Ten Minutes Bro

I have decided to try something and that is to do something for ten minutes a day.

My theory is this: dedicating ten minutes to a task is easier than committing to half an hour or more. By saying I’ll do something for ten minutes, I’ll end up spending more time on them anyway whilst being (relatively) disciplined with the things I want to make more habitual.

On the other hand, I’m not going to get mad at myself if I don’t do something. I’m learning the balance of having goals and aiming for something without feeling like a failure if I don’t achieve them. (In the background Jess Glynne is singing “Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself” and we all join in because that song is catchy as.)

Let’s crack on, shall we?

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// Exercise

I know, I’m starting with exercise. Maybe by putting it first on this list I’ll get an ab or two – that’s the dream.

Every day, I’ll tell myself I’ll exercise for ten minutes. That’s so much more doable than telling myself I’ll do it for half an hour; I’m not someone into exercise or sports, so by starting small with ten minutes of ab exercises (that’s right, actual ab exercises) it’s easy to commit and then just keep going (or not, because ten minutes it’s pretty impressive with my record).

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// Writing – blog and novel

Some days writing is easy to get into and other days the thought is just not appealing. If I write for just ten minutes, by the end something is happening. You can’t always wait for creativity to come to you; you have to get past that initial block before the good stuff starts happening.

If I start a writing sprint (where you set a timer and literally just write until time’s up), by the end of the time I’m still writing because I’ve gotten on a train to Author Town and I aint getting off at the wrong station by stopping the word flow.

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// Guitar

Alright, let’s be real; this is more of a once-a-week thing. Because writing is such a high priority for me right now, guitar hasn’t been as strong on my radar. But by choosing to play every now and then I always get into it and remember why I love it. It’s always a rewarding experience and I don’t want to lose what I’ve been working on (bar chords ahem) just because I haven’t played in ages.

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// Reading

I never thought reading would be a problem for me, but if you can remember I’m reading through Wuthering Heights, and where I am in the book right now is requiring discipline or I wouldn’t pick it up again. It’s gotten to the point where I can’t even remember what I last read. Ten minutes a day should help this.

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// God

I feel a bit bad that this is last on the list, but it’s the most important so #savingthebesttillast.

Sometimes spending time with God is easy and I can’t wait to do it, but other times I just feel unmotivated and praying is pretty dry.

Every time I start off by saying “I’ll pray/read the Bible/do devotions for ten minutes” I always end up spending more time because it’s the best thing once I’m there. It’s my attitude and head space that I have to get past. God is a choice our entire lives, and spending time with Him is never a waste.

Sometimes I might not feel ‘better’ after it, but I do always feel settled and more at peace after, which shows God is our peace and joy despite our situation.

You know how you go through phases where sometimes you feel like you’re making all this ground and dealing with stuff in your life and you just see God moving and getting rid of sin and barriers, but other times you have days of dryness and you feel stuck and not getting anywhere?

That’s why I need ten minutes a day, at least, focused on Him.

Because in the dryness it’s so tempting to not even bother because it’ll feel like another ‘failed devotion time’ and like I’m not doing something right. But not going to Him in those times isn’t helping at all; spending time with Him when I feel stuck is what strengthens my relationship with Him, because it’s where you learn to trust and where you later see Him pull through in the biggest ways.

(I tell myself reassuringly.)

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It’s pretty late now and I’m so tired. I was going to go to bed but then I thought of this post and I wanted to write the idea down. My ten minutes turned into half an hour and I’ve got a blog post to show for it; there you go.

Sarah xx