In the typical THPL life, time is a precious. We use it to advance the cause in the areas of Life, Learning and Fitness. The challenge is that we use time for so, so, many other parts of our life. Work, family, friends etc. The result of which is that we often find that we have to make choices about we use our time – what can I get done in an hour, a day, a week? The interesting (and obvious) part of this is that the choices we make affect our ability to make progress on our journey to THPL. And lest we make false choices might it best if we think a little differently about how we use our time?

So here is a suggestion. When time becomes really tight the typical instinct tells us to compromise on our THPL goals and put them off for a day or more – we tell ourselves, I can make it up another time. While surprising at one level it is also understandable that some think that THPL is a “nice to have”. Rather than debate this thought (for now) and miss the opportunity to make THPL progress, you can just shorten the time dedicated to the goal (reading, running, thinking etc) to 20 minutes and go for it. Yes, we can almost always fit in 20 minutes (or maybe 30 or 40 minutes). The goodness in this approach is that you will make progress, keep the momentum alive, keep the spirit strong and stay focused on how to build a THPL system that learns that even using small amounts of time we can make progress – sometimes these short intervals can be as good as anything when on the THPL journey.

So, when we you are short on time and want to stay true to the THPL mission take 20 minutes and make it a win. It might well be the best mental (and physical) thing that you can do.

Loving life in 20 minute increments

Ciao

joe