The One Minute Rule: Try This At Home
Welcome Back to the second edition of Try This At Home. In July I restarted my popular Try This At Home Series. As a reminder, Try This At Home is my review of the weekly tips and suggestions that Gretchen Rubin provides in her Happier podcast and books The Happiness Project and Better Than Before. This series will provide my honest thoughts in regards to the tips that I have tried or currently use on a regular basis. Today’s try this at home tip involves utilizing the one minute rule. In many ways this rule plays off of the tip of taking one thing with you when you leave a room. This rule encourages you to complete a task if it can be done in less than one minute. In many ways this doesn’t seem like a difficult task but there are likely moments when it is not accomplished. Here are a few examples of when the one minute rule can be utilized.
- Hanging up a coat rather than placing it on a chair or the couch.
- Putting dishes in the dishwasher rather than placing them in the sink or in the counter.
- Placing junk mail in the recycling bin rather than keeping it on the desk or counter after opening.
- Taking dirty laundry to the hamper rather than leaving it on the bed (or in the floor).
- Responding to an email immediately rather than reading and planning to respond at a later time.
Do you already practice the one minute rule in your life? If not, do you see how it could be helpful?
Don’t forget to come back next Wednesday for more try this at home suggestions.
These posts are great and I agree that a clean sink and counter make one feel more organised. I’m going to put this 1 minute rule to work this evening.
I would love to hear how it is going!
We could definitely do better on the dishes. Seems like our counter is always full and somehow we do more work to clean up just to make dinner than we do making dinner!
That’s what I often found that in the kitchen. It can be so frustrating. It takes some time to put it in practice but it does help.
I need to try the one-minute rule. I’m always putting off email responses…
I hope you will give it a try. It works after you begin to make it a habit.
I love this!! I am so bad about throwing my clothes on the floor. It really does save time later. Great tips.
Thanks Jessica!! It does make is so much better when we don’t come home to a pile of clothes.
This is such a great tip. I need to get everyone in my house to practice it when it comes to putting their dirty clothes in the hamper. I, personally, need to work on the email responses too.
I think you can get them to do it! It’s about making it a habit so it may take some time. Oh, those emails…..
You know I love this series! Like you, I’m pretty good about this… but I can always improve. I’m especially bad about emails.
Truth be told, I’m horrible with the emails myself. I’ve gotten to where I just take care of everything on the weekend and it takes some time… it wouldn’t if I only did it when I read it.
I tried to implement this after reading The Happiness Project. I feel like I go through phases. Sometimes, I’m like “YES. Put clothes back RIGHT AWAY.” And then sometimes, I’m like, “Oh well. I’ll just spend 10 minutes doing that this weekend.”
I do know what you mean about phases specifically with clothes. I do have to say it works best for me with dishes/recycling and putting my coat up! As long as we do it some of the time it helps.
Oh, I love Gretchen Rubin. I really need to re-read her Happiness books. It’s been awhile. This is a great idea!! I could use that for certain emails too.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
I haven’t read The Happiness Project in years but need to pull it out. And yes, it’s perfect to use with emails – rather than read and do nothing, send it where it needs to go.
Make the bed when you get up…don’t leave it for later.
That is actually another Try It at Home Tip I’ve written about. Making your bed not only takes a short amount of time but also is an automatic accomplishment!