The Power of Five Minutes When Working Remote

Minutes can make a difference. This is something I quickly discovered early on when I started working remote.

The granularity of a usable block of time was much bigger when I worked in an office and had a 20 minute commute each way. Unconsciously I believe I felt 15 minutes was the smallest unit of time I could use to create or do something effective. Since I started working remote, I’ve discovered that unit of time has decreased to something even smaller which is closer to five minutes.

I can get a lot done with five minutes. I can wake up, let the dogs outside, get the coffee started, and then be at my desk working. I don’t have the normal rituals to adhere to in the morning – getting ready for work, driving, going up the elevator, saying hi, putting my lunch away, and then putting my mind into work mode. I end up starting on my treadmill desk right away in the morning with my coffee (when it finishes). If you’re lucky to video chat with me in my morning I’ll have bed head and workout clothes on. 😏

Once I realized how much I could actually get done in those five minutes I discovered other longer tasks were less efficient uses of my time. Driving to get a cup of coffee from Starbucks took easily 20 minutes. That’s 4 times the amount of time I need to do something useful! OMG THE HORROR!

Working remote, to me, means working more efficiently. I try to use my time wisely and keep on track with my goals for the day. It’s easy for me to get off track (especially for me dealing with ADD) so I have to break down my tasks into smaller achievable tasks. I also love checking off boxes when I finished something.

You can get a lot of things done in five minutes. Just don’t forget you can also take a five minute break.

Featured image courtesy of http://scrutiny.deviantart.com/art/Time-is-Slipping-Away-177781756