Finish Tidying in One Go to Defeat Rebound

Have you ever tidied a drawer one evening, only to open it the next day and find it a mess again? That’s rebound. It happens because half-measures leave you with unfinished mental and physical clutter. The key is an all-in tidying sprint.

Last month, I blocked a Thursday afternoon—three straight hours—to sort every document in my desk. I started with a stack so high it brushed my chin. My phone buzzed twice, but I resisted. Taking each paper, I asked, “Does this contribute to my ideal work life?” quickly tossing or filing without overthinking.

By the time my timer pinged, I’d cleared three categories and labeled every folder. The drawer slid shut with a neat click. For the rest of the week, I barely thought about those files—they simply lived in their places. Contrast that with my usual thirty-minute dribbles that never stuck.

Behavioral science calls this the momentum effect: completing a task in one go fuels your confidence and habit-loops for maintaining it. Quick, decisive action creates a clear baseline—your new normal. After that, simple daily maintenance—the hook in your habit loop—keeps things tidy with almost no effort.

Choose a firm deadline and block 3–5 hours like a crucial meeting. Dump all items from one category onto a surface so you see everything at once. Decide quickly on each item, using your joy-or-function test to guide you. As soon as you finish, store items in labeled spots so your progress stays locked in. Then step back and feel how natural it is to keep things that way. Try your first sprint this weekend.