10 Minute Cleaning Hack

How many times have you looked around at all that needed to be done, felt overwhelmed, grabbed the remote and headed to Netflix? Sometimes it just seems like we don't have the time or energy to clean up the kitchen or take a walk.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret hack I started using when my kids were young and I still use to trick myself into doing work when I feel like I don't have it in me.

Today we are playing Beat the Clock.

Set your kitchen timer for 10 minutes.

Why not the timer on your phone, you ask? Because we all know that 45 minutes later we'll be looking for properties for sale on Lake Como or watching Australian news bloopers. Picking up your phone is too risky. Kitchen timers only.

Start your timer and run around as fast as you can doing whatever you can see the needs to be done. Did you realize it only takes about 3 minutes to unload the dishwasher? Toss out papers, Swiffer up the dog hair, wipe down the sink, clean the toilet, fill the dog's water bowl, put away anything, not in its place. Hang up your coat, put the shoes you kicked off in the entryway back where they go.

Hurry! When the timer goes off you're done.

Now stop.

Two things have happened: You feel energized and you made some progress. Now you can either sit down and read a book or set your timer again. Knowing there's a ticking clock keeps us focused in a way that an open-ended task does not.

This is a tool for cleaning up your physical space. This is not the time to phone the gas company about your bill or work on your vision board.

We overestimate how long it takes to accomplish the little daily tasks we don't like. Using this trick will show you just how little time some of them take and the payoff for having them done is a feeling of being in control of your surroundings. It's an added bonus that you 're moving as fast as you can.