timer for 15 minutes and go for it. At the end of 15 minutes, I am probably done and that is one more thing to check off the list.


Need to pay the bills? write a grocery list? clip coupons for this week? ...set the timer for 15 minutes and work it out. You will be surprised with what you get done.


Want to look at this idea a bit more ...I have written a post on this topic awhile ago. Take a look and let me know how it works! There is a concept that I stole called "Crisis Clean" ..its all about using your timer to help you get stuff done fast! I love it.


*In case you missed it, the Stress List is a place where you write down EVERYTHING that you find weighing on you. It helps to get an idea of what is overwhelming you. This list may be written or mental, but either way it gives you the pause to ponder what it is that is bearing weight on your shoulders and heart. SL worthy things may the dishes need doing, your mom is ill, your kids need discipline, your car needs gas, you need to lose weight ..whatever.

Remember, anytime you decrease stress in an area, you are freeing up resources for God to use in another more worthy area!