The 15-Minute Initiative

By Steph Beth Nickel

You may have heard me refer to my Procrastination List. Although you may not have yours on paper, you likely have tasks that you put off as long as possible, sometimes longer than you should. (If not, feel free to share your encouraging tips in the comments. Truly. One of those tips may help another reader.)

Earlier this year, I came up with a new way to approach the things on my PL. I call it The 15-Minute Initiative.

How does it work?

I take a look at my Procrastination List and determine which items have a deadline. Those I really should transfer to the Action Plan (aka my To-Do List) in my planner.

The next step . . .

Determine how many items I want to work on during any given week.

Ideally, I would like to work on one item each weekday, but in reality, setting a goal of doing so from 1-3 days per week is likely more realistic.

If I devote just 15 minutes to said project, I can check it off my list for the day. Thus, The 15-Minute Initiative.

So, just what’s on my Procrastination List?

Not necessarily in order of importance . . .

• Getting back to the gym and/or working out regularly at home. (This is one of those things I should be doing at least three times per week.)
• Working on revisions of the book I’m coauthoring.
• Reviewing notes from my beta readers on my Bible study/devotional on the book of John and applying those ideas which I feel will make it a stronger, more helpful manuscript.
• Completing the first draft of my YA spec fiction story.
• Getting my tax records together for Q1 and Q2 of 2025. (It’s far easier to do this each quarter rather than waiting until March 2026. That’s the theory anyway. So far, this item has remained firmly tucked away on my Procrastination List.)
• Reading skills development books, many of which I’ve had for years.
• Preparing for our move west, including decluttering and packing away things we won’t need in the coming year.
• Preparing for my “homegoing,” when God calls me home to heaven. (While I don’t expect this to happen anytime soon, I don’t want to leave my family in limbo re: subscriptions to cancel, computer passwords, location of important files—both physical and digital, etc., etc., etc.)

I’m sure I could think of other things if I put my mind to it, but you get the idea.

So, what about you? What would you put on your Procrastination List?

And just a reminder . . .

If you have tips that help you keep your list to a minimum (or non-existent), feel free to share in the comments.

A reminder to all of us . . .

While something might work extremely well for others, it doesn’t mean it will work for you—and that’s okay. Keep trying new ideas, find what works for you, and persevere until it’s no longer working. At that point, you can research other ideas and give them a try.

What will you spend your 15 minutes on today?

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As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.

If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at stephbethnickelediting@gmail.com.

You’re invited to visit her website: http://stephbethnickeleditor.com/.

You can join her Editing Tips Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418423519384351.