Did you know that it takes me between 11 and 12 minutes to shower? You probably didn’t care, but I promise that this fact is relevant to today’s productivity hack. Why? Because if you would have asked me how long it took me to shower before I actually set a timer and learned exactly how long it took, I would have said 20-22 minutes.
In this case, my perception was way off. With accurate information on shower duration, I can now make much more informed choices on when to get ‘er done. Half hour to go before I leave for dinner? Count me in for a stench-free party of one, please.
Perception of time works the opposite way, too. If you would have asked me how long it takes to empty the dishwasher, I would have told you about ten minutes. In fact? It took me a whopping four minutes and 30 seconds. Do you know what that means? I can put in my microwave lunch and rock out one of my chores while it cooks. “It’s less than 5 minutes, Michelle. Just do it.”
And that gardening picture at the top of this blog? It takes me 9 minutes to water all my little baby plants. As much as I like doing it, I would have guessed at least 15 minutes. Now, going outside to water the plants is the joy it always was, but it’s less stressful as well because I understand it’s a super short time commitment.
Until we actually time our activities, we don’t really know how long they take. We have an idea based on our perception of the activities, but those ideas are often based on feelings as well as the actual tasks. For instance, because I hate emptying the dishwasher, I was sure it took a long time. Data is power, my friends.
Today’s productivity hack is to time some of your everyday tasks. Then, once you know how long a task takes, you can plan to accomplish it accordingly.
News! I’ll be expanding this blog significantly starting August 1st to include daily emails (Monday through Friday) and audio versions of articles in case you’d rather listen than read. This will be a paid version of this blog ($5/month), but I will still continue to send out the weekly free version.
I have a question. If you would consider shifting to the more full-out version of this blog:
What would you like to read about?
Do you like longer or shorter articles?
Would you be interested in me recommending other resources?
What features would make you absolutely want to join the full-out version of this blog?
Thank you! And have a fantastic week!
Love,
Michelle