Even a dull knife makes progress

“I haven’t felt very sharp this week,” I said to my husband 

“Even a dull knife makes progress,” he replied.

It's true, I made a lot of progress this week despite the allergies and its side effects. Was I running around with my hair on fire producing my best ideas? No, but I was making forward progress toward the goal in front of me. 

Sometimes progress feels slow but when you chip away at it, you’re still moving forward. I sent the image below back in February. It has been on my mind a lot this week as I feel like I’m in the dog days of winter when it comes to my business. I know you can relate. The good news: spring is coming!

Have you heard my “five minutes a day” theory? Have you seen my giant wad of gum? 

The five minute theory and the gum go together. Let me explain. 

When I’m feeling overwhelmed, or run down, I ask myself “what can I do today for just five minutes that will move me in a forward direction?” Deep down I know the answer (or I can find it). Even if I have to fight for the energy to produce five minutes of results, I’ll do it because determination is the name of the game and consistency is the secret sauce. 

Take another look at that picture above. The girl looks like she has flatlined. Can you relate? 

When you look at the overall picture she is making progress over the course of the year. If she starts skipping days because the conditions are not ideal then she will never make the forward and upward progress. If you start skipping days you will stall out and possibly flatline. 

It's in the small moments we make the strides. Even on the days we feel dull… a dull knife makes progress. Have you heard the story about the guy that got stuck in a rock in Utah and amputated his own arm with a pocket knife in order to free himself? Talk about a dull knife! How many times do you suppose he had to saw back and forth to get through the skin? Too much? I agree. Let me change the visual image... 

When you are feeling dull it can feel like trying to swim in quicksand. Is that better?

On to my point: If I asked you to spend 1825 minutes right now working on your goal, you would slap me (or at least consider it). But if I asked you to spend five minutes working on your goal then it would feel manageable, right? But will you make any progress with just five minutes? 

Think compounding interest. It is the consistency of the five minutes that adds up to big results. 

If you commit to just five minutes a day for an entire year you will spend 1825 minutes working toward your goal. You know 1825 minutes is significant because a couple lines back you were going to slap me, remember? 

5 minutes a day TIMES 356 days EQUALS 1825 minutes (5 x 365 = 1825)

I know you can make progress in 1825 minutes. I also know life happens and we have to fight for our time and energy. So fight for it! It is easier to put up a fight for five minutes than an hour. So start with five minutes and commit to it everyday. YOU WILL MAKE PROGRESS. 

Here is where the gum comes in: Back in 2005 I felt overwhelmed by my goals. I came up with the theory I just explained above (5 x 365 = 1825). I needed to test the theory, so I did. To gauge my five minutes of effort I used the flavor of a piece of gum. I knew even Double Bubble could hold its flavor for at least five minutes. So every day for a year I worked on my goal while I chewed a piece of gum. I saved every piece of gum I chewed while working on my goal that year. It felt like overnight I had this wad of gum that even I couldn’t ignore! But it wasn’t overnight… It was in the consistency of everyday that my progress started to add up and stick.

Most overnight success stories have at least a decade (or two or three) of consistent work behind them. Overnight someone noticed their wad of gum. Overnight sells more stories then “she busted her butt - it was rarely glamorous - she wanted to quit several times - she failed - people told her to quit wasting her time - but she kept going”.

When you do the work with consistency it adds up and not even strangers can ignore your progress. The work speaks for itself. 

Even if you are feeling dull, remember a dull knife still makes progress. Chew a piece of gum and knock off at least five minutes of effort that will take you in the direction of your goal! Every day!

Check out Aron Ralston's Story (the dull knife guy) here

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