We often find ourselves with 5 minutes to spare. No matter how busy we are there’s always 5 minutes to check facebook or twitter, chit chat with a coworker, rummage through the kitchen for a snack or browse the internet for news.
What if, in just one of these 5-minute windows, you did something that would help transform your year and propel you towards your goals? I’m not talking about overhauling your life, going on a diet, getting to the gym or launching a new business. I’m just talking about something you can do every that in fewer than 5 minutes.
Here’s a list of little things to plug into your windows of opportunity as they arise that, if you do them daily, will make a massive difference in the quality of your year – 5 ways to improve 2015 in less than 5 minutes! If you’ve got more to add to the list, shoot me an email and let me know or leave a message in the comments!!
- Establish one goal you’d like to achieve and identify ONE THING you can do today (in less than 5 minutes) that will help you reach it. Example:
- Goal: Pay off $20,000 in debt
- Daily Brief Action: Take 5 minutes to plan out your meals for the week. Planning ahead and eating at home absolutely saves money from your food budget!!
- Write down 3 SPECIFIC things you’re grateful for. Gratitude will profoundly change your outlook but don’t be generic by always saying, “My job, my kids, my spouse”. Example:
- I am grateful that my wife prepared my favorite meal tonight
- I am grateful for my co-worker who went out of his way to help me with my project
- I am grateful that my body is strong and healthy enough to walk, run and workout!
- Get your blood pumping by doing 10 pushups, 10 body weight squats and 10 situps. No matter where you are, you can do this. You can keep repeating this circuit until 5 minutes go by or stop after one round. Remember that you physically & mentally feel better when you’re getting more blood flow to critical organs like your brain. And even a few minutes of movement releases “feel good” endorphins that will brighten your day! If you can’t do pushups on your toes, no problem. Do them on your knees. Can’t do them on your knees? I’ve been there! Do them against a wall.
- Let someone know you appreciate them and why. Imagine if you got into the habit of expressing appreciation to friends, coworkers, family members and strangers every day for a year. After a year you’d have more friends, you’d be happier and I’m quite certain you’d have many more people doing the same for you!
- Identify something you want to happen and spend 5 minutes visualizing it in detail. Think its corny? That’s ok. Research continuously proves that when we vividly imagine an event or outcome, our brain is unable to distinguish between our visualization and reality. Our brain accepts the event as true and begins working in your subconscious to bring it to fruition. The more detail the better!!
We all have these windows of opportunity. Will we continue to waste them reading about the Kardashians or will we seize them to help improve our future? This takes such little time. You can make massive improvements in your life with small actions repeated consistently. Why wouldn’t you???