by A. South

Created on: April 07, 2009   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

It's Saturday and your to do list is full. Clean out the garage, do laundry, repaint door, clean windows. And that's just the start. Just looking at it makes you tired, so you sit back on the couch and dig back into the chips instead.

It is possible to break this cycle, and it's not by biting the bullet and making forcing yourself into action.

The FlyLady created a concept called "5-minute Room Rescue." The concept is simple. Set a timer for five minutes, and commit to clean for five minutes strait. When the timer buzzes, you can go back to whatever you were doing. Sounds easy, right?

The concept works because it plays on the reality that the dread of doing something is often worse than actually doing it, so if you can get started it's likely that you'll finish. After five minutes pass, you'll likely have motivation on your side and next thing you know your whole house will be clean.

The truth is that small goals are much more likely to get crossed off than big ones. If your goal is to run a marathon, it's more likely that your fitness goals will sink into oblivion much faster than if you just decided to go running 10 minutes, three times a week.

In fact, the best way to achieve goals is often to set smaller goals. In other words, aim lower.

Statistically, the loftier the goal the less likely you are to actually meet it. If you, a novice hiker, set out to hike the Appalachian Trail, chances are you won't do it. However, if you set the goal to start hiking more, you might find yourself hiking the whole trail before you know it.

It's because you'll never even start chipping away at goals that seem unattainable. Instead of attacking the snowball, start with a snowflake. After you have a few snowflakes under your belt, the snowball won't be so intimidating.

It can be counterintuitive, and can seem counterproductive to set your sights low rather than shooting for the stars, but look at what you achieve with your "low" goals. Paying off debt is a great way to see how small goals can add up to big success. If you're $50,000 in debt, paying off the lump sum seems overwhelming. Paying off $1,000 a year, though, won't cause you to break out into a cold sweat. And chances are, you'll probably end up exceeding that goal.

When dread and inertia are the enemy, focus on clearing a path, not bulldozing the whole forest. And if all else fails, set the timer, and go at it for five minutes. You'll be amazed at how much you can achieve.

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