I Tried the Pomodoro Technique to Declutter, and I’ve Never Organized Faster
I work from home and would be lost without the Pomodoro technique. I use the time management method to keep me on task and focused — especially because I’m surrounded by all the creature comforts of home. The Pomodoro technique is a simple productivity plan: You pick a single task and work on it for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break. This repeats four times before you take a longer 15- to 30-minute break. I love it because it minimizes distractions and prevents burnout — the breaks are key!
I wondered if, because it works so well with my job, it could also work with a decluttering project. So I put it to the test and organized my mess of a pantry using the Pomodoro technique. The results were astounding. Read on for a few of my takeaways.
Time moves quickly.
The biggest thing I noticed while decluttering was how much I got done in 25 minutes. Our pantry has admittedly needed decluttering for a while now, and I’ve been avoiding it because I knew it was going to be a big task. To my surprise, I got it done in just two Pomodoros — an hour! I honestly couldn’t believe it; I anticipated it would take an entire afternoon.
I started by taking everything out of the pantry and tossing the items that were old and expired. I also organized all the items I knew I would be keeping into categories. All of this took about 25 minutes. The second 25 minutes was spent putting everything back, rearranging a bit, and taking a few trips to trash and recycling. Because the Pomodoro technique helped me stay on task, this organization project was truly a breeze and happened very quickly. Just goes to show how easy it is to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Pomodoro keeps you focused.
Perhaps I’m just easily distracted, but I lose steam pretty quickly when I declutter. Hence why I put off big decluttering tasks or imagine them being way worse than they actually are. I think I got through my pantry quickly because I had a simple goal: Work for 25 minutes.
I was tempted to reach for my phone or check my email — all the little things that could give me a quick dopamine hit between sorting or tossing items. But because the Pomodoro technique is to work for 25 minutes without distraction, that’s exactly what I did. Without the ticking clock, it would have been all too easy to take my time, but I knew I had a five-minute break to work toward. The idea behind the Pomodoro method is that the 25 minutes are a sprint, which was a helpful mindset to have as I tidied.
The breaks are essential.
I understand that sometimes you get in a zone and work until you finish a task. That could have been the case with my pantry, but because decluttering is a challenging task for me I knew I needed to split up my time. Breaks are an essential part of the Pomodoro technique, and with my pantry decluttering project I was more than happy to pause and take a break. I sat down, sent a text or two, then got back to work. Five minutes go by in a flash!
I knew what I needed to do for the second 25-minute chunk, and I could work through it with no problem knowing another quick break was coming soon. It was tempting to continue scrolling on my phone once the five minutes were up, but I peeled myself away to get the task done quickly. And to my surprise, my pantry was completed in just an hour. So take your breaks! Even if you feel like continuing, give yourself a moment to breathe. The little breaks will help you power through, instead of working until you’re tired and then not finishing.
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend the Pomodoro technique for anyone who has a tidying project you’ve been eyeing. I especially recommend it to anyone who doesn’t love organizing. The Pomodoro technique minimizes overwhelm, so you can think about your project only a little bit at a time. Decluttering can feel like a drag, but small spurts of work sprinkled with quick breaks can help keep you focused and, in my case, get the project done in record time.
Ready to start decluttering? Sign up for Apartment Therapy’s Decluttering Cure, a free 14-day program that’ll help you achieve a tidier home in just two weeks.
This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Tried the Pomodoro Technique to Declutter My Pantry, and I’ve Never Organized It Faster
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