The 5 Minute Rule is a tool I have implemented to promote the Virtue of Order. Life can get hectic for all of us, and when it does, we usually find ourselves overwhelmed with clutter and messes. Some people are left a train- wreck of a house after a busy week, and so they leave their homes a mess because they feel overwhelmed by the chaos and by how long it will take to clean up. Don’t let small chores pile up into catastrophe; use the Five Minute Rule to win the small battles.

If it takes less then 5 minutes, do it. Unless you have the immediate need to be engaged in other activities, and it takes less then 5 minutes, do it then and there. Enforce it. Every time you notice a small chore, take it out. All the little things you see like this add up to the majority of necessary maintenance. Pick them out and pick them off, like a sniper in the jungle. Spot a weed in your yard? Pull it out when you see it. Notice that spot on the mirror? Clean it off. When you see it, do it. Some things take only a few seconds to do, so don’t be lazy. Taking care of the little maintenance makes the larger tasks easier and less time consuming.

Clean up after yourself and don’t put things off for later. That later might not come, and you allow little chores the opportunity to become larger problems. Don’t be lazy or procrastinate. “How you do anything is how you do everything.” – T. Harv Eker. If you neglect the small things in your daily maintenance; you show the potential to neglect the small things in other aspects of your life. “As above, so below. As below, so above.” – The Kyablion. Yes, make time for more time consuming chores, but take out the small ones when you notice them.

READ: “ON THE VITURE OF ORDER”, CATEGORY: VIRTUES