10 Minutes Doesn't Seem So Bad...

If you have a lack of interest in a big project that is due, or you just can't quite get into a WRT research paper about writing a research paper, as riveting as the redundancy is, it can be extremely hard to find the motivation to get it done. The majority of our school work now is done on computers. We write papers on our computers, we render CAD models on our computers, we use Wikipedia for research on our computers, we write blog entries on our computers... Unfortunately, we also check Facebook and Twitter on our computers, we listen to music on our computers, we play games on our computers. How are we expected to get our work done when the same machine that is supposed to make things easier just seems to make things more difficult?

For me, this is always a big problem. The biggest hump for me is the one right before you start your work. But once I get over this hump, things seem to get much easier. The 10 Minute Method is perfect for giving yourself that extra push to start working.

Essentially, you tell yourself "I will work on my project for 10 minutes. And only 10 minutes." 10 minutes isn't that bad, right? And after those 10 minutes you can do something you want to do. You watch a bit of television, check Facebook, or something that just can't wait. And after a while, you set yourself up for another 10 minute interval.

What I like about this method is that there is plenty of room for personalization. You should never do less than 10 minutes at a time, but you can always do more. It's all psychological. You're basically "fooling" yourself into working, but telling yourself that you will only work for 10 minutes. Of course for many people, me included, after I start working I don't typically stop after 10 minutes, and I might continue working for an hour or even until the work gets done.

Of course, sometimes when motivation is a real issue, I will stop working after 10 minutes and do something else for a little while. And of course, this is totally fine. You don't want to over work yourself either. And then after 10-20 minutes of leisure, I'll do another 10 minutes of work, sometimes more. Sure it takes longer to get your work done, but at least it will get done, and you won't continue to put it off until the last minute.

So the next time you can't quite push yourself to get started, just tell yourself that it's only 10 minutes of work. 10 minutes isn't that bad, right?