Inflating Time

So how long does the thing you’ve been avoiding actually take to complete? My desk has been messy for some time. I didn’t organize it because it seemed like it would take too long and get in the way of more urgent things. This week, I set a timer for 10 minutes and organized. When the timer went off, I stopped and dove into my more pressing items. I did this four times in total so far, and with one or two more, my desk will be finished. Going forward, I think I can maintain my desk with one or two 5-minute sessions a week. If you had asked me last week how long it would take to clean up my desk, I think I would have said several hours. 

I’ve noticed this sort of pattern with other tasks as well. I tend to inflate how long something will take, especially when I am avoiding it. I am often surprised by how fast it goes when I actually buckle down and do it. 

This week, I invite you to ask: 

What is something I am avoiding? How certain am I that my assessment of how long it will take is accurate? What is a small way I can engage with this task regularly in order to learn how long it will take and to make progress? 

God bless,
Dan