Kickstart your January in just 5 minutes

5 minutes is not a very long time. It’s what you tell a friend when you pick them up ‘I’ll be five minutes’. But you would be surprised how much you can get done in this short period of time. Imagine when you go to the gym and do a circuit. One circuit may take only a few minutes but you’ll know that what you have done is incredibly effective.

Start 2018 with a challenge: see how much you can get done in 5 minutes. Time yourself (no cheating) and see just how productive you can be in this short window of time. What could you do in this relatively short slot? You could always begin with...

Checking emails

Look at important ones that demand your attention and bin the ones you don’t need. There must be junk mail we all get it - so do yourself a favour and clear your inbox. It will look much clearer and less cluttered.

Create a list of what you want done

These tasks will take a lot longer than 5 minutes but planning them and having an idea of how long they will take shouldn’t take you very long. And once you have this written down you can have a clear idea of how your day is going to look.

Delegate something to an employee

5 minutes should be long enough to think about something that can be delegated to someone in your business. And if you’re a busy entrepreneur, this shouldn’t be too difficult as you will have plenty on your plate at the start of January. Don’t take it all on, ask someone to help.

Listen to a good song

Unless you’re listening to Don McLean’s 'American Pie' then 5 minutes should be enough time to get in one song from Spotify or YouTube. Start your day with an uplifting hit to get you ‘ready to roll’. Music is a very powerful tool and could help you work more effectively.

Clear your workspace

It’s always good to clear out the clutter and we think 5 minutes should be enough time to clear your desk of things that don’t need to be there. Paper, pins, posted notes and other junk should all be consigned to the dust bin and not the area where you are meant to work. A tidy space is a tidy mind. Once your desk is clear you will feel better and ready to get more important things done.

Take a stroll

Go outside and take a nice stroll. Catch your breath and refresh yourself. You can do this at any point during the day. It can be before things get busy or later in the day when things quieten down. It’s a nice period of alone time where you can simply walk and have a quick release from the busyness of the working day.

Clear your phone

We assume most people reading have some kind of smartphone. It is then safe to assume that some of you might have apps that are clogging up space that you don’t use. Take five minutes to declutter your phone of rubbish that you don’t need. That way you will have space for applications that will actually be of use to you.

Catch up with the news

Whilst we would always recommend an hour break in the day, there is nothing wrong with taking five minutes from a busy day to catch up on the news. With Brexit ongoing and a President who creates headlines most days you should find plenty in the news to grab your attention for a few minutes at least.

Catch up with your industry news

Perhaps something even better than the previous point. Why not look at news that is more relevant to you and the business that you are in. If you know a good site for your industry or a good publication catch up with the latest developments. It’s always important to keep up to date with what might be happening in your line of work - so this is a particularly good way to spend 5 minutes.

Say thank you to someone

Now we really like this one a lot. Did someone in your business do something which was particularly useful and value. Maybe they secured a valuable new client or took on extra work when other team members were off ill. Whatever it was, you can use this time to tell them they did well. It might seem like nothing for you to do but the compliment will make your employee feel 10ft tall. This will show you not only to be a good boss but also someone who is a leader.