20 minute Day

It was with such purpose that I awoke to start this day.  I had decided to divide my free hours into blocks of 20 minutes, three blocks an hour, between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm.  In other words 18 segments of time in which to get things done!  It wasn't going to be all work and no play ... where's the fun in that?  It was to be a dizzy mix of work and play.  I made a list before I began.

The above photo of my kitchen bench and window sill shows a calm, clean and tidy scene complete with a freshly baked banana loaf (thanks to Girl 1 who started baking at 6.00 am before school, one for her Uncle and one for us!)  But have a look at the scene before I gave it 20 minutes of my day.  A drooping rose, dishes drying, bits and bobs where they shouldn't be ... a general mess.

So the idea is you make a list of what you want to accomplish and then intersperse these jobs with fun things like reading, playing the piano, making a birthday card, having some on-line time, whatever takes your fancy really.  Spend 20 minutes with a chore/task/job, then 20 minutes of fun.

I feel rather reluctant to show the state of my bedside table, complete with a substantial layer of dust, another wilted flower, jewellery not put away etc, but then I couldn't show you what a mere 20 minutes from 10.00 until 10.20 changed it into!

The after photo :

My desk was not useable.  There was not a square inch in which to work on, so 11.20 - 11.40 this mess became a much calmer space.

The after photo :

Are you getting the idea?  Are you thinking you may want to try this some time?  It works a treat if you can keep it up!!  And you can constantly reward yourself with something nice to do.  This is the spot behind my bedroom door.  It was much tidier when I had a little cabinet here but with the recent room shuffle it has found a new home and my things were packed into a box and displayed very badly!

Twenty minutes later, and calmness reigns again.  Ah, deep breath.

I didn't really think I could keep the momentum up for six hours, that was a tall order and when the phone call came through from hubby to go and have a late lunch together, my 20 minute day came to an end.  But I achieved so much, so many pockets of the house are free of clutter and tidied or washed.  And I had the chance to play the piano, read a book and do some things at my lovely cleared desk.

Speaking of books, after almost seven years of living in this house, we have purchased a book case and some of my books have been unpacked.  It's a treasure trove of bookish memories.  Just revisited Catherine Gaskin for a bit of romance and history, and now I'm re-reading "The Photograph".  Sometimes it's good not to have a brilliant memory as this book is very familiar but I can't remember what happens in the end!!

Happy Weekend,
Trudy