with just 5 minutes a day, you too could...

So this year I've decided not to do the new year's resolution thing. It's really just a set up to make one feel really badly for not doing something, or for doing something if one's resolution was to quit doing something. Have you EVER accomplished a new year's resolution? Have you ever KNOWN anyone who resolved anything as a result of a new year promise? I haven't and I haven't.

Besides, if one really took the time to look honestly at oneself, their life and all the changes they want to make...dang. Well, let me just speak for myself, that list would be bella lunga (that means really freakin long, in italian). And logistically, what do you do? Pick one a year until you're dead...no way, impossible. So then you pick more than one, thus increasing your probability for accomplishing none? Now there's a good plan. No thanks.

So I listened to this podcast today which was an interview with the woman behind "one pretty thing". She talked about the genesis of the site, where she gets her material, and how it is humanly possible for one person to follow 4000 craft blogs. No, that wasn't a typo. I didn't mean 40 or 400, I meant 4000. Four thousand, three zeroes.

She said she spends 12-14 hours a day managing her website, most of it being surfing the net checking out craft blogs. When asked when she gets time to craft herself she said that she tries to put in 5 minutes a day on things that she's making. She said that she has 2000 things in her craft to-do queue. That's a lot of crafty time. 'Specially if you break in into 5 minute increments. Anyway, she said that it works...anyone, no matter how busy can find 5 minutes in a day, and 5+5+5+5.....=a lot of time. She's got a point there.

So I decided. This year instead of a resolution I'm going to try some 5 minute things. I don't currently have a job that requires 12-14 hours a day so I figure I can afford a few 5 minutes in a day. I'm going to choose some things that I want to do, that I always tell myself that I want to do, and that...like the resolutions, never get done. I'm picking some fun things and some things that challenge a part of me that needs challenging. There are no work or chore related items allowed. Here's the list as of today...

1. exercise. Yeah, I know, this is ridiculous to think that 5 minutes of daily exercise is going to result in anything, but, 5 minutes a day of exercise is 5 minutes more than I currently do. And, that's like, um, over a half hour in a week! Um, yeah, ok, it's ridiculous but it can't hurt, can it?

2. these socks.



They've been on the needles for, well, I don't even know how long. They gotta come off. 5 minutes a day til they're done.

3. reading. Reading something besides blogs or my before bed novel, that is. Something from that long list of non-fiction I continue to accumulate. And since I'm the world slowest reader, 5 minutes a day should allow me to whip through a book just about every decade. That's doable. My current book is this:



4. studying italian. Yeah, like my exercise plan this might seem ridiculous but again, it can't hurt, can it?

The beauty of this plan (my rules), I can change the things on my list whenever I want. Brilliant.

So, if you'll excuse me now I've got some verbs I want to look up, and I've only got 5 minutes.