Five minutes isn’t a whole lot of time, yet there are many things you can accomplish in just five minutes. You can send an email, brush your teeth, make a sandwich or listen to a song.
We all wish we had more time each day to accomplish everything that needs to get done. But, we’re not getting more time. So what we need to do is spend our time wisely and do things that are productive and valuable.
While you may be thinking there’s no way you could possibly tack on a new task to your already hectic schedule, I’d like you to do just that. As often as possible, I’d like you to take five minutes to help someone else. This may not become a daily habit, or it may happen multiple times a day, depending on what opportunities come your way. But get it in your head right now that you have enough capacity to spend five minutes doing something that will benefit another person, whether you know that person or he/she is a complete stranger.
Let me tell you a short story that will hopefully prove why spending five minutes to help someone else is powerful. One of my clients at Identity is a large national corporation. We have a few contacts at the company who our social media team works with, and two of those are my direct clients. A few months ago, I learned one of my contacts was leaving the company, and I knew how important it would be to fill her role with the right person.
Since I’m the Michigan champion for Help a PR Pro Out (a movement that seeks to use social media to leverage relationships and help connect those seeking a job in the PR industry with employers), I make it a point to share job opportunities with my online networks whenever I can. Rather than sharing the job opening publicly, I decided to first share it with the other HAPPO champs in our private Facebook group to see if they personally knew anyone who would be good for this role.
Long story short, another HAPPO champ recommended I connect with her friend who was looking for a job because the position seemed like a fit for her. After a few LinkedIn messages between me and this person, I forwarded her resume to my client. A few months and interviews later, she now has a job, and we’ll be working very closely together. What I did to get her resume in front of my client took all of about five minutes of my time, and it resulted in someone landing a great job.
So, what can you do in five minutes or less to help someone else? Here are a few ideas:
- To go off my example, share a job opportunity with your networks or an individual who would be a good fit.
- Write a recommendation for someone on LinkedIn.
- Answer a question in a LinkedIn group.
- If a friend at work looks like he/she is having a bad day, send a private message (via whichever method makes the most sense for you and that other person) reminding him/her that you’re available to talk or help in any way you can.
- Do something unexpected that helps your significant other (fold laundry, make lunch for work the next day, etc.).
- Give feedback or a recommendation to someone who needs it.
The list goes on.
I hope you take on this small challenge because it will end up being as rewarding for you in the long run as it will for the people you help.
If you have a story to share about how you helped someone lately in five minutes or less, or if you have other ways to help in five minutes, leave your feedback in the comments.