There are seven minutes left before I head downstairs for my first meeting of the day. Seven minutes I had previously hoped would be a longer stretch of time, allowing me to write a full-length essay. More time where I could really camp out, kick off my shoes, and cozy up to the subject I wanted to write about.

Instead, I find myself faced with seven minutes. Four hundred and twenty seconds I don’t want to waste, but don’t fully know what to do with, either. Do you ever find yourself here? Faced with this awkward amount of in-between time—enough to start something, but not enough to finish it?

I could scroll. 

I could stare into space and start worrying about how much I need to do today and how little time there seems to be. 

I could probably fall asleep if I really wanted to. 

But today, in these seven minutes, I decided a micro blog post was better than nothing. That starting to get words on the page would leave me feeling a whole lot more satisfied than wishing I had picked up my pen. 

Because, at the end of the day, I’m a writer at heart. I want to get words on the page. And I don’t need 10 hours to do it—sometimes seven minutes is all I’ve got. And when I’m willing to give seven minutes to this craft, there’s no telling I could go, where these words could take me, or better, where these words could take you. Today, I’m not dreaming about being a writer; I am living, acting, and working like one. 

What is it for you? Writing, fitness goals, cooking, reading, painting, gardening, etc.? What could you do in seven minutes? I think you’d be surprised. Seven plus seven plus seven plus seven plus seven… That’s a whole lot more than zero. That’s a whole lot closer to your goal, dream, or calling than the wasted allusion of waiting until you have ten imaginary, uninterrupted hours. 

So let’s get after it today, seven minutes at a time. 

Set your timer. Ready, set, go.