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If you struggle to find the motivation to clean up, you’re not alone—that’s why there are so many different techniques out there that involve giving yourself a little reward when you finish up a hard task. You can use apps to gamify your productivity or follow the tried-and-true Pomodoro method, which has you work for 25 minutes, then enjoy a five-minute break before starting up again. Those approaches may not work for everyone, though, so why not try a little twist on the old reward system?
Reward yourself in the moment for motivation
I got this idea while listening to a HuffPost podcast featuring Patric Richardson, author of House Love: A Joyful Guide to Cleaning, Organizing, and Loving the House You’re in. Richardson suggests that the next time you’re buying cleaning supplies, you should pick up a favorite candy, too—but don’t eat it until it’s time to clean. The idea is so simple, but so brilliant: Eating a “cleaning candy” you enjoy while you work gives you something to look forward to and can even make you want to clean.
That reminded me of something I’ve done in my own life without realizing it. A few years ago, I started watching Gossip Girl and I fell in love with it, but I’m not someone who ever really watches TV. But I really wanted to watch that particular show, so I started watching it when I was at the gym. I swear, my time on the cardio machines doubled, if not tripled, because I never wanted to get off and stop watching. Pretty soon, I started getting really excited to go to the gym at all, even though working out had never been something that invigorated me or made me happy before. It was more of a necessary chore, if anything, but the addition of a show I could only watch while I was on the elliptical turned it into a luxury.
A treat that is exclusively enjoyed while you’re doing something you don’t naturally love can really only help you out in terms of motivation, whether it’s “cleaning candy,” a show, a podcast, a certain kind of music, a special drink, or something else.
Why and how this works
Giving yourself something to look forward to when the task ahead of you is otherwise uninteresting is an easy way to turn things around. You may not want to clean, but you do want to eat that snack or listen to that podcast, so you end up cleaning just so you can do it.
The trick here is that you have to commit to not enjoying your chosen treat when you’re not cleaning. Don’t get lax and tell yourself one episode of your show or sip of your special drink won’t hurt when you’re relaxing. It’s a slippery slope: When Blair married Prince Louis in season five, I gave myself permission to watch the episode on a full-sized TV instead of my phone at the gym, and I felt so guilty about it that I still remember it years later. If it helps, designate a candy or show that is your second favorite as your cleaning treat so you can’t and won’t indulge when you’re not tidying up.
Eventually, you’ll start to associate the treat with cleaning and cleaning with the treat. Whatever little mind games you have to play to get yourself to do something you don’t want to do are a-OK. Just make sure if you’re snacking and cleaning, you’re wearing gloves while you work and removing them when you reach for the candy.
