5 Minutes

A while ago I was reading some information on FlyLady.com about keeping up with house work. One of the suggestions I found was to set a timer for X amount of time and work on one area of the house for that long. It keeps you from getting distracted by other things and you know how long you will be working on that one thing. So, I decided to try it out. One night I told Robin I would work on the dishes for 5 minutes. Then, he could have his turn working for 5 minutes. The dishes got done fast and neither of us felt like it took too long. We have been doing this for a few weeks and it is working out great. Most nights, I don't even have to do my 5 minutes because Robin finished all the dishes during his turn.

I have found a few other activities that I use the timer for:
- The obvious - not burning food in the oven
- Brushing teeth (I get distracted when brushing my teeth... I walk all over the house with a toothbrush in my mouth not really brushing my teeth... the timer keeps me focused)
- Keeping my showers short to save water (or in other words, to save money.... Water is expensive here)(Oh, short is less than 10 minutes... so not really all that short)

I am glad I have a timer :)