~image by Zitona on Flickr~

While listening to All Things Considered on National Public Radio yesterday, I was reminded of their “Three-Minute Fiction” contest.   You send in an original piece of fiction that can be read in three minutes or less.   The judging for this round is still ongoing, but they have a few pieces highlighted on their website right now here.  Winners, runners-up and contenders from other rounds are also on the site.

Life can get so hectic.  Hopefully these tiny gems will provide a little enjoyment during a bus ride, child’s naptime or afternoon tea.  Seeing the creativity many of us have pent up, shared with a little bit of prompting is very inspiring.  I hope they keep the contest going.

I’m a magazine clipping hoarder.  Yeah, it’s bad.  Like boxes full….  Anyways!  While going through magazine clippings the other day, I found an article I had saved from years earlier that still contained relevant advice.  If we get free time time at all, the article stated, we generally save it for the end of the day.  By then, however, the energy just isn’t there to do what we really enjoy.  So, we spend those precious hours doing things that take very little effort, like watching tv.  A new approach might be to go to bed earlier so that we can get up early and start the day with something we enjoy instead.  I thought that was a good idea.  I know, I know, it’s hard starting the day period sometimes.  Starting it even earlier might not seem very appealing.  With a little practice though, getting up a bit sooner isn’t so hard.  My toddler alarm clock gets me up at around 6:30 now and I used to be a 10am kind of girl.

So, if you love to read but never have time, hopefully these ideas help.  Instead of longing for that good book collecting dust on the nightstand, try a quick three-minute fiction story on your break.  Or, maybe make reading an incentive to get up a bit earlier.  Why not start the day off with something good in case the rest ends up crazy? ;)