15 minutes

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about taking 15 minutes here or there for crafting - giving myself permission to take some time for myself. Since then, I've been trying to apply the 15 minute rule throughout my day.

15 minutes lets me:

- play 3 games of Candyland with Jackson
- help Kira into and out of a box until she gets tired of it
- read 2 or 3 books to the kids
- reward myself with a cup of coffee and some blog reading
- unload the dishwasher AND wipe down the counters
- fold and put away a load of laundry
- do a quick pick up in 1 and sometimes even 2 rooms
- change the sheets on all three beds
- and tons of things don't take even close to 15 minutes - who knew?

You see, I'm a Virgo. That means that I always have tons of ideas for organizing and cleaning. It also means that if I can't do it "right" - I often won't do it. So, I end up with a messy house that I don't even want to look at. Making myself set the timer for 15 minutes and just start doing something is really helping.

It's also helping me on days when I feel like I have a million things to accomplish. Those are the days when I tend to put the kids off until I get this-that-and-the-other done. Now, I know that I can just Stop, Drop, and Play for 15 minutes. They're happy and I'm usually a little more relaxed.

It's definitely a work in progress. But hey, it's working for now!