Alright, let’s talk about something I tried recently, this thing called the “Liz Goodman method”. Heard about it from a pal, actually. He was going on about how it helped him finally tackle his messy inbox, something he’d been putting off forever.
Getting Started
So, I got curious. I’ve got my own list of stuff I keep delaying, you know how it is. My workshop bench was a disaster zone. Tools everywhere, bits of wood, screws rolling around. Every time I looked at it, I just felt tired and walked away. Figured, what the heck, let’s give this Liz Goodman thing a try on the bench mess.
The core idea seemed super simple: just work on the thing you hate for a tiny amount of time. Like, really tiny. She apparently suggests just 5 minutes. That’s it. Set a timer and go.
The Actual Process
Okay, so I went out to the workshop. Stood there looking at the bench. Had that familiar “ugh, not today” feeling. But I pulled out my phone, set the timer for 5 minutes, and hit start. I forced myself to just start picking things up. Didn’t try to organize perfectly, just grab something and put it somewhere else, maybe vaguely group similar stuff.
Honestly? Those first 5 minutes went by surprisingly fast. The timer buzzed. The next step in this method, my friend said, was to take a short break. Like 2 or 3 minutes. So, I stepped away, grabbed a drink of water, just kinda zoned out for a moment.
Then, back for another 5 minutes. Setting the timer again. This time, it felt a little easier to jump back in. I knew it was only 5 minutes. Focused on clearing one specific corner of the bench this time. Timer goes off, another short break. I think I scrolled social media for those few minutes.
Did it Work?
I ended up doing maybe four or five rounds of this. 5 minutes on, 2-3 minutes off. Let’s be real, the bench wasn’t suddenly spotless and perfectly organized like in a magazine. But, and this is the big thing, I actually did something. I made progress. A whole section was clear enough to actually use!
- I definitely started a task I’d avoided for weeks.
- Breaking it down made it feel way less overwhelming.
- The short breaks felt like little rewards, kept me from feeling burnt out.
- It wasn’t magic, but it got the ball rolling.
My Takeaway
So, yeah, this Liz Goodman approach, or whatever you call it. It’s kinda basic, almost childishly simple. But you know what? It worked for me that afternoon. It lowered the bar so much that it was hard not to start. It’s like tricking your brain into doing the annoying stuff.
Will I use it for everything? Nah, probably not. Some things you just gotta power through. But for those tasks that feel huge and dreadful, the ones you keep pushing off? Yeah, I can see myself using this 5-minute trick again. Sometimes the simplest tools are the ones you actually end up using.
