The emPOWERed Half Hour

How 15 Minutes a Day Can Transform Your Life with Author, Sam Bennett

• Becca Powers / Sam Bennett • Season 1 • Episode 66

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What would happen if you spent just 15 minutes each day doing something that truly matters to you?

In this episode of The EmPOWERed Half Hour, Becca chats with Sam Bennett, author of The 15-Minute Method. Sam shares her simple yet powerful approach to beating overwhelm and making real progress by dedicating just 15 minutes a day to what matters most.

Becca and Sam explore the power of small, consistent actions and how they can transform your life, whether chasing a big dream or trying to carve out more time for yourself.

They dive into the struggles of high achievers and creatives alike, offering insights on breaking free from burnout and self-sabotage while finding peace and alignment in daily life.

This episode will leave you feeling inspired to pause, reflect, and make time for yourself—one small step at a time.


Key Moments You Won't Want to Miss:

  • The Power of 15 Minutes – Sam shows how just 15 minutes a day can create lasting change. Small, consistent actions help you overcome procrastination, reach personal goals, and find more balance and fulfillment in your life.
  • Embrace Inspiration Without Overwhelming – Learn how to act on big ideas without feeling overwhelmed. Sam shares how small steps can transform even daunting tasks into achievable goals, inspiring you to embrace your creativity and act.
  • The Importance of Pausing – Sam and Becca discuss how intentional pauses and reflection can spark creativity, reduce stress, and lead to personal breakthroughs, helping you achieve more balance and clarity in life.


About Sam 

Sam Bennett is the author of Get It Done, Start Right Where You Are, and most recently, The 15-Minute Method: The Surprisingly Simple Art of Getting It Done.  

A writer, speaker, actor, and creativity/productivity specialist, she is the founder of TheRealSamBennett.com, a company committed to helping overwhelmed creatives and frustrated overachievers get unstuck. 

Sam is also a popular course instructor on LinkedIn Learning with over a million class participants worldwide and she lives in Connecticut.

Connect with Sam Bennett


Mentioned on the Show:

Order The 15-Minute Method!

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Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Becca Powers: Welcome to another episode of the empowered half hour. And this week I am bringing you a person. I'm so thrilled to have a conversation with, because as I was reading over her profile, I was resonating with so much and I'm not going to elude what that is because we're going to cover it, but I would love to welcome you to Sam Bennett.

She is author of the 15 minute method speaker and Sam, to the show. Thank you so much for having me, Becca. Hi, everybody. So let's get into it because I have been like chomping at the bit to talk to you. the 15 minute method. I love things that are clear and short. And maybe not easy because you have to do the work, but easy in concept, if you do the work.

And I feel that's where you take us with the 15 minute method. So I'd like to hear a little bit about the 15 minute method so the listeners can get a sense of what it is. And once we get done talking about that, I want to hear the backstory to how you came up with it. 

Sam Bennett: Yeah. The 15 minute method is subversively simple.

here's the whole idea. I want you and everybody else on the planet to spend 15 minutes aevery single day on something that matters to you. Boom. That's the whole plan. I don't care if it matters to anybody else. I don't care if anybody else even knows about it. And I don't care what it is. I don't care if it's writing or stretching or sitting in the garden with the sun on your face or reaching out to a friend or, keeping your resume up to date, so you can go after that big job.

I don't know what it is. You tell me. But what I notice is that we spend all day every day getting everything done for everybody else. And the thing that you know would really make a difference to you is still sitting in a drawer. It doesn't even make it onto the list. 

Becca Powers: how did you, realize that the 15 minute method was something that you could bring forward for people?

Sam Bennett: I've been beating this drum around the 15 minutes for a long time. it's in the title of my first book from 10 years ago, which is Get It Done. From procrastination to creative genius in 15 minutes a day, if anybody's curious, because I work with a lot of overthinkers, highly sensitive people, highly creative people, neuro spices of all stripes, they often have.

Fantastic, huge, glorious ideas, that involve redoing the whole house or, becoming an international media superstar, an international grassroots movement with t shirts and have these visions that are beautiful. But then you're immediately overwhelmed of like, how would I even do that?

How would I even start? And as my reach has grown and I've started teaching on LinkedIn learning and hearing from more people that would not necessarily identify as, multi anything, but they've got the same thing. Every project they have their thing. but what if it's not perfect?

how do I even start? don't know anything about that. IOkay, good. But you've had the idea. You've had the download. 

Becca Powers: Can you repeat that, listeners? This is really important because we all get these. Say it again. 

Sam Bennett: Don't refuse the download. what I mean is when you get those ideas that are like, boom, they're a delivered, like a package at the door.

here you go. Here's the whole thing. And sometimes they're really weird. They're like, okay, I don't know what just happened, but I now have an idea about a three volume novel set in ancient Greece like, I don't know anything about ancient Greece. I don't know how to write a novel.

It doesn't matter. That idea picked you. And it is your job to get it out into the world. 

Becca Powers: I knew I was going to enjoy talking to you. This is all my, things. I want to just pause for a second go a little deeper in this for the listeners, because I know on the empowered half hour, we have a lot of dreamers, we also have a lot of high achievers and sometimes those compliment each other and then sometimes they conflict.

So a lot of high achievers have big dreams. But they get stuck in whatever lane they're in and just keep going, and the pause doesn't stop. And then some of the listeners are big dreamers. the creatives and stuff like that. They're going for it, but they haven't learned how to monetize yet.

So they pull back. And so I know, you know what I'm 

Sam Bennett: talking 

Becca Powers: about, but I think that there's something really powerful to the 15 minutes a day, regardless what. Bucket you fall in, but what type of advice would you have? Maybe if you want to just share more about, what you've experienced using the 15 minute method teaching it to other people, but how could it really help somebody?

Sam Bennett: Yeah. I think even logically we can get it that Oh yeah. If I practiced guitar every day for 15 minutes a day. It would not be very long before I was a better guitar player. if I reached out to an old colleague once a day, it would not be very long before I had improved my network.

I'd strengthened those connections. if I spent 15 minutes a day in prayer and meditation, every doctor and fitness instructor will tell you 15 minutes a day of Stretching, dancing, running, playing, whatever is fine, awesome, great, in some ways better than two hours on a treadmill.

 makes sense to our logical brain a little bit. What doesn't make sense and you don't see until you do it. we have a thing that I sell called the daily practicum. It's a subscription. You people buy it. and every weekday, 12 noon Eastern, we get on zoom. Say hello, start the timer for 15 minutes.

 Everybody puts their heads down or turns off their camera. 15 minutes later, timer goes off. And they look up at me with this like post orgasmic glow. it's oh my gosh, you won't believe what I just did. I had this giant pile of paper on my desk and I reduced it by this much. plotted out back garden for next spring.

I called that person that I've been putting off calling for six weeks. I've been dreading it and I just did it. And now it's done like whatever it is, the elation, the sense of pride and that little spill over. It's a little bit of like hair toss, That's right. I did it. I did it. And knowing that there's something like the practicum can really help if you want a little community around you, especially for the ADD, ADHD, neuro spicy, that, what they call body doubling or parallel play can be really helpful.

 But some people subscribe to the Patrick and then some people are there every day. Some people are there occasionally. Some people never show up at all, but just having it on their calendar. Reminds them to do it every day, whether or not they do it with the group. So it's super simple. It's super effective.

And the cumulative effect over time. 

Becca Powers: Yes. 

Sam Bennett: just jaw dropping. 

Becca Powers: Yeah. it's funny, that you say that because one of the things that I I, mentioned to you that work full time, senior sales person at Cisco. so that's Cisco systems and I'm a published author and my keynote speaker and I do all these things and everyone's Oh my God, how do you do it without burning yourself out?

 there's multiple things that I could say, but one of the things that I say is I do it an hour a day. and sometimes it is only 15 minutes, but I've been doing this for four years and that cumulative effect That's how I'm an author. That's just got picked up by a publisher recently.

And it was like, how did you do it? I'm like, I do know it was intentional. I sat down every day and I worked at my craft. some days sucked and I didn't get very much done. And other days were magical moments where there were breakthroughs. And I had that in my consciousness, like I have a new understanding of things.

And then the next step revealed itself. 

Sam Bennett: Exactly. And you've said so many important things here. how do you stay married? 15 minutes at a time. How do you parent a successful child? 15 minutes at a time. And we're not looking to make the perfect decision say the perfect thing in every moment.

We're just looking for the general trend to be forward. the book writing is a great example. If you sit down for 15 minutes a day, you can write about 250 words. If you don't edit yourself too much. in 400 days, that's 50, 000 words. That's a book. Bingo. But now Becca, I have to ask you, because.

 you've got a real job, which I've never had one of those. I've always been an actor and a entrepreneur and had a million different things going on at once. I've never had one of those. Like they pay you the same thing every two weeks sort of things. because I have a fantasy, I have a dream of a revolution.

I would like businesses to start offering people this 15 minutes a day. And here's why, because I keep reading the statistic that 77 percent of employees are disengaged. 

Becca Powers: Oh, yes. 

Sam Bennett: 77%. can you imagine if three quarters of your family was disengaged? If three quarters of your friends were disengaged?

That's a lot. It's a lot. And that seems to me to be a very expensive problem. Yes. and I know that when I had for the corporation. and I know that when I had gigs, I often felt like I was leaving half of myself in the car, like I wasn't really able to show up My full self. But if my business said, Hey, okay.

Every day between four 15 and four 30, that's your 15 minutes or every day, between nine 45 and 10, don't schedule any meetings. Don't check your email. Don't make your dentist appointment. This is not about your to do list. This is about who you are as a person and what you want to be doing for you.

It's 15 minutes. I think we can afford it. So knock yourself out, but here's the stealth effect. Not only do I think that would be a lovely gesture, but I also think and have a nice effect for the people doing it. Like I said, people are amazed at the results of doing things for 15 minutes a day.

especially the things that they can't get to at home and can't get to in the office. It's okay, look, here's a little pocket that you can get to it. and studies will back me up on this. If you show up at a meeting and ask people to introduce themselves, not just with their role, but also with something from their lives.

So hi, my name is Sam from sales. country from Sweden when she was 17 and I have three cats. I will be more effective in that meeting. I will have better ideas. I will be a more innovative problem solver. I will feel more connected to myself. I will be more present and.

 Debbie down at the end of the table, whom I've never really cared for, all of a sudden she says, Oh, I'm Debbie, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I do needlepoint. And I'm like, I love needlepoint! I do needlepoint! I love needlepoint! No one needs to show me your pattern. And all of a sudden we're needlepoint buddies.

 and now, what is that? That's engagement. Now we are engaged with each other and you can browbeat people with money all you want and you'll get a certain amount, but people will do much more for each other. 

Becca Powers: One thousand percent. 

Sam Bennett: this is it. Everybody out there, do it.

Even just start stealth, like you and two friends or something. Just let me know what goes. 

Becca Powers: It's so true. And there's a lot of corporations that are becoming more mindful and more willing to do things. I think the 15 minute method is a sweet spot for corporations because it is only 15 minutes, when they're thinking of productivity and all the things that need to happen.

But 15 minutes is doable. 

Sam Bennett: Yeah, exactly. There's not going to be terrible consequences from letting people spend 15 minutes, designing their own coloring book or, 

Becca Powers: of the reasons I was excited to talk to you is because I very much am on a similar mission.

in my career, I had a moment in time where I, went through extreme burnout and got very ill. And I had to rebuild my entire life, myself, my family, my finances, everything, I almost lost it all. I was part of that 77 percent and now I'm part of the 23. And so I'm very much Hey guys, There's a different way to go about that. That is nourishing for your soul, for yourself, for your family, for your future. I would say that the pausing that I do throughout the day, the 15 minutes, my morning rites, if I'm my mornings are my connection time to myself and to source and whatever.

anyway, I'm just personally reinforcing that I've experienced what you teach. And I also am like, hello, people, there's a different 

Sam Bennett: way. 

Becca Powers: so I've had 

Sam Bennett: long haul COVID for the last two and a half years. 

Becca Powers: Oh, yeah, run into other people that have experienced that.

Sam Bennett: So shout out to my brothers and sisters dealing with chronic this book is really the proof in its own pudding because there were plenty of days where I couldn't get out of bed where in fact, even rolling over in bed seemed ambitious. Yes. And 15 minutes was really all I had to give and to be willing to say to myself as a, chronic overachiever, say, okay, all right, 15 minutes.

If that's what you can do, that's what you can do. they will also say that staring at a blank piece of paper for 15 minutes. Is not the worst thing that ever happened to a person. when was the last time you sat still for 15 minutes without reaching for your phone? 

Becca Powers: It's a good question to the audience listeners.

When was the last time you spent 15 minutes without your phone? 

Sam Bennett: Just being there. it's summertime now. I keep thinking about those long road trips when I was a kid, in those hours spent just staring out the window now 

Becca Powers: I would have entertainment. 

Sam Bennett: Now kids have entertainment, but I think there's something about long hours of boredom that's good for a person.

Becca Powers: Especially for the 

Sam Bennett: developing brain. I don't know. 

Becca Powers: I 

Sam Bennett: don't have children. So consequently I'm a parenting expert. You can ask me anything and I know. 

Becca Powers: You're like, I got this. 

Sam Bennett: I got this. 

Becca Powers: No, but it's funny. Like my kids are they're in college. So they had their beginning years. The electronics weren't out yet.

And then they were out there. Back half and they say now as young adults that they would like to raise their children at least through like age seven, eight with minimal electronics so that they learn how to play outside and interact with nature and. Entertain 

Sam Bennett: yourself.

My grandmother used to say, I'm bored. She goes, entertain yourself. 

Becca Powers: Yeah. figure something out. But I would love to ask you another question. So what is a current aha or lesson that's up for you right now?

Sam Bennett: so I'm in book launch, right? Which all entrepreneurial activities, all of life, really, it's just list of things that should have been done this morning. That should have been done 3 days ago. That should have been done 3 years ago. endless. And again, I still have long haul. So it's, my energy is not predictable. so for me, the lesson is about just surfing the moment.  What can I do right now? How can I stay nourished in this moment right now? can I get a little protein? Can I have a little snack? Can I drink a little water? what can I do to help nourish my body, but also just to be very real with myself that, my old strategy of I'll just muscle through.

Yeah, I'll just make this happen by sheer force of will okay, that strategy worked until it didn't so new strategy and I've been, gobsmacked at 

Becca Powers: gobsmacked 

Sam Bennett: by how often I'm like, okay, clearly I'm done for the day. My, my list is not done for the day. The stuff that really has to happen isn't done for the day.

 Secret's out, I got to tap out. And so I go lay down, I go do whatever. And I'm amazed at how often that stuff just works itself out. 

Becca Powers: I want to double click on that for a second, because I have a lot of A types that listen to the show. Control is a thing and I'm an A type too, but something happens when you get really sick.

You can't do it. 

Sam Bennett: You can't do 

Becca Powers: it. And so then you're forced to let go of control so that you keep your energy for the things that matter most. You let go of control because you have to. And then you realize, crap, I should have been doing this the whole freaking time.

Can you imagine?

Sam Bennett: And the other people that have stepped up in my life, help I never thought was available is available. Things that I thought were so important to do, it turns out if they don't get done, no one cares. Yeah, no big deal. You're like, no big deal. Really? Because I spent 30 years torturing myself over 

Becca Powers: that. I realize so much about myself.

So listeners know that very rarely do things fall apart when you let go. Even though it sounds counterintuitive. I understand. 

Sam Bennett: I might even reframe the story that things apart is a bad thing. 

Becca Powers: Yeah. Go on that more, share more because I'm loving it. I 

Sam Bennett: think we sometimes spend a lot of time and energy trying to keep things glued together and try to keep the facade, I know.

How are you? Fine. try to keep the facade together. Try to keep the house together. to just go, you know what? Forget it. It's fine. The house is messy. That's okay. Some people live in messy houses for a minute. Like it's okay. It's okay. didn't pick out the perfect birthday present. for my best friend.

You know what? She's my best friend. She's over it. It's fine. She doesn't care. run these international retreats for, women. and last year we were in Crete, which was amazing and a lifelong dream for me. I was one of those super nerdy kids was really into Greek myths and stuff.

So I just I got to Greece and just wept. It was beautiful. On the way home, I missed my flight in Munich. I have never missed a flight in my life. And I was there. I was there. I just somehow Get on the plane. I still don't know how it happened. To this minute, I don't know how it happened.

But know what? I ended up rebooked on this much better flight. there were like 10 other things that fell out from that were so much better and they only happened because I screwed up. up in a way that I never screw up and look what got broken open.

So I'm not saying go deliberately screw your life up. But I'm saying there might be some things that are already broken that you could just break all the way.

Becca Powers: I love, that because when I hit my most powerless moment, again, when you're sick and you need help, like you have to call in support, like life just changes. But what fell away was everything that really didn't serve me. 

And when I gained my strength. Like the world was my oyster really, not to be cheesy, but 

Now there's all these new doors available to me. Guess what? I have choice. Guess what? I get to build the life that I love now. wow. What a blessing this thing was that I thought destroyed me, really rebuilt me. So anyway, I was just like goosebumps really resonating with 

Sam Bennett: what we hear over and over again that the study from the hospice patients.

The number 1 thing they say is, I wish I had spent more of my life focused on what mattered to me and less about trying to make everybody else happy We know we don't actually have the power to make other people happy. I wish we did. That would be amazing. That would be great, but you don't. And do you really want to model for your children?

Oh, the ideal parent sacrifices everything all the time and is exhausted and stressed out all the time. Do you? no, that's not the parent want to model, and some of the, what we're talking about is honestly just happens naturally with age. there's stuff that I lost my mind about in my twenties and thirties that now I'm like, Oh, please.

I used to worry so much about, do I look okay? Do I look okay? And then I'm like, Sam, they're not tuning in for your beauty tips. It's a, you're fine.

Becca Powers: That is funny. So let's use this opportunity to pivot to, another question within all of this. How could 15 minutes a day empower someone's life? We've touched on it, but I wanted to ask the question directly. 

Sam Bennett: Yeah, I really. want you to have the experience of 15 minutes a day in which, no one else's agenda matters, in which you are not necessarily judging yourself or your output.

 I'm very happy with 15 minutes a day in which there is no impact tangible outcome. I know people sometimes like to do it to write a book or, clear out the garage even. and I can circle back on the clearing out the garage thing. Cause I know people are like, you can't clear out the garage in 15 minutes.

Yes, you can. and people are like, Oh, I've got a million ideas. Great. Write them all down, pick one and do it and pick another one tomorrow or do the same one. it hopscotch is right over your perfectionism. it's 15 minutes. How perfect is it going to be?

 And you're going to do it again tomorrow. And the next day and the next day and the next day. Oh, but Sam, I only did it three times last week. Fantastic. That's three more times than you did it in the last six months. So be happy. And this garage thing, everybody's Oh, I need two free weekends in a row.

Really? Where on your calendar is that? Yeah. Cause I don't have two free weekends in a row. I don't think you have two free weekends. And if you did have two free weekends in a row, I doubt you would want to spend them cleaning up the garage. however, you can take a mug of tea or a cup of coffee or a can of beer out to the garage and sit there.

And contemplate it for 15 minutes. Be there with it. Don't do anything. Just be there with it. and that minute seven, you go, wait a minute, those 12 boxes are my brothers. Wait a minute. And now we call him up, Jeffrey, get your boxes. And now half the garage is cleaned out and you didn't have to do a thing.

see this over and over again, right? When you just let yourself. Be with, the issue, be with the problem, be with the unknowing, be with the mystery and see what happens. 

Becca Powers: I love that. Be with the unknown, be with the mystery. It's beautiful. Dang. That was cool. So let me ask you one more question.

why are you passionate about this work? 

Sam Bennett: Because we're going to die.

Not to put, to find a point on it. 

Becca Powers: No, 

Sam Bennett: but that's really it. that's deep. I have been fortunate enough to know a lot of really brilliant people. And many of them worked really hard to make sure they expressed their brilliance and expressed their talents and skills while they were here. So we have their books to remember them by.

We have their art. We have their movies. We have their plays. We have their quilts. We have their recipes. We have the things that they made as expressions of their heart and their wisdom and their wellbeing they've left for us. And I have friends who did not get their work out. And that.

breaks my heart, 

Becca Powers: you hit a really, sensitive spot with me, but for a similar reason, and that is really the behind the scenes of my own work too. just to share and to reinforce what you're saying for the listeners. the book that I have coming out 90 days is called a return to radiance.

Sam Bennett: so 

Becca Powers: is called a return to radiance. Bubbles inside you sparkles inside you and you don't have to monetize it, but please go back to it because I was born into a unique situation. My parents were full time musicians when I was born. So I grew up seeing the radiance. I had grew up with laughter and dancing and bongos and guitars and pianos and this, and that, I just saw joy.

And then as I got older, it was actually traumatizing in the sense that my parents got committed to their careers. Stopped doing the thing that lit them up. And my mom passed away at 46. 

Sam Bennett: Oh my goodness. 

Becca Powers: And my dad passed away at maybe he was 62. So I saw that at their deaths, 

They were not shining in the radiance. 

 They were dim And I can get emotional thinking about it, but I'm like, God, if I could just help people come back to the radiance, like you're saying, We're going to die, and not in a morbid way, but that's just, the end game.

No, and 

Sam Bennett: I, and I hear it's great. everybody who's died and come back says it's fantastic. I don't think it's anything to be afraid of.

Becca Powers: Why not live in your sparkle or your joy? 

Sam Bennett: exactly. And I want to be very careful here because we never want to imply that anybody has ever lived their life wrong or, not, done it properly. Everybody lives their life in the exact. right way. How do we know? Because it's the only way it's what happened.

So we have to bless that correct. We have to say yes, that was the right path because it was the path. but one of the things I talk about in 15 minute method is returning to that zone of creative genius, And that tip to gain Katie Hendricks for their work on zones of genius. But, there's a thing that everyone has.

 That you've always just been naturally interested in, naturally good at, you're a little fascinated by it. You watch all the documentaries, your family and friends are like, wait, I'm sorry, you're driving how many hours to go to an exhibition on what? 

Becca Powers: And 

Sam Bennett: you're like, no, I can't wait. So you're spending how much on what?

You're obsessed with 

Becca Powers: what? 

Sam Bennett: With what? Okay. whatever that thing is for you. It has to do with your zone of creative genius. It's part of what you're here for. So just lean into that a little bit. Give yourself the gift of that. And if you still don't know what it is, here's my little scenario.

Imagine that someone wakes you up like at three in the morning, a friend wakes you up at three in the morning goes, Hey, Becca, we're going to go buh, you want, to come? And you would be like, Oh, yeah, I'm gonna wait. Where's my shoes? Okay, here I come. 

Becca Powers: I don't even need my hair done.

I'm just gonna go. 

Sam Bennett: No, I'm just gonna go. I'm getting in the car. This is so exciting. what is that for you? And whatever it is, could you find 15 minutes for it today? 

Becca Powers: Ah, that is such a good way to close out because we are at 30 minutes. And I knew this time was just gonna fly by. ah, Sam, thank you for being a guest on the Empowered Half Hour.

Sam Bennett: My pleasure. Thank you so much for having 

Becca Powers: me. And guys, she has a book out. It's called The 15 Minute Method. We've been talking about it for 30 minutes, but imagine if you read it for just 15 minutes a day, and then applied it, how much your life could change. 

 

Sam Bennett: it is a little designed for that.

The chapters are very short. They all have a little action step. it's, light, but deep. 

Becca Powers: Light 

Sam Bennett: deep 

Becca Powers: at the same time. That's why I started reading it. That's why I was like, it's easy. But you have to do it. That's why I started off the conversation like that. It's one of those like easy heart things, but if you do it, then it's easy.

 but Sam, thank you so much for being a guest. 

Sam Bennett: Oh, my pleasure. What a joy. Thank you so much for making the space.