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1 in 5? Maybe? (Parkinson’s Law)

I’ve received bunches of feedback from the 5 in 5 Challenge. In gist, what most are saying goes a little like this: I want to do this, but it seems impossible. However…it has made me think more about what I’m doing, writing and I’m more conscious about my time and the quality–and brevity–of what I write.

So, what I’m thinking is this: Maybe we can do 1 meaningful thing in 5 minutes. (?)

Since writing that post, I’ve dug back through my copy of The Four-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss to verify my point about working within time limits often results in a better in product. The point goes back to Parkinson’s Law. Ferris has this to say about it on page 75 of his book:

Parkinson’s Law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. It is the magic of the immediate deadline.

With this in mind, I’d say that we’re all right on target! For instance, right now, I am working on a major project to create a mobile literacy outlet here in Charlotte that we’ve dedicated to launch on June 18 (this project includes the customization of a large delivery truck to be the centerpiece for a “mobile library zone”) That’s less than 1 month from now. My senses are heightened, I am on the phone, email and fax and searching for vendors like mad, putting teams into place and looking to hire a skilled and innovative contract program specialist–NOW. All these puzzle pieces are a floating around waiting to come together. However, I simply know they’ll come together in the right time and way. Is this Parkinson’s Law in action? Ask me on June 19.

 

5 in 5: Challenging Yourself

I’ve been intrigued by the 31 Day Comment Challenge that I first spotted on the Library Trainer blog. I’ve been taking this challenge but not following the guidelines set out for the it–I like the inspiration, but not the rules. And that’s working for me. I was flying out  comments tonight and thought I’d give myself a really intense challenge. Send out 5 comments in 5 minutes. (I even brought in the kitchen timer to make sure I stayed in the time limit).  What I found out was that the act of writing comments goes rather fast for me. Reading posts and actually formulating a meaningful response takes longer.  I finished 1 and a half comments before the timer went off. But, I kept right on commenting and made 8 comments total within about 28 minutes. So, the news here is that it takes me at least 28 minutes to locate 8 posts of interest and them write 8 (quick) comments.

This all made me wonder a little bigger. How could my personal 5 in 5 challenge work in other, broader areas? What are 5 meaningful communications or actions we can make in 5 minutes? Is it even possible? I’ve read that time constraints can often assist in bringing forth the best end product (think: Project Runway). Anyone want to take this challenge–or build off of it? 

5 in 5!  Ready, set…