A couple of years ago, Lori (one of the regulars on the Flylady Facebook page) invented a collaborative game she called “Flylady Bingo” as a motivating way to get through her to-do list, completing 6 x 15 minute tasks in two hours. This technique works very well if you have a couple of hour-long blocks to spare, and you can do it with the friendly people on Facebook.
You can also use a variation on this technique and go it alone, with a free dice app, a glint in your eye and a determination to get things done.
This is an excellent way of attacking tasks that are one-offs, or that perhaps got missed in their regularly scheduled programming and kind of need looking at now, before they are next “due,” or before anyone asks to use your bathroom.
Playing on the Flylady Bingo Page:
- Make yourself a numbered list of six tasks, and on the Flylady Bingo facebook page one of the fans will be calling out a number. Usually they start a game on the “top of the hour” (I think that means on the o’clocks, when the big hand is pointing to the 12)
- Set your timer for 15 minutes, and complete the task that is assigned to that number on your list.
- After 3 tasks, you all take a 15 minute break.
- Do the other three tasks, again as the number is “called.”
- When you’re done you have a margarita yell BINGO! and feel suitably proud of yourself.
Here are the official instructions.
You can use the HomeRoutines To Do list to make your list of six. I used the Emoji keyboard to put the numbers in, but you know, regular numbers would do. I also put in a task for my tea-break, and one for when I’ve finished. For this one I’ve put the “¡We did it!” song from Dora the Explorer, because I am both a parent of preschoolers, and a massive nerd.
Dice Game for your To Do List
Alternatively, you can play all by yourself. I’m not being totally antisocial; I live on the upside-down part of the world and my time zone is all out of alignment with yours.
If you want to play by yourself, you can either work through your tasks in order (fine, but boring) or you could download yourself a free dice app to add a little surprise to things. I downloaded a few, and my favourite was this one, simply called Dice.
I just wanted to say, goodness gracious me. There are certainly some interesting dice apps in the app store.
This one does what it says on the tin. You shake your phone, or tap it, and a dice falls in from the side of the screen with a pleasing dice noise. I cropped out the advertisements on this screenshot.
- Make yourself a numbered list of six tasks, plus extra tasks for your tea break and your “Bingo” moment.
- Roll your dice.
- Set your timer for 15 minutes, and complete the task that is assigned to that number on your list.
- Roll your dice again for a new task. If you get a number you’ve already rolled, roll it again until you get a new one.
- After 3 tasks, take a 15 minute break.
- Do 3 more tasks as dictated by the Dice Who Knows All.
- When you’re done you have a margarita yell BINGO! and feel suitably proud of yourself.
Some useful links:
- The lovely folks on the Stepping Out of Squalor board have an ongoing thread where they use dice for their to do lists and report back.
- A good page on Squidoo about Flylady Bingo
- Roll dice to decide next task – an experiment is a slightly more elaborate version of this idea, with some very thoughtful comments about using this idea with the Pomodoro Technique (using your timer, except in 25 minute chunks)
