November 20, 2009 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer

The most valuable work you do may be done in as little as 5 seconds to 5 minutes. A higher vantage point, a brilliant idea, a key change in habit, a break from pressure, a boost in metabolism or a pivotal decision can produce significant lasting benefits. – P.M. Senge (The Fifth Discipline)

Some of us get hung up on making changes or starting projects in our lives because we feel that we need a large block of time - be it hours, days, or months - to devote to whatever we wish to do.

Yet, as the quotation above notes, we can accomplish so much in a shorter time frame. Five minutes doesn’t seem like very long. Though try to stay quiet for a minute or two, such as we did recently at the Remembrance Day services, and you realize that a minute can sometimes seem quite endless.

If we were to really admit the truth to ourselves, it is probably not so much that we do not think we can accomplish anything in a short time period, such as five minutes, it is that we have a hard time being content and satisfied with what we do accomplish in that time frame.

Just as pennies add up quickly, so too does five minutes here and there throughout the day and week. We are more effective if we do a little bit more often throughout the day, than if we work steadily for hours. Though it may not seem like it, you would have put more time into something with only five minutes a day, than if you devoted a half hour a week to the same project.

Beth

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