Sometimes all you need is 18 minutes to get the job done. 

In our office we “fan” out for all things tea, the color purple – like the crayon color, although the book + movie are amazing too, and of course, Beyoncé. The artist is great but the movement, that’s more intriguing for us. As communicators we are fascinated with brand identity, community building, and storytelling. And who is the Queen? B, duh!

However, this will only be a small part about Beyoncé. She’s fab-u-lous but we’ll save our dissertation on her and her alone for another time.

But here’s how she’s involved.

Quick background: Beyoncé came to Nashville after a reschedule and brought together about 60,000 people to fill our football stadium at LP Field. To open the concert, she brought everyone’s favorite Snapchat celebrity, DJ Khaled.

LaToya, our account coordinator attended and gave a full play by play when she returned back to the office from a weekend of “slay”. We did the usual “how was it?”, “what was your favorite part?” conversation. We had lots of “YASSSSSSS” moments and she went on to share that Khaled only performed from 8:00pm-8:18pm— 18 minutes.

I responded with “can you imagine how much he was paid for that 18 minutes?”

That really is a rhetorical question. I don’t care about his income. However, here’s where the conversation got more interesting and probably could pertain to you, your life, your business, your goals.

Clearly, from his snapchat after his performance, DJ Khaled was back to business and on his way to his next business venture and tour stop.

I posed the question in the office, “What could you do for 18 minutes every day that would get you closer to your goal?”

LaToya was all in but I’m sure she’s still trying to figure out how her #StoryTimeWithLaToya went from Beyoncé to business.

But back to the question.

In our work goal-setting, but most importantly goal-accomplishing is key to our success. But so often we see that people want the win but not do the work. That mentality has to change. Why? Because, well, Beyoncé. Beyoncé with her killer songs and dance moves, has embodied work ethic and productivity. She sets the tone and works hard to outwork herself.

So here is my challenge. Let’s work on 18-minute tasks that will get you to your goal.

Let me give you some examples:

I work out 6-7 times a week. I usually spend 1-2 hours working out (with HIIT bootcamp and then a personal trainer). Earlier this week I only had 20 minutes to get something done in the gym. From the time I hit the first machine to the time I got to my car was 15 minutes. 400 sets later, and my abs are thanking me for it. Do you need more than 18 minutes of working out a day? Maybe. But if you’ve never worked out OR if you are limited on time, don’t skip it because you can’t dedicate an hour. Get your 18 minutes in.

OR…

Are you trying to write a book (or in my case, a blog)? It’s daunting to sit for hours on end and hit a roadblock. Instead, here is an exercise a colleague and I did many years ago, and it works. Set an alarm clock. Get a pencil (or pen) and paper. And you need three items or thoughts to write about. Start the alarm clock with a five-minute countdown. Begin writing. Don’t letyour pencil leave the paper until the alarm rings. Don’t edit. Don’t over think. Don’t stop.

OR lastly…

Do you want to start a business? It’s hard. There, we’ve gotten that out of the way. And 18 minutes alone may never feel like enough. But it’s a start. Do you have big goals to make millions, collaborate with leaders in your industry, and enhance your personal brand to coincide with your efforts? Consider purchasing a white board for each goal. Then break down how, without regard to budget, you’d accomplish those goals. Take one of those tasks a day and check it off the list. You will be amazed at how much you can do in 6 months using 18 minutes of each day.

Imagine if you gave your marketing, social media, financial, or operational goals 18 minutes a day? Or better yet, imagine if you spent 18 minutes an hour working on something that would get you closer. Imagine.

How will you spend your 18 minutes? 

* Photo Source: Pixabay *