Your 10-minute Challenges help you get Simply Organised.

The 10-minute Challenge series is part of my weekly Newsletter, ‘Simply Organised.’

I introduced this series after some of my subscribers suggested making the newsletter emails even shorter, less complex, and more practicable.

The purpose of each challenge is to help you organise yourself and your life better.

The challenge could relate to managing your home, your physical paperwork and digital information, your to-do list and calendar, and, of course, to managing your mind/mindset.

The beauty of these 10-minute challenges is their simplicity.

They’re designed to be quick – just 10 minutes! -and easy, allowing you to experiment without investing much time.

You’ll know almost immediately if the suggested exercise is beneficial for you. If it is, incorporate it into your routine. If not, simply move on to the next one.

‘Your 10-minute Challenge’ Series

#1 – Declutter your phone. (NL #20)

Take 10 minutes to uninstall the apps on your phone that no longer serve you.

Go through your list of apps and ask yourself about each of the apps (and answer honestly!):

Do I need this? Do I use it? Do I love it?

If the answer is three times no, the app doesn’t serve you and it doesn’t deserve space on your phone (and your mind). It’s time to uninstall that app.

#2 – Take control of your priorities. (NL #21)

Take 10 minutes to choose and appreciate your top 3 priorities.

Start your day by taking 5 minutes to assert control over your time and tasks. Choose your top three priorities for the day: the three tasks, appointments, or activities that you believe deserve most of your time, energy, and attention today.

Then, in the evening, take another 5 minutes to evaluate where you actually spent your time, energy, and attention. Did you focus on your priorities? Is there room for improvement? Is there anything you want to do differently tomorrow?

#3 – Take 10 minutes to take care of your self-care. (NL #22)

Allocate (at least) 10 minutes of your day to self-care activities.

This could be anything that rejuvenates you, such as exercising, talking with a friend, meditation, or indulging in your hobby.

Remember, investing in yourself is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

#4 – Make yourself feel good about one small area in your home. (NL #22)

Choose one small area in your home and spend 10 minutes (or more if you want to) to sort out what you no longer need.

Examples of areas you could focus on:

- A kitchen drawer: Remove utensils and gadgets you never use.
- The fridge: Clean out old leftovers and expired items and organise what’s left.
- Flat surfaces: Walk through your home and remove ‘the too much stuff’ from coffee tables, shelves, counters, etc.
- The socks drawer: Get rid of socks that are worn out or missing their partner.

#5 – Spend 10 minutes doing nothing. (NL #25)

(This challenge was submitted by a subscriber – Thank you, Pippi L.)

Schedule 10 minutes in your calendar and spend them not doing anything. You might allow yourself to look out the window, but that’s it.

This is a great exercise to calm you down on a hectic day. It gets you fully into the present, the here and now.

#6 – Invest 10 minutes to create space in your email inbox. (NL #25)

Do a quick run through your inbox, deleting any irrelevant emails and unsubscribing from any newsletter you are no longer interested in.

If you need less than 10 minutes for this task because you don’t delete many emails, it could mean you are assigning too much relevance to too many messages that don’t deserve it.

If it takes more than 10 minutes, no problem. You can decide to continue the challenge tomorrow.

#7 – Spend 10 pleasurable minutes planning your next ‘Pleasure Day’. (NL #27)

When will you have your next ‘Pleasure Day’? And what do you plan to do and not do so you will enjoy yourself and the day?

Invest 10 minutes now to plan and ensure that the next Pleasure Day is going to happen soon:

1. Choose a date for the next Pleasure Day and put it in your calendar.
2. Inform the people in your life who might want/need to know about it.
3. Start a list of the things you will allow yourself to do on that day because you enjoy doing them. – These could be things that you look forward to eating, drinking, reading, watching, etc., maybe because they usually are on your ‘not-allowed’ list.
4. Also, collect some ideas about the things you will not allow yourself to do because you don’t enjoy them. – Examples: No difficult conversations, annoying household chores, work-related work, healthy but boring food, time-consuming grocery shopping or meal preparation (unless you love doing that), etc.

#8 – Start breaking an unwanted habit – in 10-minute steps. (NL #30)

Letting go of an unwanted behaviour gets easier if you build a new habit – postponing the habitual behaviour for (at least) 10 minutes.

- Example: If you want to break the habit of grabbing your phone anytime you feel a bit bored, frustrated, nervous, etc., you can decide to build this new habit: Whenever you feel like picking up the phone, you tell yourself, ‘No, not now’ and put the phone away for (at least) 10 minutes. Tip: Make your phone lock screen something that will remind you of your intention: a photo, image, or a quote, whatever works for you.
- Another example: If you want to reduce the amount of coffee you drink during the day, you could place a sign ‘No, not now’ next to the coffee machine to remind you to postpone the next cup of coffee for a bit (at least 10 minutes).

At the end of the 10 minutes, you might do the postponed behaviour/action. And that’s fine; the goal was to postpone it only, not completely drop it.
However, after some time, you will probably notice that you often no longer feel the urge to do the unwanted thing after the 10 minutes have passed. You might even forget to do it. 😉

#9 – Give yourself more sleep. (NL #31)

Decide when you want to go to bed today – and then go to bed 10 minutes earlier.

#10 – Give yourself more time. (NL #31)

Decide when you want to get up tomorrow morning – and then set the alarm 10 minutes earlier.

#11 – Get rid of one useless thought. (NL #33)

This can be a tough one because your brain will not like this task.

The human brain believes that all thoughts are useful and must be kept.

Lean back and explore a thought that comes to your mind often.

If it doesn’t serve you, write it down.

Then, question it.

Examples:

- Thought: I don’t want to do this! – Questioning it: What if I did? What if I decided I wanted to do it?
- Thought: I don’t know how to do this. – Questioning it: What if I knew? What would I do if I knew how to do it?
- Thought: Monday is a terrible day! – Questioning it: Is this true? What else could I choose to think about at the start of the week?
- Thought: There is so much clutter! – Questioning it: What if it’s not all clutter? What if it’s just a few things I haven’t sorted away yet? And just a few that I need to get rid of?

#12 – Schedule a 10-minute ‘date’ with your calendar.(NL #35)

Spend 10 minutes with your calendar and explore what’s happening there with curiosity.

Open your calendar and check each appointment, meeting, activity, and to-do that you scheduled for the next 7 or 10 days.

Ask yourself questions like these:

- Is this (still) important and necessary to me?
- Does it (still) serve me? Or has it become an automatic routine that no longer makes much sense?
- Is it something that deserves my time, energy, and attention?
- Could I reduce its frequency or duration?
- Should I say ‘no’ to this?
- Where else do I want to invest my time, energy, and attention? What do I want to add to the calendar because it’s truly important to me? And because I want to ensure that I don’t forget it.

Remember, your time, energy and attention are your most important resources. And they are all limited. You want to spend them wisely.

#13 – Invest 10 minutes to create space in your mind. (NL #37)

Some call this a ‘mind sweep’ or journaling; for others, it’s a ‘thought download’.

The name of the activity is not essential; it’s the activity that is very important. It’s especially helpful at times when we feel overwhelmed, confused, or stressed.

Just sit for 10 minutes and write down whatever comes to mind.

You don’t have to, but if you find it helpful, you can ask yourself questions like:

- What do I think about the day/myself/my neighbour/ the weather/etc.?
- How do I feel about myself/my life/my friend/ the coming weekend/etc.?
- What do I want/need to do? What do I not want to do?
- Etc., etc., etc.

Don’t judge what comes up, don’t overthink it, just write it down.

At the end of the 10 minutes, you decide what to do (or not) now.

If there is anything you want to pay more attention to, do so. Plan how you want to address that issue. Then, take the first step.

Often, just writing down whatever thoughts come up is all needed to lighten your mind and mood.

If that’s the case, take your list and throw it in the recycling bin. Done!

#14 – Sit down for 10 minutes and tidy up your contacts. (NL #39)

Scroll through your phone contacts and delete duplicates or contacts you no longer need.

This makes your contact list easier to navigate.

Potential positive side-effects:

Slowly scrolling through the list of your contacts will not only remind you of the people who no longer play a role in your life (and shouldn’t be on the list any longer).

It will also remind you of all the important and wonderful people in your life.

And that will feel very good.

You might even spontaneously decide to get in contact again with one of your great contacts!

#15 – Take 10 minutes and consider exchanging a ‘should’ for a ‘want’. (NL #41)

Invest 10 minutes to change your relationship with one of your to-dos.

Action Step:
Have a look at your to-do list. Pick one task you think you ‘should’ or ‘must’ do. Then reframe. Tell yourself you ‘want’ to do this thing.

Background:
Sometimes, we prevent ourselves from approaching a task or a goal in a positive mood/way by telling ourselves that we ‘should’ or ‘have to’ do it.

For example, we tell ourselves, ‘I HAVE TO get this done.’ This makes us feel pressured or obliged to do the thing. The consequence of this type of feeling is that we do the action half-heartedly, or resistantly, or not at all.

We can increase our motivation and the probability of getting it done if we decide that we WANT TO get it done.

If we WANT TO do something, we will feel committed or determined, and this type of feeling makes it easier to take action and get it done.

#16 – The 10-10-100 Method helps you to make substantial decluttering progress in 10 minutes. (NL #43)

Invest 10 times 10 minutes to declutter 100 clutter items.

The 10-10-100 minimalist hack comes from Courtney Carver. Here’s how it works:

- Choose 10 spaces.
- Set a timer for 10 minutes in each space.
- During those 10 minutes, put 10 items in a box or bag.

Carver says, “Procrastination will fight our intention to spend a full day decluttering, but 10 minutes? We can do anything for 10 minutes.”

Use the momentum you create by removing 10 items from the first space to tackle 10 in the next space.

You can also modify this hack to fit your lifestyle—set the timer and remove 10 things from 10 spaces over the course of a week if that’s a better fit.
Carver suggests starting with your handbag for a quick decluttering win.

Ten spaces, 10 minutes, 100 things.
It’s a practical and fun way to let go of the clutter weighing you down.

#17 – How to overcome lethargy on low-energy days: 10 minutes of movement will energise your mind. (NL #45)

Today’s 10-minute challenge is a ‘contribution’ from James Clear.

I stole it from him (James Clear’s ‘3-2-1’ Newsletter, 21-06-24):

“One of life’s counterintuitive lessons is that you will often gain energy by spending a little bit of energy.

When you feel lethargic and like you want to lay around all day, it is usually the case that getting up and moving will make you feel better than simply sitting around.

Getting outside for 10 minutes or doing the first set of a workout or simply stretching on the floor for a moment — anything to get your body moving — will often leave you feeling more energized.

If you want to get your day going, then get your body going.

It’s harder for the mind to be sluggish when the body is moving.”

#18 – Invest 10 minutes in remembering and focusing on what you have in your life – all the things that you desire and already have. (NL #49)

We often direct our attention and energy to the things we desire and don’t have, and that’s good because wanting something can help us get moving and take action to get it.

However, we all have so much already that deserves our attention and energy.

Spend 10 minutes thinking about it and writing down all the good stuff you have.

You could think about your life in general.

Or focus your attention on one life area. For example:

- The people you have in your life,
- the connection/compassion/support you experience in your relationships,
- the skills/knowledge/capabilities you have accumulated over time,
- the values/beliefs/habits that support you,
- your home and the belongings you enjoy,
- the hobbies/interests/engagements that excite you,
- your body and the level of your health and fitness,
- the money you have in your bank account,
- etc., etc.

Now, deliberately decide that you want to continue to desire what you have.

#19 – Make the most of the next 10 minutes by eliminating what’s expired. (NL #52)

I found today’s 10-Minute Challenge in one of Courtney Carver’s blog posts (https://bemorewithless.com/tinytasks/).

“Spend 10 minutes to expire the expired items.

Set your timer for ten minutes and check all of the items in your bathroom and kitchen that have expiration dates.

Go through makeup, toiletries, pantry items and your medicine cabinet.

Dump the expired along with anything else that you aren’t using.

Properly dispose of medications.”

(Courtney Carver)

I will add new challenges to this list as soon as they are published in the Simply Organised Newsletter.

If you want to ensure you do not miss any new challenges, you can join the newsletter here:

Join the Simply Organised Newsletter