How often are you faced with this phrase:
"Just a minute..., one minute please..., can you give me a minute..., can you wait a minute..., hold on a minute..."
And we have no control over many such one minute, which of course is never just a minute, but exceeds beyond...a minute.
Remember, "A little every day adds up to big results."
For example, you all must have seen, known, and done this. In our childhood, we had a piggy bank in which we used to put coins every day, and after a due course of time, these coins put in the bank fetched us a fortune. A big gift by which we could treat ourselves, buy a new dress, a toy, or any other thing in exchange for these small coins we collected every day.
Similarly, a lot of one minute, which is never accounted for, can be put into a similar time box, which could fetch us a huge fortune over a period of years.
Let's take this small and simple calculation to become conscious of our just one minute.
Let's say you waste just one minute in one hour (of course, it's insignificant to many of us).
Now, take just a minute and calculate this:
Working hours a day: 12 x 1 (just one minute) = 12 minutes a day
Working days in a month: 25 x 12 minutes a day = 300 minutes a month (5 hours)
Months: 12 x 300 minutes = 3600 minutes a year (60 hours)
Surprised? Yes, 60 hours per year we waste doing just nothing but just one minute wasted.
That means if we take approximately 8 hours of working per day, then in one year, we are wasting 7.5 days just making the excuse of just one minute.
HR/Personnel department, wake up (look at your list of public holidays again, don't forget to account for... 7.5 just one minute holidays) (LOL).
Now the question is what can we do when others request us with just one minute.
Here are some small and tidbits that can be done in just one minute:
1. Sharpen your pencil.
2. Read the newspaper headlines.
3. Surf a website, click on a link, or download.
4. Browse your email.
5. Prepare a most important to-do list.
6. Take deep breaths.
7. Sip and finish your tea/coffee or have a glass of water.
8. Make a list of important people to call next.
9. Clear your desk, throw away unwanted papers.
10. Mentally give yourself positive strokes.
11. Instead of complaining, blaming, or reacting to the person who has requested one minute, use this minute to analyze your strengths/weaknesses.
12. Make a telephone call.
13. If outdoors, then look around and maybe give a smile to some strangers (who knows, you may become business partners).
14. Look around for signboards, advertising captions, lighting effects.
15. Observe people's body language and their confidence level.
16. Maybe you could just chant your prayers.
17. Think about one good quality even in the most cruel-looking person you know.
18. Practice smiling.
19. Think of one thing or step you could take in the area you have been procrastinating for a long time.
20. Last but not least, tell the person it is now past one minute.
Swami Vivekananda has said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first single step."
And friends, the first single step has to be taken now. Let us start saving that just one minute in our time box, and we will be able to save precious years of our life.
It'll just take a minute for you to reflect and share your feedback on the same.
Also, you could add further tips on just one minute...
"Just a minute..., one minute please..., can you give me a minute..., can you wait a minute..., hold on a minute..."
And we have no control over many such one minute, which of course is never just a minute, but exceeds beyond...a minute.
Remember, "A little every day adds up to big results."
For example, you all must have seen, known, and done this. In our childhood, we had a piggy bank in which we used to put coins every day, and after a due course of time, these coins put in the bank fetched us a fortune. A big gift by which we could treat ourselves, buy a new dress, a toy, or any other thing in exchange for these small coins we collected every day.
Similarly, a lot of one minute, which is never accounted for, can be put into a similar time box, which could fetch us a huge fortune over a period of years.
Let's take this small and simple calculation to become conscious of our just one minute.
Let's say you waste just one minute in one hour (of course, it's insignificant to many of us).
Now, take just a minute and calculate this:
Working hours a day: 12 x 1 (just one minute) = 12 minutes a day
Working days in a month: 25 x 12 minutes a day = 300 minutes a month (5 hours)
Months: 12 x 300 minutes = 3600 minutes a year (60 hours)
Surprised? Yes, 60 hours per year we waste doing just nothing but just one minute wasted.
That means if we take approximately 8 hours of working per day, then in one year, we are wasting 7.5 days just making the excuse of just one minute.
HR/Personnel department, wake up (look at your list of public holidays again, don't forget to account for... 7.5 just one minute holidays) (LOL).
Now the question is what can we do when others request us with just one minute.
Here are some small and tidbits that can be done in just one minute:
1. Sharpen your pencil.
2. Read the newspaper headlines.
3. Surf a website, click on a link, or download.
4. Browse your email.
5. Prepare a most important to-do list.
6. Take deep breaths.
7. Sip and finish your tea/coffee or have a glass of water.
8. Make a list of important people to call next.
9. Clear your desk, throw away unwanted papers.
10. Mentally give yourself positive strokes.
11. Instead of complaining, blaming, or reacting to the person who has requested one minute, use this minute to analyze your strengths/weaknesses.
12. Make a telephone call.
13. If outdoors, then look around and maybe give a smile to some strangers (who knows, you may become business partners).
14. Look around for signboards, advertising captions, lighting effects.
15. Observe people's body language and their confidence level.
16. Maybe you could just chant your prayers.
17. Think about one good quality even in the most cruel-looking person you know.
18. Practice smiling.
19. Think of one thing or step you could take in the area you have been procrastinating for a long time.
20. Last but not least, tell the person it is now past one minute.
Swami Vivekananda has said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first single step."
And friends, the first single step has to be taken now. Let us start saving that just one minute in our time box, and we will be able to save precious years of our life.
It'll just take a minute for you to reflect and share your feedback on the same.
Also, you could add further tips on just one minute...