You don't think about it, until you begin preparations to move, but we accumulate a LOT of stuff. Just this weekend, I recycled a total of six pounds...SIX POUNDS!...of paper I did not need. That's a lot of spare paper laying around and taking up space in my apartment. Since it IS spring, I thought I'd post a few tips for Spring cleaning.
1 - Take it one space at a time! This may seem obvious, but it is difficult to tackle multiple rooms or areas at once. Homing in on one space, like your bathroom cabinets, will allow you to focus all of your attention on it. Trying to spread yourself thin, especially when trying to purge your apartment or home of junk you don't need/want anymore, can be detrimental. You'll get tired more quickly, and it may take you far longer than if you focused on each area individually.
2 - The 80/20 rule: We typically wear 20 percent of the clothes we own 80 percent of the time. I heard this recently while perusing organization videos on YouTube, and I definitely follow it. I can't tell you the last time I wore certain items of clothing, but I can tell you I wore my Guardians of the Galaxy T-Shirt last week, on Tuesday. I'm also wearing it today, while I write this post. Try going through your closet and tossing out/donating things you KNOW you haven't worn in ages and likely won't wear in the near future. Be reasonable, though. If it is the only item of a type, there's no need to toss it out.
3 - This isn't so much a Spring cleaning tip as it is an everyday cleaning tip. Go through your home every day, and if something takes less than a minute to do, do it! If you let these tasks stack up, it'll take you ages to actually finish everything compared to if you'd just take a little time every day to tidy up. It also helps if everything has its place, so you don't have to worry about things piling up.
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Now, that's all for cleaning (I did say a few, remember?). If you want more tips, check out YouTube or various websites online. There's plenty of information out there. I'd like to discuss a study technique I discovered recently.
It is called the Pomodoro Technique. You may have heard of it, or seen small tomato-shaped timers around. If you want a more in-depth description, check out http://pomodorotechnique.com/.
Basically, this technique relies on a simple 25-minute timer. Take note of the tasks you need to complete, and estimate how many "pomodoros" it will take to complete that task. A "pomodoro" is a 25-minute timespan in which you must dedicate your focus to the task at hand. After these 25 minutes elapse, you take a 5-minute break in which you do ANYTHING BUT that task.
Once the break ends, you start timing again and keep working. Once you finish the task, reflect on how many pomodoros you estimated would be required and how many it actually took. If you finished in fewer than the estimated total, you were more productive than you thought you'd be initially!
I have found this technique incredibly useful. In about 5 hours, I completed most of the tasks I'd set up for myself this weekend. I originally estimated it'd take at least 8 hours, total (that's 16 pomodoros) to complete everything. You'd be surprised at how much you get done when you actually focus.
Anyway, that's all for now. I hope this post helps someone out, either with cleaning or becoming more productive. Until next time, goodbye!
-Brandon
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