Communication
Life is a series of minutes. When a person looks at life in minutes versus hours, days, weeks, and years it is easier to make progress. As a society, we believe we must have large blocks of time to get anything done, yet, what is true is that finding things that can be done in two minutes actually is a very freeing activity; very empowering.
So, what is the 2-Minute Rule? The 2-Minute Rule is a highly effective method that anyone can use anytime – anywhere.
The 2-Minute rule, in effect, is looking at things that can be done in two minutes. People have a tendency to let these two minute opportunities pass them by because they believe that two minutes are not enough time to get anything done.
Here's the challenge – look around when you have a two minutes as you are waiting to make a scheduled phone call, go pick the kids up from school, finishing cooking dinner – you get the idea – what do you see that you could do that would take only two minutes?
Tasks such as: sort the mail, unload the dishwasher, put a load of clothes in the washer, sweep the front porch, call the groomer for an appointment for your dogs, file, pay a bill or two, clean out a kitchen drawer, listen to a YouTube video on setting up a Twitter account, etc. You get the picture – right?
Getting in the habit of using this 2-Minute Rule is so empowering, energizing, and quickly and easily helps you become organized and productive. As you go through your day, ask yourself "is there anything I could do with this block of time"? If so, do it.
Sometimes the two minutes can become five minutes – that is okay. You can also set a timer if you only have a few minutes and do not want to forget to get on a scheduled call or pick up the kids from soccer practice.
The more you use this 2-Minute Rule (more or less), the more excited you will become about being more organized, having less clutter, having less distractions, etc. Our minds are always nagging us about things that need to get done, fretting about keys that are lost, worrying, and feeling guilty.
When you incorporate the 2-Minute Rule you will hear less mind chatter. People have a tendency to discount the power of this little 2-Minute Rule – believing that doing something for two minutes cannot possibly make a difference in their lives and how they feel. Word to the wise – "try it, you will like it."
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about clutter from various sources and the theory seems to be that if our lives are cluttered up in some area, it stops us from moving forward or getting ahead in that area.
Well not everybody will agree with this proposal, but it bears thinking about so I wrote down of a few things that might affect the workflow in my office for a start.
- Does clutter make the work flow more or less efficient?
- How easy is it to find things?
- Does the look of a tidy office make me feel more inclined to work or less?
- Do I care about the tidiness of the office when clients or visitors call ?
But it’s not just tidiness I’m talking about, it’s also belongings, such as clothes we don’t wear anymore because they are too big or too small, out of fashion or we just don’t like them & never wear them; shoes (how many ladies do you know with more than 10 pair in their wardrobe?), towells & linen, ornament, gadgets, tools, books, music, movies – the list goes on and one.
Could you give some of these things away to someone who would appreciate them and not feel deprived? Would it make you feel lighter to have gained space back and maybe helped someone else?
Not just physical things either, what about the clutter in our minds? Like holding onto grudges or resentments of things that happened years past; dreams of being famous or wealthy but not taking any action to set us on the path – don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking big dreams because every success starts with an idea, but without any action, it just stays an idea and doesn’t become reality.
Let’s declutter our lives, our homes, our workplaces, our cars and our minds. Be open to change and to opportunities that come along. Make way for new things, new friends, new places perhaps, new ideas, new starts.
We’re never too old to learn and it’s never too late to start again!
Best wishes
Trish
A very useful tool I use, mainly for backing up online and sharing files within my own network , but it has the potential for much much more is Dropbox. Yes, there is an upgrade option, but you can use the free version very well. There is also an option to get more free storage space when someone you tell about Dropbox signs up.
So what does it do? It lets you share your files and folders with others by sharing an existing folder on your PC or creating a new one to share. Once you add other members to the folder, it will appear in your friends or colleagues own Dropbox just as it does in yours. Any changes made to the shared folder’s contents will appear instantaneously to everyone who is a member of that folder. You can create a folder in your Dropbox folder just as you would anywhere else on your hard drive.Can you see the potential in this?
There are two ways to setup Dropbox, as a local application or online. The procedure is pretty much the same either way. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s always nice to see family so I’m really looking forward to the weekend as I’m heading for Port Hedland in the north west of Western Australia where my two daughters and three grandchildren live. Read the rest of this entry »
Hello again everyone
There has been a lot said in the media lately about how tough times are and how much tougher they’re going to be. Well, that’s what my friends tell me but since I rarely watch, read or hear the “news”, I’m pretty much going along as usual.
My niece, when very young, once asked her mother “is the bad news finished yet?” I dare say she was wanting to watch a children’s program and it would have seemed to her that the news went on and on and on. Well, I pretty much agree with her.
Our TV, radio and papers are nearly always filled with negative news, because “that’s what sells”. But is it true that we really want to know about all the bad stuff going on in the world or even in our own backyard? When I ask people why they watch news, I’m usually told that it’s because “I have to / need to/ want to know what’s going on”. Why? Yes, for some there will be good reasons, maybe work related, but for many people, keeping up with the “news” leaves them feeling down, depressed or they lose hope. So why do it?
We need to remember that what we focus on in our lives becomes our life’s reality, so if you find yourself getting down from the state of the economy, the news or just by all the negatives about these days, make an attempt to balance your life with positive things as well.
If you think this is all poppy-cock, consider this. Don’t we find stories about people helping strangers, someone giving aid to a family with a sick child or a follow-up story of a good recovery uplifting? Don’t we like to see pictures of children playing with a puppy or splashing in the rain with all their clothes off? Well, most of us do because these things help us to smile and laugh, to remember how much good there is in the world, how much fun and how much love.
I am not saying to ignore how the state of the economy might affect you. Obviously, we may have to tighten our belts a bit in some areas, but please don’t adopt a poverty mentality and keep saying you can’t afford this or you can’t afford that. Just as it’s tough to get better from an illness if all you do is think about how sick you are, so it will be very hard to prosper if you fill your head with ideas of lack, instead focus on what you do have. A good way to practice this idea is to write down three things you are grateful for every night before you go to bed.
What is my point with all this? Mainly to remind us all about having balance. Yes, there is bad news & good news, crying and laughing, feeling sad and feeling happy, helping someone and receiving a helping hand. Focussing on only one aspect of a situation sometimes blinds us to any positives that result or opportunities that may arise.
I’d like to recommend a blog article I read today (see link below). It is aimed at internet marketers, but applies equally well to other areas. Quite long, but well worth reading.
Best wishes
Trish
Millionaires are made in times of economic turmoil and now is no exception. Many of today’s wealthy know that now is the time to take the steps to expand their wealth. They do not listen to the tails of doomsday that are broadcast on the TV. …
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