Dear FlyLady,

In reading your website, testimonials, and musings, at first there seems to be a conflict — should we go “as fast as we can” through a 15 minute activity, or relax and take our time?

I have generally not rushed through my 15 minute projects — I just retired from an extremely stressful job where I rushed all day every day and was still drowning in work. But yesterday I wanted to see if I could get through my morning routine a bit faster (I include 15 minutes of exercise, 15 minutes of declutter and 15 minutes of home blessing in my morning routine.)

I was in a good energetic mood, and found it invigorating to work faster. Nevertheless, I did feel a bit of tightening in my stomach with some internal “got to hurry” feelings which were a bit unpleasant.

This led me to think about your guidance. I don’t think there is a conflict in your instructions. The guiding principle is: Love myself, love my family, bless myself, bless my home. Do what I need to make it fun, rewarding, fulfilling. Set only fun goals, then reward myself, rather than setting huge goals and feeling constantly inadequate (something I felt for 5 years in my last job.) If it’s fun to set the timer and see how much junk I can get rid of in X number of minutes — great! If it’s more fun to set the timer for those minutes and go at a leisurely pace, that works too!

I want to thank you for your great combination of support, cheer-leading, and gentle pushing.

Josie

Harrisonburg, VA

Dear Josie,

Our timer is about staying focused and not rushing! We have been rushing our whole lives to get someplace! Being in a hurry will not get us there any faster. So setting your timer and taking it slow and easy is the way to go.

Set your timer for 5 minutes and stay focused! You are going to be surprised at what you can get done in just 5 minutes.

We have been decluttering for several weeks now. Get out your timers and get rid of some clutter. This is going to make your routines much easier.

A fun game you can play is set your timer for 5 minutes and do a room rescue. Stay focused on that one room. Then when the timer goes off; go to the next room. This is a Room Rescue Blitz.