The Power of Ten

There’s a joke I saw recently regarding how to get motivated to accomplish something:

Make a list.  Mark that you did it.  Celebrate because you’ve accomplished 3 items.

Jokes aside, lists have the power to empower you or sap energy.  

I've learned, through years and years of being a list writer, how to refine the process for more success. In the past, the focus was on “To Do’s”.  I’d have 15 tasks, do 8, and 20 more would jump aboard. I felt like a neurotic dog chasing its tail. A dispiriting DO-IE monstrer multiplied tasks with viral speed, leaving me dejected and powerless.

So I switched from writing DO lists to recording DONE lists, which for me worked far far better. As the pages of my blank notebook filled with accomplishments, each success acted like kerosene on my fire of enthusiasm.  

But there was a hole in my program. As I began getting more and more done, I realised that certain areas kept getting sidetracked. I now needed an additional tool. From this longing for balance emerged the  ‘power of 10’.

The power of 10 is the name of a game show, a Chris de Burgh album and Zickerman's weight-training book. As a mathematical concept, it is 10 multiplied by itself numbers of times. Multiplication is the power behind the power of 10. Something small and insignificant, replicated enough times, becomes a force to be reckoned with.

In my ‘Power of Ten’ program, I do 'something' daily in each important-to-me zone for at least 10 minutes. Like in the joke, I record that I did it, and then celebrate.

There's lots of ways to clarify what's important to you. You could sit in solitude and meditate.  Or set a timer for ten minutes, and  'fast write' "What's important to me is..." (It's amazing what can emerge). Or join in a meditative visioning (which I did at New Years with my dear friend Sue, during which our individual priorities became clear). 

Some areas,  I 'naturally' accomplished every day. Others were the things I longed for but that frequently got dropped due to distraction or exhaustion or lack of accountability.   

Living on my little farm (and all that it takes to keep things running) my creative life was most often the dropped ball.  I was also skilled at procrastinating on paperwork, which resulted in a piled-up desk and perennial elephant-on-my-shoulder feeling. 

From the visioning emerged the program that has  dramatically improved my life.  I share my examples in hopes they stimulate you to clarify your unique goals.

If you're just beginning, use the 'KISS' formula, and Keep It Simple Sweetie. Choose three areas of importance. Or five. Keep it doable. I encourage you to Include one item you've kept 'putting off.'  Maybe it's learning a musical instrument or a foreign language. Or expanding photography or art skills. Or writing a book, poem or play. Or developing an online business. 

A mere ten minutes a day may seem insignificant, but if that minimum is done every single day, you will have spent over 60 hours per year toward realising your dream. And you're likely to find that accomplishing the daily minimum requirement often primes the pump for an even longer, more productive session. But even if all your day allows is the 'basic ten,' doing the bare minimum still keeps the muscles primed and the habit alive.

Each day I begin with a blank paper (listing just my zones of focus). My personal areas are: Health, Home, Garden, Horseplay, Hobbit House, Relationships, Daily Dragon, Quiet Time, Creative Time, Writing.

My steps vary daily but may include, for example:

• Health. making a green drink; drinking water; eating a fresh salad or miso soup; walking 10,000 steps; moisturising my face; sipping a cup of herbal tea 
• Home:  Tidying a room. Putting laundry away. Making a meal. Putting food by. 
• Garden: Weeding a bed. Watering plants. Harvesting. Starting Seedlings.
• Horseplay: Spending quality time with my horses.  Playing with them with their ‘toys’ or grooming them or trimming their feet. Doing a training session or ride or taking them for walks in the forest at liberty (no ropes). My ten minute daily minimum, practiced for the past months,  has dramatically deepened and expanded our connecton. Prior to having this life structure, I had far too many days  just feeding and clearing paddocks. 
• Hobbit House. Doing finishing details on the hobbit house and outbuildings. (Not an area of importance for most people)
• Relationships. Connecting with loved ones via email or phone or snail mail. Writing a note of appreciation. Sharing with neighbours.
• Daily dragon.  Daily time filing receipts or papers. Tackling taxes. 
• Quiet time. Hitting the pause button. Escaping to 'silence.' Sitting in nature under a tree or by the river.  Lying down on the couch with an eyemask while listening to Mozart or Gregorian chanting or a guided meditation with headphones. Some of you may choose to say prayers or affirmations or read passages in a holy book or book of inspiration.
• Creative time. My creative life is another area that tended to fall through the cracks before I became to be accountable. My focus for this month is photography. Deepening my knowledge of my digital cameras and completing a photochallenge for the blog.  
• Writing. My writing life had a habit of steamrolling from intensity to nil (often sidetracked by summer, travels, classes, farm chores and building projects, resuming only in the off season. But consistency is key for all endeavors and writing is no exception. Committing to a website is a stimulus to "write NOW" and regularly develop quality content to share with you.                                                                                                                                 

I look forward to hearing which areas of focus are important to you. And what impact the Power of Ten has on your life.