All the moments of our day are there to be lived. By being mindful of the small as well as the big periods of time in the day our awareness increases and we become more conscious of what we are doing and how we are living. Often it is in the little bits of ‘spare’ time we have where we can be productive – micro productivity. Those moments which easily pass by and are not thought of can add up to a large part of the day. In any twelve hour period, say 8am and 8pm, if we spend 5 minutes each hour not being mindful of what we are doing this adds up to an hour a day!
5 things to do whilst you boil the kettle (or waiting for the toast to pop etc, etc) :
1. Go through the utensil drawer and get rid of anything that you never use
Pick just one thing and throw it out, if you aren’t using it then no one else will probably either. Throw out anything that you can’t remember what you bought it for – the butter curler, avocado de pipper, citrus zester or at least the pair of tongs which works the least.
2. Wipe the bit in the fridge where the milk sits
It usually needs it
3. Take one thing that doesn’t belong in the kitchen and put it away
4. Find a home in a cupboard for something that usually sits on the counter
Having clutter free benches in the kitchen makes life easier. It gives more room when preparing food and makes for easier and quicker cleaning
5. Just be
Spend those few moments being still, letting all that has happened during the day or will happen wash over you. Realign yourself. Often this can be the most productive way to spend a few minutes.
.
image by Wendy Piersall
Enjoy
.
Other posts you might like reading:
Life is in the doing not the having
Why living the life of your dreams is not being selfish
.
Hi B,
I never heard that term “micro productivity” before but I like it! These are great tips. I have an adaptation on #1 for you: take everything in that utensil drawer and put it in a box. Over the next month, whenever you use one of those items, put it back in the drawer. At the end of the month, anything still in the box you don’t really need – so give it to your local charity shop
that’s a great tip Hilda and everything can still be put in the box in the space of a kettle boiling!
I think one of the most important things on your list is to ‘just be’. It’s too easy to spend our time doing something, distracting ourselves from our feelings. When we embrace the ‘being’ in being human we can discover who we really are and tune in to what it is that we really want and need. Knowing how we feel in any given moment, is key to finding our own happiness, rather than expecting others to make us happy.
Surely we are all worth at least 5 minutes a day!
Julie Mann Habitfixer
It is in the small bits of time we have that so much can be accomplished – both internally and externally
I like your tip #5. We tend to be always wanting to be somewhere else or someone else and forgetting that just by being gives us the greater joys.
Or in the case of my kettle: redecorate the house.
Or maybe I am just watching it too closely…
Pingback: Commuter Mindfulness: 3 ways to arrive ready for productivity | mindful productivity