What can you accomplish with ‘The Power of 6-7 Minutes’? It seems like a such a brief time frame which can be frittered away without much thought. But, what if we focused that increment of the daily calendar entry into an activity that would improve our lives? Would it make a difference? A lot can happen in 6-7 minutes.

A friend of mine works for a medical device company. His role is to help patients properly use a virtual reality headset helping them manage their chronic lower back pain more effectively. Many of his clients relate they cannot find time in their busy schedule or forget to use the device. As each session averages 6-7 minutes. He routinely will challenge the patients to couple taking their nighttime medications with a session to help them remember and to ensure consistency in their therapy. Just 6-7 minutes a day is all it would take.

When I was in the Air Force, we took tests annually to try and get promoted. I usually waited until I was about two months from my test date to really start studying hard. What if I had spent 6-7 minutes each day reading the material during the entire year? Millions of people routinely sit in a drive-through for 6-7 minutes waiting for their biscuit sandwich and a cup of coffee.

Suppose you spent 6-7 minutes a day on a messy garage. At the end of a month, it would be three total hours on the project performed with more focus and greater results. Would you be able to learn a foreign language if you spent 6-7 minutes listening to a language podcast? I know a retired 2-star general and former ambassador who built his deck three boards at a time because of his busy schedule working for the Air Force Chief of Staff. Maybe that took a little more than 6-7 minutes … work with me here.

At family gatherings, no one will play Bible trivia with me because they think i know all the answers. They know the focus of my life is studying God’s word. They will make comments such as, “I am never good at Bible trivia.” What if they spent 6-7 minutes a day reading God’s word? Would they have more confidence? What if you took 6-7 minutes a day to spend time in prayer? Would your life be different? How much more precious could your relationship be with the Lord if you made that commitment?

Most of us don’t feel we can take the time to make 3,000 free throws with a basketball every night to become an NBA superstar. Certainly, that intensity and sacrifice of free time is the path to becoming world class in whatever you choose to tackle. However, if your current knowledge, skills and abilities in an area could be rated now as a seven on a scale of 1-10, what difference would 6-7 minutes a day make in sharpening and honing your skills? Would it raise you to an eight? You might want to give it some thought. What are you doing for the next 6-7 minutes?

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Tony “T-Bar” Barnes is a 28-year veteran of the Marine Corps and Air Force. He is also retired from the Department of Veteran Affairs. Tony is active in patient advocacy roles and can be reached at tbarnugget@yahoo.com