The Google Home timer is going off as I fire the dishcloth into the sink and say “Stop,” before dimming the kitchen light and walking away. The floor could still use a good sweep but my five-minute cleaning window is over and the floor will keep. The crumbs will still be there when I have my next burst of cleaning time. For now, I’ve got snuggles on the couch to prioritize.

A couple of years ago, when M was away for work and I was feeling particularly overwhelmed, I decided to start setting short timers for focused work around the house. It turned out to be one of the best ideas I’d ever put into practice and I still do it, especially when solo parenting for any length of time.

The concept is simple:

1. Set a timer (5, 10, 15 minutes – I usually do 10 minute windows) and choose the general area of focus.
   • Is it the kitchen counter? The dishes? The floors? Picking up toys in the living room?
2. Spend X minutes focusing on that one focus area.
3. When the timer goes off, walk away – even if it’s not 100% complete.

The first few times, you might bite off more than you can chew. I know I did. I’d set 15 minutes to completely clean the kitchen which wasn’t realistic. But 10 minutes to spend clearing off the counter, wiping it down, rinsing out the sink and putting dishes away (either in the dishwasher or back in the cupboards)? That I can manage with some hustle. It’s made me efficient as heck and it also cuts down on the overwhelm.

I use this method of focus time for work as well, particularly on time-sucking but low-ROI tasks like checking emails. I’ll set a 10-minute window to clean up my inbox and whatever I get through is what I get through and the rest has to wait for the next window.

The key to making this work is “letting go” and honestly, it’s the hardest part. Not completing something to 100% is often a mental fuckery for me, and not adhering to the timer concept means I’m just setting timers for no damn reason. I’ll sometimes cheat on the timer if I know that completing the task is something I can do in under 1 minute (for example, rinsing out the sink before I walk away) but I try my best to drop it within 30 seconds of the timer and bounce.

These little productivity bursts have truly been a game changer for multitude of reasons:

• They reduce overwhelm
• Even the kids like getting in on a quick tidy (we’ll sing the “Clean Up” song for 2 rounds and then call it quits)
• It breaks up big cleaning tasks into bite-sized bits that everyone can understand and stay focused on
• At work, they help me avoid falling down massive rabbit holes

It really is the little things, right??