20 Minutes

I find myself plagued by an unusual habit.

I liken it to the recent trend of "binge watching" entire seasons of TV series on Netflix; once I'm hooked and in the garage working on hobby projects, I tend to be out there for hours. Now, as you might imagine, it's a rare occurrence that I can find such a large block of time to devote to my hobby.

So, more often than not, I work on the layout(s) in sporadic bursts; long work sessions, punctuated by great lengths of time where I don't do any work on the railroad.

In many aspects of my life lately, I have been taking a systematic approach to create a streamlined, simplified, uncluttered workflow approach. Basically, the idea is this: approach each task in small, measurable steps. Focus on nothing but the step in front of you until it is completed in a high-quality manner.

It's a simple idea, but it is revolutionizing my productivity in all areas of my life. So why not apply it to my hobby as well?

Before, when the thought of going out to the garage to work on trains popped into my head, here was my usual thought process:

• I don't have time to do that now. I have more important things to work on.
• There are so many projects on my workbench, and so many things to accomplish on the layout; I don't know where to start and what I want to work on anyhow.
• ergo, I probably won't enjoy myself. I'll just put it off.

Guess what all that translated into?

...you guessed it: No progress. No hobby time. No fun.

Today, I decided to start a new habit: 20 minutes, focused.

Sure, I can find 20 minutes in my day, right? I had just started a batch of lentil soup, and it had a while to simmer; perfect.

The first step: focus. What needed to be accomplished? There are loads of projects I am working on, but my focus had to be on making sure I think logically about the general progress on the layout.

The decision? Solder the rail joiners. That's it.

I set a timer on my phone for 20 minutes, headed out to the garage. Spent a couple minutes setting up the soldering iron, fluxing the joiners...worked my way around the layout, and got all of them done. I set up a consist on the track, and rolled a few test circuits with the train.

Ding! Soup's on.

...and that was it. Maybe it sounds boring to you. I will say it wasn't particularly exhilarating. But here's the important part: I worked on the layout today. It was relaxing. I made progress and got a mundane task out of the way.

And, perhaps most importantly: I did all that on one of the busiest days of my week.

This, I am convinced, is my new workflow. Make a list; attack each task with Zen-like focus; eat the whale one bite at a time.

You also have time to work on your hobby. 20 minutes of working on the layout, building a kit, or running trains isn't hard to find most days, and it will translate to more productivity, more enjoyment, and more time spent on your craft. Try it out.