by Jordan Pearce
Time is not the enemy. Routine is.
More than a rule maker I'm a rule breaker. Is it breaking a rule to be different? Or is it conforming to what has always been?
If you read The 20 Minute Rule and benefited, you'll love: The 30 Minute Rule.
The 20 Minute Rule gets you over the humps you would rather avoid. By setting up a routine and to-do-list, you know best how to use 20 minutes here and there.
The 30 Minute Rule is different and is excellent for hardcore procrastinators.
Here is my story.
To all the cubicle jockey's in the world: how you do it?
Myself I've always avoided an office job at all costs. The irony was I frequently caroused on line and that kept me chained to the computer for half the day!
It gets worse. Computer addiction is a more serious problem than most want to believe. Searching and browsing give us the entertainment and purpose we crave and the Internet is endless.
You start to notice the little things piling up here and there. The laundry, dishes, your losing points with family and friends. The hours slip by and your exhausted from being on line.
When I had hit rock-really-close-to-the-bottom with my procrastination...
I invented The 30 Minute Rule.
The 30 Minute Rule helps to:
o Break up your routine
o Forces you to use your time more wisely
o Eliminates the monotony that ties us up in a single task
o Keeps up busy or entertained and creates the purpose that we humans crave
This works very well for boob-tube addicts, over-eaters, sofa-philosophers, space cadets, or plain over-consumers of time who like to gamble away precious moments.
Back to my story and then I will tell you how The 30 Minute Rule works and how to combine it with The 20 Minute Rule.
Forever I had been an active person and one day I got sick. Not sick-sick, but enough to shut me down for ten days.
Ten whole days of lying around!
Sounds like a vacation doesn't it? Well it wasn't.
My escape of pretending to be a busy body was gone so I needed something to replace it.
I got a lot of reading out of the way but the sad part was I did quite a bit of Internet browsing.
A good portion of the free world is on line right now. This was my turning point because I had realized that after all those years I was gaining momentum on the endless slip-n-slide of Internet addiction.
How did I find this out? Going from 60 to zero in a matter of weeks the back pain crept in and in turn I was not able to work. I surfed some more. The pain was so bad I had to create The 30 Minute Rule!
I'm a whiner when it comes to annoying constant pain. Who isn't? Okay some of you aren't but you know how it affects your quality of life.
With my pen in hand instead of my laptop, I walked away from the imaginary shackles at my desk and--
Did something different.
Some of you are gasping, others are rolling their eyes.
Don't laugh, some of us didn't realize change is good it until two seconds ago!
We are in such a rush-rush world that we don't get much done anymore and I am happy to say I eliminated my computer problem with The 30 Minute Rule.
If you agree with me keep reading. We don't stop to realize we need to take a break sometimes and do something different. We perpetuate escape to bring meaning to our lives.
What is The 30 Minute Rule?
It is a way to get your life back on track. If you can do it for a day, you'll be glad you did. If you can do it for a week, you'll be hooked. It's okay to be obsessed, make sure it's over something worthwhile that will progress you. When that doesn't work anymore you know what to do!
How does The 30 Minute Rule work?
Let's say you are like me: self-employed part-time with a family. You want to work, make your home and take care of your children, while engaging with other people in your life and I almost forgot, make time for yourself.
You can make sacrifices but when we make too many that is when the trouble begins.
What to do:
-Read The 20 Minute Rule and have your routine made out and make up a to-do-list and your priority should be: one thing at a time.
-For the day let's say you need to write and submit a work item on the computer, exercise, balance your check book and pay some bills. It's laundry day and you need to do dishes and take a nap all while you are entertaining a three-year-old.
Now you know my world!
Would you believe this can all be done in 3.5 hours or less? You don't have to be tough on yourself either. It's about mindset. Relax, ready and go:
-Get your laundry out of the way.
--while your clothes are in wash cycle (20 mins.)
---balance your check book and pay some bills (10 mins.)
Time: 30 mins
If you are like me and never do banking on laundry day (refer to your schedule) I use that time to occupy the little one. Next...
-Throw clothes in the dryer (30 mins.)
--While the clothes are drying wash the dishes (20 mins.)
---Give the kitchen a quick wipe down if needed (10 mins.)
Here is where we change things up. The trick is to go from sedentary to active.
If you are a writer this will not interrupt your flow. In fact it will help you be more clear and creative with your ideas.
The other rule is you cannot stay in the same spot for an hour. Example: computer work for 30 minutes, then read on line for another 30.
Back to the program!
-Sit down and write either at the computer or the old fashioned way and don't forget to set your timer.
Time: 30 minutes
When the timer goes off finish up and then get up. You can only fudge 5 minutes and that is if you can wrap up your task in that time.
-Fold laundry (20 mins.)
--The little one is helping so we play for 10.
Time: 30 minutes
-Go back to the computer and edit, post or send via the web 30 minutes are up, you get up!
-Exercise. No excuses, you don't need a gym. You can work your upper body with free weights or do air squats and have a gym free workout. (20 minutes)
--Put clothes away. (10 mins.)
If you are entertaining children you know that laundry can be fun time. A 30 minute video is harmless as needed. No more than twice a day!
Time: 30 minutes
-Take a nap. (30 mins.)
Your three and a half hours are up and quite a bit has been accomplished. Did you worry that you would forget or not have time to finish something? I doubt it. It was all planned out. Did you worry at all? That is an added benefit of this process. You are in a mode that there is no time to worry and you are not rushed. There is a good balance between rest and activity.
The most important step:
Reward yourself with some unmonitored free time. Heck you may like the system so much you will still use it even when you don't have to!
Summary:
o Make an active effort to put procrastination behind you.
o Make a statement that you want to change.
o Refer to The 20 Minute Rule and make your routine and make a to-do-list, and do one thing at a time.
o Set a timer for each 30 minute task.
o You may only do something for 35 minutes if you can complete it in those extra five minutes.
o You must alternate from sedentary to active and back again. You don't have to be rigid but know that doing something active before bed time may interfere with sleep.
o You must get up from your immediate area and move to another part of the house.
Example: Do not nap on the couch and then enjoy an a half hour of television or do not spend time working on the computer and then a half an hour reading or surfing on the Internet.
o If you run out of things to do, repeat tasks or make up new ones. It never hurts to exercise twice a day (in fact you should) or to clean a portion of a closet, take another nap or a second walk. Start another article or read another book.
o Give yourself a rest.
o Reward yourself!
The 30 Minute Rule
