I’ve been in an organizing lull.   Mostly I’ve been busy with other things in my life, but I would like to get back to cleaning up and out around my house.  Sometimes when you take a break it’s hard to get going again.  This applies to almost anything in our lives, it’s why some people are afraid to stop doing something once they start, like dieting or exercising, it’s also why some people never start!

Often things happen outside of our control that make us have to stop, the key is to find a way to begin again.  Many years ago I received a book called 5 Minute Fiction; it was a book to help you conquer “writer’s block.”  Basically you set a timer for 5 minutes and you started writing.  The timer got you started and the great thing was you only had to do it for 5 minutes.  What usually happened was that once I got over that beginning inertia I wanted to keep going, and viola – something got accomplished.

I didn’t write much fiction but I have since used the “timer” technique to get myself going again on any number of projects.  I don’t even use the timer much, I have just learned to say to myself, “well – let’s see what I can do in the next 5 minutes,” and I start whatever it is I’m not motivated to do.  Almost always I work way beyond 5 minutes.  It may be what Goethe had in mind when he wrote, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”

So grab yourself a timer and start something!