Become 5 Minutes Better

I’m an addict.

Sure, as addictions go, mine is fairly benign. I’m addicted to reading. Before you come at me, understand, I’m not dramatically stating “I love to read.” There is no hyperbole here, I am physically and mentally dependent on reading. If I was to miss a day of reading, there would be a noticeable change in my demeanor. There hasn’t been one of those changes in at least 741 days – at least not one induced by a lack of reading.

Like so many, I use my iPhone to track a lot of data about my life. My steps, my screen time, my audio levels…but by far the most important is my daily reading goal tracked through the Apple Books app. It’s a wonderful tool.

But now that e-reading has become such a prevalent part of my reading experience, I’m finding my level of tolerance is on the rise. Regrettably, my minimum daily reading goal (a paltry 30 minutes previously because I know how wild my schedule can be) just wasn’t cutting it – i needed a bigger fix. So, as part of the new year resolutions list, I’ve decided to become 5 minutes better at feeding my reading addiction.

What’s the Value of 5 Minutes?

I thought you’d never ask.

Is there something you spend 30 minutes on every single day? Anything – reading like me, cycling, walking, practicing an instrument – will do. Is there a hobby you especially enjoy, and in which you wish to improve your skills? If so, there’s incredible value in 5 minutes. Here’s my own personal math:

For the last two years, my minimum, non-work related, reading time each day was set for 30 minutes. Just enough to make sure I was meeting my addiction needs, but not so much that I was infringing unduly on other necessary work each day. 30 minutes. Nothing magical about it, but I like round numbers and a full hour seemed greedy (even though there are many days in the year when I exceed that).

Because I began tracking that time on an e-reader application, I found the total number of books I was consuming in a given year was growing – even though I could empirically say I wasn’t reading quantitatively more.

This year, I expect those numbers to go up because I’ve adjusted the goal to 35 minutes. If you add those 5 minutes of reading up throughout each week, it’s the equivalent of adding a full extra day of minimum reading per week. ADDICTS REJOICE!

Yeah. Thanks to the power of compound effort, at the end of next 2022, I plan to be 52 days worth of reading better than I was in 2021. That’s the value of just 5 minutes per day. It’s 14 percent year over year improvement. 14 percent!

Recognize the Quality of that Time

But as with most of those things we pursue for pleasure – it’s not just the quantity of time we spend that matters. It’s the quality. Ask any golfer and I’d bet you they’d tell you all about how they’re working to get better. They’ll spend an entire Saturday on the links working on incremental improvements. We can apply the same in every other hobby, project, or work venture in our lives.

For me, improving the quality of that time revolves around tracking my progress. Each day I can see the books I’m reading, the progress made, and the minutes consumed.

But more importantly, I know when I open that first book the timer starts. So I enter that time already prepared to dive in. I’m not ramping up. My 35 minutes doesn’t include getting into a comfortable seat, fetching my coffee, or any other prep. No – when the game clock starts, it’s time to play.

For me, adding in those 5 QUALITY minutes means I’m zoned in. I’m producing more. And boy is it a good high.

So, Take a Challenge

Did you commit yourself to doing “more” of something this year? It’s pretty common. New Years resolutions should have this balance, stop doing something negative, add in something positive. Right?

For your something more – are you tracking how much time you’re spending on it each day and week? If not, start there. Set a small, but limited goal like “30 minutes per day” and block it off in your schedule. Placing a number on that “more” will go a long way toward helping hold you accountable to that goal.

After about 1 month, do a check-in with yourself. Do you feel like you’re meeting your desired amount of time? Do you have room to grow? Will adding more time to that activity detract from some other vital task you’re performing?

I think as you check in with yourself over the course of a month, 3 months, 1 year and on, you’ll see there’s value in tracking. Then it’s time to add in your 5 minutes and gain your 14% year over year improvement.

I hope you give it a go. I’m honestly a little jealous of how good you’re going to get at that thing that brings you joy.