Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash
Do you ever feel like there’s not enough time in a day? Do you ever wish there were more hours in a day? I noticed that I rarely have 3 free hours to do what I love, but I have many 10-15 minutes periods here and there during the day.
Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.
Thomas Edison
I’ve created a list of things I can do quickly whenever I have 10-15 minutes to spare.
I realized that, over the course of the day, time really adds up and gives me longer blocks of free time later. Now, every time I have 10 minutes, I go over this list and do 1 or 2 of them. It saves me some time and it just feels good to know I’ve already accomplished something on my to-do list.
This is my list:
- Tidy up your desk. You will be able to focus better on your tasks when you don’t have clutter to deal with.
- Get rid of the garbage in your car – everything you don’t use.
- Unsubscribe from the emails you don’t need and delete, delete, delete what’s left! Then, empty the trash.
- Empty your handbag, throw away whatever you don’t need, and keep only what you know you use every day. You definitely don’t need 5 pens, 7 lipsticks, 3 sunglasses, 6-month-old receipts, business cards, coupons, coins, tissues – used or unused, or pills.
- Call someone you care about – parent, child, brother or sister, or a dear friend, and just tell them you miss them.
- Read 5-6-7 pages from a book – a real book or even something you downloaded on your phone.
- Exercise – try some jumping jacks. It will boost your mood and you will feel like a child again.
- Relax; meditate or pray; or just BE.
- Delete duplicate photos on your phone or photos you already transferred to your computer; also, delete any application you haven’t used in a month to free up storage on your phone.
- Update your to-do list; check off something you already finished and write down whatever takes more than 10 minutes to complete so you can do it later.
- Plan your meal or write down a grocery shopping list.
- Sort your mail and throw away what you don’t need.
- Back up your photos; use a free storage like Dropbox or Google Drive.
- Take a walk or reconnect with nature; go outside.
- Water your plants.
- Do the dishes.
- Take a short nap.
- Make some food for now or later.
- Journal; write down a few highlights of the day, three things you are grateful for, or something that made you smile.
- Charge your phone.
- Adjust your schedule and map out your day.
- Prepare snacks for a few days.
- Write a “done” list.
- Sort clothes you want to donate to a worthy charity and set them aside. Next time you have 10 minutes, look for more, put them in a bag, and schedule a pick-up with your favorite charity. I donate to the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation.
As soon as you start using those 10 minutes whenever you have time and complete the small tasks immediately, you will create longer blocks of free time later and become more productive. And, of course, a little happier.
What are other ways to productively use your time?
For more tools and resources on happiness and productivity check out my Resources page.
I do best with lists. However, I need to keep a running list and prioritize to keep my focus.
I love checking things off of my to-do list in the evening! 🙂
Great tips. I especially liked the hint to clean my car. Or should I say Need the hint to clean my car!
Don’t worry! We all need that hint. 🙂
Totally convicted here! Thanks for the tips!
I love this list and will definitely add it to my list of things I can do for myself.
This is a great list. It’s a nice feeling to accomplish something, and if you don’t have much time it can be frustrating, These are all good ideas:)
What a great list!!! It’s so helpful to do something simple to get yourself focused! 🙂
Great list! I can definitely add a few of these to my daily to-do list. Sometimes I take a few minutes to brain dump, so I can get out all the things that are running through my head. Then once I write it down, I add what I need to to my to-do list and let go of the rest.
These are great! Many of these have definitely worked to help me feel more productive, but it is so good to have a comprehensive list. Thank you! I love the idea of writing a “done” list.
A clean inbox, planned meals and clutter free desk are three of my favorite things! I love this list.
I love this list! Especially number 1,2 and 14! Walks can really help.
These are incredibly valuable tips Ana. One never thinks about the little snippets of time that can be used to do something constructive that will make such a big difference. My only problem is that it would probably take me at least a day to get rid of the garbage in my car 🙁 Maybe I’ll do small bits at a time
Haha, I know what you mean! Just take a few minutes every day and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the result! 🙂
Love this! Sometimes you just get stuck in a rut and don’t know where to start so you just take a nap instead! Great list of small productive things!
This is a great list I really needed this today. I have been trying to figure out how to get more done throughout the day- I’m gong to print this out and post it onto my calendar to remind myself. Thank you.
Thank you! I’m glad you find my list useful. 🙂
Great tips. I’m going to print this, so many days I struggle to keep up with so many tasks. Thanks for sharing.
This is a great list. Thanks for sharing!
Getting garbage out of your car in ten minutes made me laugh! Me and the kids spent over an hour pulling trash out of the car the other day and din’t finish! dTen minutes before it is time to leave is always when I am ready to do everything!
It’s amazing what we can accomplish in as little as 10 minutes. A quick clean up or to-do is like a breath of fresh air.
And the feeling of accomplishment at the end is priceless. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
What a great list Ana! I get distracted and lose track of time pretty quick, especially when on social media. I have been working on this, and there is a few things on your list that I have been working on. I see other things on your list that I need to work on as well so that I can be more productive with the short amount of time that I have. Thanks for the list!
I too get easily distracted, but then I realize how many things I could accomplish in 10 minutes. It’s amazing.
I love all of these ideas! Now I just need to remember to do them when I have that spare time.
Love this quick list of little tasks. The car, the purse, the desk! Crossing off the little things can help you feel a sense of accomplishment. =) #happynowlink up.
#3 and #5 Both things I need to do more of! Great ideas!
Great ideas. I like to have a little list of to-dos and when I had a free minute I look at it to see what I can check off there: send an email? schedule an appointment? I rarely have big blocks of time so this is the only way I can get things done!
#happynowlinkup
I love lists and I also love checking things off my list. It just feels so good!
This is a fantastic list. The days go by so fast, and I often feel like there’s so much that didn’t get accomplished. I’m going to have to print this list out and keep it handy. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
Thank you for your kind words! I’m so glad you like my list!
These are great ideas!! I think I need to create two lists though, the “more productive” list and the “more fulfilled”… cuz the two don’t always overlap for me, and I can get too focused on one over the other… usually the first, haha!
Very helpful tips, thank you