Twelve Minutes

What can you do with twelve minutes? Recently, I found that the answer to that question is quite a bit. I was making cookies- lots of cookies! I had my Christmas music going, candles lit, ambience grooving, etc. Each pan of cookies baked for 12 minutes. So I found myself with a number of twelve minute breaks to fill. Here are some of the things I was able to do.
1. I did the laundry- put washed load in dryer, loaded washer, folded and put away the dryer load.
2. I filled the dishwasher and ran it- cleaned up dinner dishes and cookie mess.
3. I wiped counters and swept the floor.
4. I changed the sheets on my bed.
5. I checked my e-mail and answered some- this took 3- 12 minute blocks.
6. I did my 20 minute yoga DVD in 2- 12 minute blocks.
7. I dusted and vacuumed the living room.
8. I cleaned out the fridge- throw old things away, wiped up spills.
9. I did #1 again 2x.
This brought me to a real discovery place. I realized that there are many things in our lives that we perceive as taking a long time (such as housework). Because we view something as a huge time taker we put off doing it. Then the job becomes larger in reality but also in our minds. So we put it off some more. The truth of the matter is that we’ll waste hours not doing a few minutes worth of work.
Time is not something you find. It is not something you can make. Every one of us gets 24 hours each and every day. Time is something we spend just like money. And just like our money we choose how and where to spend it. Just like money- once gone- we never get it back.
So I give you the advice that Indiana Jones received from the ancient knight, “Choose wisely”. That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?