We have 96 intervals of 15 minutes every day, meaning you have many opportunities to make a difference.  Each day this month, I’m giving you a 15-minute project idea. Pick your favorites to improve your day, yourself or your world. I promise you have time for this.

You’ve probably got tons of your favorite music on your Smart Phone or media player.  But do you find yourself getting bored with the selection of songs available? Since I workout 8 times a week, I’ve found an easy solution for you to make just the right music mix for your workout, event or activity.

Make a perfect playlist. I like to listen to music on shuffle, keeps an element of surprise in my workout.  But I’d noticed that my Smart Phone was rotating the same songs in my playlist regularly.  Boring!  So I changed the way I did my playlists and now I rarely hear the same song twice in a week. Here are some ideas for playlist organization:

• Days of the Week: Yes, I have a playlist for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Each one has about 20 of my favorite workout songs on it.  And each playlist is completely different. I took the 200 workout songs I had and divided them into the 7 workout mixes I needed.  If I had multiples from one artist (Rihanna, Lenny Kravitz, and Beyonce) I’d put an equal number of their songs per day.  Now, I have a unique mix that keeps me moving, and keeps my workout interesting.  It took me about 15 minutes to set up the 7 playlists and drop in about 10 songs for each one–adding more may take a little more time.
• Time of Day Playlist: You could also organize playlists by time of day.  Maybe you need to pump up in the morning or you like certain songs after work.  Figure out what works best for you and organize your songs to push you to do your best.
• Workout Playlist: I need music to keep me going while I’m running, but when I’m biking, I can listen to anything–It’s Pinterest that keeps me interested.  Try music mixes that work best for you with the type of workout you’re doing.
• Small Update.  Don’t have time to think about a major playlist update? Divide your playlists in 1/2.  Then at least you can rotate between the two lists for some change of pace (maybe A-M, N-Z or Men/Women?).  Anything to give yourself variety will be worth it.

Find Music Inspiration & Ideas everywhere. Need ideas for great songs to put in your playlists? Ask friends that seem to have the same tastes as you.  Or when you’re reading magazines, save pages that mention great songs.  Think about some of your favorites and use these as a starting point (RESPECT or Ice Ice Baby?).  You can also find great ideas on Pinterest, retail in-store soundtracks (just Shazaam the song to identify it) and iTunes publishes new FREE options on Tuesdays for up & coming bands. This will give you good, unique recommendations that may be better suited to your personality than the favorites that are popular right now.

Plan to update your songs every year.  As I listen to my new music, I make a note of music I really like by giving it 5 stars, then I use my genius updates in iTunes to help me find new songs (I think it’s easier to print the playlists and update manually, you can do this by selecting the print option on iTunes).  As I add to my collection, I rotate and delete songs from my playlists (goodbye Black Eyed Peas! Hello Adele!).  Some are just moved to the “No Playlists” and some are trashed. For Ever. Thank. Goodness.  Don’t be afraid to change your playlists regularly, even if it’s a 1-2 song update.  Totally worth it.

You don’t need to keep songs in your playlists because you once liked them.  Think about what you love right now and focus on that. I love Elvis–but he and I are on a break right now, an extended break.  He’ll return to my playlist eventually, but for now, I need new, fresh mixes-and you deserve this too.