Why is cleaning the worst? Because it feels like a task that's never truly done. (You try keeping that playroom clean for more than three minutes!)
PSA: That kind of thinking is problematic—and a big deterrent to productivity. According to Gretchen Rubin, author of the brilliant new decluttering book Outer Order, Inner Calm, the key to effectively cleaning your home lies in not viewing cleaning as this huge, cumbersome task—and instead working in one-minute bursts. That's right: She wants you to literally clean for one minute, at least once a day.
“Do any task that can be finished in less than one minute, without delay," Rubin writes. "Hang up a coat, read a letter and toss it, put a document in a file, throw away a pen that doesn’t work, put the toothpaste back in the medicine cabinet and close the door.
The idea here is to gradually change your outlook on tidying, such that it no longer feels burdensome. Besides, she says, since "these tasks are so quick, it isn't hard to follow this rule, and it's amazing how much can get done...over the course of a few weeks." Give it a go, guys.
