Try a 5-Minute Sprint

This is part of Stewie's Guide to Ruthlessly Declutter Your Clothes Today.

I have a trick for when I feel overwhelmed. It’s simple, almost too simple, but it works.

I set a timer for five minutes.

That’s it. Five minutes. I commit to working on whatever feels impossible—just until the timer goes off. And then? I give myself a reward.

Back in the day, my rewards were sugar. A can of soda, a peanut cluster, something sweet to trick my brain into believing that effort was always worth it.

Now, I’ve shifted to non-food rewards—watching a YouTube video essay, taking a walk, solving a Sudoku puzzle, or listening to a podcast. The habit remains the same: effort, then reward.

When it comes to decluttering—when the mess feels too big, the decisions feel too hard, and the thought of starting feels heavier than the clutter itself—I turn to the same strategy.

Five minutes. That’s all.

I set a timer and go.

Ignore that voice in your head.

I’ll be honest: at first, it might feel ridiculous. A little voice in your head might scoff, “Really? What difference can five minutes make? This won’t even put a dent in the mess, so why bother?”

Ignore that voice.

Because here’s the truth: that voice isn’t trying to help you. It’s trying to stop you. It’s the part of your mind that would rather do anything than start. It thrives on doing nothing. It whispers excuses, lulls you into procrastination, and convinces you that if you can’t do everything at once, it’s better to do nothing at all.

But five minutes? Five minutes is harmless. Five minutes is small enough to slip past the resistance, short enough that it doesn’t feel like a commitment. And yet—something magical happens when you start.

Maybe you clear off one shelf. Maybe you go through one drawer. Maybe you finally throw out the pile of papers that’s been sitting there for months. And then—just maybe—you keep going.

Because five minutes has a way of turning into ten. Ten into twenty.

Before you know it, you’ve done more than you thought possible. And afterward? You feel good.

So don’t wait until you feel ready. Don’t wait until you have a whole afternoon or the perfect motivation.

Just set a timer. And start.

You can do five minutes, right?

Next steps…