What if I told you you could maintain a spruced-up home if you are willing to sacrifice one minute? Sound too good to be true? Maybe, but hear me out... Years ago, I read Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project where Rubin presents her One Minute Rule: Immediately do any task that you can complete within one minute. It’s a simple concept but it really resonated with me—I have thought about this rule everyday for nearly ten years now. I want to share it with you because it has had such a profound effect on how I keep up with tasks around my home.

I would often find myself feeling lost and stressed with the amount of housework. I would look around at all there was to do and think, “what should I tackle next?” This concept of immediately doing the quick tasks as they arise eliminates many of those feelings of being overwhelmed. If the trash is full—take it out, the screwdriver is on the counter—put it away, there are crumbs on the table—clean them off, lightbulb burned out—replace it. All of these tasks are so simple and quick to complete, but we often let things pile up and create mental clutter as we add to the to-do list in our mind.

This is something you can start doing today. As you go about your day, try to think—can I do this task in less than a minute? When you’re carrying in the mail, think, “I can throw out this junk mail, it’ll take less than a minute.” When you set a dirty plate in the sink, think, “I can put it in the dishwasher, it’ll only take a couple seconds.” When you’re getting in the shower and you throw your clothes on the bathroom floor, bring yourself to think, “I can walk those to the hamper in under a minute.” I still find myself going to write down a task (like pay the power bill) on a to-do list and I’ll catch myself—in about the time it takes to jot down that I need to do that task, I can just get it done! It will take some time to make this thought process a habit. It’s important to be consistent, but if you’re being consistent you’ll see the benefits of adopting this rule.

This is a ‘rule’ that kids can learn to follow, as well. Older kids should be able to understand this concept and if you teach them not to procrastinate on the little things it will help them become much better at time management. Smaller children may need a little help learning this method but it makes a great game—How many toys can you put away in one minute? Can you make your bed in one minute? Set a timer or just start counting—little kids will delight in the thrill of trying to complete the task in time.

A common excuse we give for falling behind on housework is that we don’t have the time—it’s hard to argue that you don’t have one minute. Everyone can spare 60 seconds to check a task off the list. If you do this consistently you will be amazed at how well you are staying on top of things.