If you spend five minutes or so each day packing away tools, sorting fasteners and other supplies, cleaning up mess and even simply sweeping the floor, it will keep your workshop in a state of readiness for when you need to get things done quickly.

In the May edition of Farming Ahead we look at a range of jobs that can be performed in five minutes or less. Naturally, cleaning and packing away tools goes at the top of the list, but there are a range of other small tasks that can be performed quickly which can save time later on.

In addition, if you have employees on your farm, then these tasks are a good way to make sure they use idle time productively.  If you have a whiteboard in a prominent place, make sure it has a "to-do" list that is kept up to date.