My Experiment: Part 1 of 28

Today is a Great Day to Start an Experiment

For the next twenty-eight days, I'm going to take on a small project. This is a writing project that I’ve been putting off until “later” for a while. This morning, I decided to pretend that “later” is today. My experiment is to see if I can work on this writing project every day for the next twenty-eight days for just one minute a day. My goal is not to complete the project. I just want to show up every day and see how much progress I can make over these next four weeks. That's it. That's my personal challenge. That's my experiment.

Feel Free to Join Me

We all have project ideas and projects on hold. What's one you have been putting off until "later"? Maybe it’s related to fitness or finances. Maybe it’s related to cleaning or remodeling. Maybe it’s starting a new hobby or craft. Whatever the project, consider this your invitation. Feel free to join me as we take on our 28-day experiments. Let’s give it a try and see what happens. Today would make a great "later."

It’ll Just Take 28 Minutes

My plan is really pretty simple. For the next twenty-eight days, I plan to spend one minute a day working on this project. If it goes longer, that’s fine, but the minimum is one minute a day for twenty-eight days. It’s really not much of a time investment, but the point is showing up, ready to make progress twenty-eight times. Over the course of the month, that's just twenty-eight minutes. Of course once I get started, I will likely spend more than one minute working. But the experiment is really about getting started every day. My hope is to make significant progress and share this project with you, finished or not, after the four week experiment.

Minute Number One

Today is day number one. The task I've chosen for today is to choose and documented my project. So really, today, I'm finished. Task complete. I'm one twenty-eighth of the way complete. I took a few seconds to write a quick sentence about what I did on a Google Doc but other than that, I'm finished for today with a sixty second investment.

Can You Spare a Minute?

If you choose to join me, I challenge you to do the same. Take a moment to choose and document your project right now. One minute. Your project could be daily reading, journaling, eating better, working out, meditating, or making a budget. Whatever you choose, document it. That’s today’s minute. Part 1 of 28. Done.

Prepare For the Start

Okay, maybe this experiment will take a couple of extra minutes, because we need to set ourselves up for daily success. Getting started on a task and taking a few small steps is easy. The tough part is getting ourselves to the starting line every day. Just remembering to start. Here's what I’m doing to make it a little easier on myself. I’m giving myself a daily “cue” as a reminder to take action. I put my daily task on my calendar and set up a daily alert when I want to work on my task. I also put a link to two Google Docs Link one takes me to my writing project. Link two takes me to my "project documentation" document. When my alert goes off, I’m going to open my calendar and click link one, spend fifty seconds (or maybe a little more), then click link two and document it. If you choose to join me in this 28-day experiment, you may want to use your phone calendar. Or you may want to use a notebook by your bed or in your bathroom. Whatever “cue” you choose, keep it simple. Just prepare to remember to prepare for the start.

I’ll See You in Seven Minutes

Today’s minute is complete. Six more to go. Next week I’ll check in and let you know how it’s going. Please feel free to let me know how you’re doing on your project as well. It’s just an experiment. Give it a try. And I’ll see you in seven minutes.

Have an awesome day!