One of the fun parts about writing is rediscovering saved articles. The following piece is one I recently uncovered, and from rereading it, I’ve decided to employ this 15-minute principle by learning to play the mountain dulcimer–an unused gift of 15 years ago.
Now, what’s on your “bucket list” that still needs accomplishment? An important item to realize is that your desire is God’s desire. As it says in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.”
So take this 15 minute a day challenge with something you want to achieve, and let TFC (me) know how you did. My email is martha@thefrugalcatholic.com.
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You Can Change Your Life with Just 15 Minutes a Day-Author unknown
What is the biggest dream of your life? How important is it? How much would you give to make it happen? Let me pass along to you the most powerful, creative fact that anyone ever taught me, and it is astoundingly true. YOU CAN DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING YOU WANT TO DO…IF YOU SPEND JUST 15 MINUTES A DAY AT IT!!!
CONSIDER THIS: In 3 years, you can become an expert on any subject you care to study: Chinese art, computer programming, cooking, chess, bridge, bricklaying, anything …IF YOU WORK AT IT 15 MINUTES A DAY! You can accomplish some tremendous tasks in just 1 year or less by investing just 15 minutes a day. For example, you could: (1) Read the entire Bible; (2) Plant and keep up a small garden; (3) Become physically fit; (4) Learn to play a musical instrument; (5) Paint a house; (6) Learn a foreign language; (7) Write a book!
Read the entire Bible.
Remembering the day I discovered the magic of 15 minutes still makes me smile. My husband and I had driven to a small town in the country that hot summer Saturday to call on a friend who was the town’s only doctor and an ardent do-it-yourselfer. He’d recently bought a sprawling Victorian home, and we discovered him sitting in the middle of a room surrounded by paint cans and clutter of tools, gazing toward the ceiling and muttering, “That thing’s gotta come down!” We thought he’d flipped… especially when we learned that George intended to repair, repaint, and refurnish every room in that 3-story monstrosity by himself. How long would it take? Where would he find the time? How unrealistic could he get?
However, a quick tour of the already-completed rooms aroused our interest and excitement. I admired a charming “new” bathroom in which George had lowered the ceiling, installed and painted new storage cabinets, hung wallpaper, changed light fixtures, and even provided heated towel bars! “I work 15 minutes at a time but never stop before my time is up,” George explained. “That’s the secret! Work 15 minutes a day, without fail.” Still, I was skeptical. I couldn’t believe such a simple plan could help me. I decided to “give it a try.” That was more than 20 years ago, and since then, I’ve had great fun with those magic chunks of time.
Plant and keep up a small garden.
Learn a foreign language.
My first project was to tackle a badly neglected flower garden choked with weeds. Every time I looked out the dining room window, I fretted; because I thought I had no time to redeem that impossible garden. That’s when I learned how many weeds I could pull in 15 minutes! It took just one week, snatching a quarter-hour here, another there, to get that flower border tidy and ready for new transplants.
The beauty of 15 minutes a day helps me stop postponing those things I really want or need to do and get them underway. It banishes discouragement and halts procrastination. The method works on any job or goal that matters to me, whether writing a book or cleaning all the kitchen cupboards. Many grim little jobs really don’t deserve more than 15 minutes a day, anyhow. Done all at once, they’d be too much of a bad thing! However, doing part of that sort of a task makes an enjoyable break from other duties. Large goals, some pleasant, others less so, can be accomplished 15 minutes a day.
What can you do 15 minutes at a time? Answers to that question range from the sublime (time to pamper yourself) to the ridiculous (clean out the refrigerator)! Whatever your goals or ideals, remember that IDEAS MOVE LIFE FORWARD! They strengthen purpose. They establish habits of industry.
TAKE 15 MINUTES RIGHT NOW ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS: WHAT IS MY BIGGEST DREAM? HOW CAN I MAKE IT BEGIN TO HAPPEN? WHAT IF I WORKED AT THE IMPORTANT GOAL EVERY DAY FOR JUST 15 MINUTES? DO IT FOR ONE WEEK…. YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT WHAT YOU CAN DO IN THOSE 15 MINUTES.
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Martha Wild King, M. Ed., Author
The Frugal Catholic: Learn to live on less to give and save more.