I first learned about the one minute rule while listening to the first episode of the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast. Since implementing the one minute rule into my life it turns out that I usually spend more time thinking about it than it task to actually do it.

The one minute rule

If something will only take one minute to do, you should probably do it straight away.

• Put your shoes away when you take them off.
• If you have a task that can be done in less than a minute, do it without delay.
• If you don’t read your junk mail, put it straight into the recycle bin.
• Wipe down the kitchen bench.
• Put your dishes into the dishwasher when you are finished.
• Make your bed, even if you just pull the cover over it.
• Remove your lunch container from your bag when you get home. If it’s dirty, wash it. If it’s clean, put it away.
• Put the scissors back where they belong when you are finished with them.
• When the dirty nappy bag is full, put it in the outside bin.

But I’ve been adding something else to the one minute rule to make cleaning up a breeze. When I am putting something away in another room, I will look around for something else to take with me. So rather than spending one minute putting away one thing, I spend one minute putting away two or more things. It’s the same amount of effort in much less time.

So if you’ve got something that needs to be done, and it will only take a minute or less, just get it done.