Become a success story in 20 minutes or less

“Your ability to work single-mindedly on your most important task will contribute as much to your success as any other discipline you can develop.” ~Brian Tracy

It was the spring of 1950. Author Ray Bradbury was living in a modest home in Venice, Calif., with his wife and children. He wanted to write a novel, but the distractions with the two young ones in his small home were too great for him to seem to accomplish anything of note. So Bradbury chose to visit the UCLA library to get his writing done in a place with minimal distractions.

Bradbury spent his time on the pay-by-the-hour typewriters in the library basement. He prepared his notes prior to using his paid typewriter time, then as soon as he got on the typewriter, he typed as fast as he could for that hour so he could get the most done for his money’s worth. As a result of his short bursts of extremely concentrated effort, he finished the first draft of his novel, a shorter version called “The Fireman,” in just nine days. The novel, “Fahrenheit 451,” was published in 1953 and became Bradbury’s most popular and widely read work of fiction.

According to Brian Tracy, “Parkinson's Law says, ‘Work expands to fill the time allotted for it.’ If you have two hours of work to do and an entire day in which to do it, the work will tend to expand gradually, and will take you all day long to complete the two hours of work. However, the reverse is also true. It is, ‘Work contracts to fill the time allotted for it.’ Use this law by setting deadlines for yourself that force you to complete the task far sooner. Continually analyze your work and focus your attention on completing your most important task, the task that represents the most valuable contribution you can make, on schedule, if not before.”

I’m not telling you this to fuel your procrastination habit and give you another excuse to save everything until the last second (which I will admit to having a have a tendency to do at times, but I'm working on it). Setting mini-deadlines for yourself can be very effective in getting things done.

“There are many, many things that can be done in twenty minute bursts of time.” ~Michael Nobbs

I recently read an interesting blog post from artist Michael Nobbs, “Take the 20 minutes a day challenge.” Nobbs’ notion is that anything can be accomplished eventually if worked on for 20 dedicated minutes a day. From getting fit to clearing your clutter to learning Japanese, he says most any creative work can be finished and any goal attained by working on it daily for 20 minutes. To do this, Nobbs lists several ideas, including:

Eliminate distractions:
One of Nobbs’ main tips is to get rid of all distractions. Shut off your cell phone, your IM and your instant notifications from e-mail and twitter. Go to a quiet place and sit down to work. And for as long as you’ve allotted, do not get up from that project until that microwave timer starts beeping—unless, of course, there’s an emergency, e.g., your youngest sticks a pencil eraser up her nose or gets her tongue stuck to the inside of the freezer.

Work every day, without fail:
A key to why the 20 minutes a day notion works is because it is a daily commitment. As Andy Warhol said, "Either once only, or every day." I know from experience that it's tough to complete a project if you're working on it sporadically.

Make a public commitment to your project:
Whether you blog about it, tweet it, drive around your neighborhood shouting it out the window, or just call your mom, tell someone about your project. Nobbs says that the more you commit yourself publicly to a project, the more likely you are to complete it.

One point where I disagree with Nobbs:
Nobbs suggests stopping at the end of your 20-minute session. I understand his point, but I believe it would be wise not to constrict yourself to that small time period if you’re on a roll. If you’re creating a painting, say, and that inspiration finally hits you at minute 19, you don’t want to wait until the next day. You’re inspired now—work now if that’s what you feel like doing. Otherwise, when that timer starts beeping at 20 minutes, stop, and be proud that you’re one step closer to writing that novel or finishing that painting.

What will you do with your 20 minutes?