How to Improve Yourself with Only a Few Minutes a Day
Did you do something today that’s going to matter a year from now?
“Appreciate this moment, stop and look around you. be thankful for all you have and where you are because this time next year, nothing will be the same.” — r.h. Sin
… so make sure it counts.
It’s about the littlest everyday decisions.
Do you ever stop and think about the small decisions you make each day? No? Well, what if I told you that it’s these small decisions that matter in the long run?
Small decisions create habits, habits create a routine, and it’s this routine that builds up the you that you are.
It’s important to do something each day, no matter how small, that will benefit your life in the future. It can be something as simple as doing 20 minutes of exercises a day instead of watching another Friends episode.
Think about it: how many empty fillers do you go through each day? I’m talking about the time that passes by without you doing anything. I’m not talking about relaxation time — we all need that to recharge, but something like driving to work, or scrolling through Instagram on your lunch break.
Imagine you could use this time to slowly but surely improve yourself. Only have 15 minutes of free time? Practice a language, practice relaxing breathing, journal the first few thoughts that pop up to your mind (you might discover a cool idea!), read a chapter.
It may not seem as much, but when we add up all these hours, we discover that in fact, we could have accomplished something with them.
iPhone users, I’m sure you’re familiar with ScreenTime — do me a favour and open it now. How many hours do you spend on your phone on average per week? Imagine what you could have accomplished with that time. Those few precious, seemingly unimportant minutes eventually add up.
It’s about the smallest steps.
I’ve discovered a very insightful TEDx Talk by Stephen Duneier, called How to Achieve Your Most Ambitious Goals. S. Duneier is a professional investment manager and strategy consultant. And a speaker and lecturer. And an author. And a Guinness World Record holder.
You’re probably wondering now “how can he be so many different things?”. Well, that is exactly what he explains in his talk.
Don’t get intimidated by the overwhelmingness. Each little step counts.
Don’t stand at the bottom of a huge mountain and look up (you might feel discouraged). Rather focus on your feet, step after step, and when you finally look up you will see that you have already reached the top.
For example, you don’t mix the ingredients for baking in a bowl and expect to have a cake in front of you. You have to measure the ingredients, mix them, bake the mixture etc. You take each step as a separate task, instead of seeing is as a one continuous, never-ending task. And suddenly you get your prize: delicious, freshly-baked cake.
So, how to use those minutes in your favour?
There is an easy solution to this:
- Set a realistic goal of how many hours you can spend on your phone per day (and stick to it).
- Think about which skill you would like to learn or improve.
- Think about when in the day you have those empty fillers and which ones you will use for the skill you want to learn.
For example, I wanted to learn German, so I made a commitment to use Duolingo whenever I feel lazy, sitting on the couch and scrolling through the phone. And it has now been 85 days in a row since then. I find I feel way better after, knowing that I did something productive than pointlessly watching other people’s Instagram stories — even if it is something as small as doing a lesson on my phone.
Don’t be discouraged.
Whatever your goal is, no matter how impossible it may seem, focus on the little steps, trust in yourself and sooner or later you will get there. And if you haven’t yet, I strongly recommend watching the TEDx Talk (consider them your 17 productive minutes! :)).
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