I’m always looking for new ways to motivate myself to do things I don’t want to do. Sometimes I try to trick myself into just getting up and spending a few minutes on a task to get it over with—and it works! I find myself diving into the work, getting carried away, and doing more than I intended. But I didn’t really have a name for it. Then I saw this blog post from the Everyday Organizer that gives the practice a name: the Five-Minute Snowball. If you have a hard time getting yourself to do boring tasks—especially cleaning and organizing—I encourage you to try it.

This is a simple twist on other time management and motivation techniques: you can start a timer or check your phone, but then immediately decide that you’re going to work for five minutes. That’s all you have to promise. It’s only five minutes. And when the timer goes off or you check your phone, you’ll probably notice that the time has flown by.

Personally, I recommend not setting a timer at all. Strict time limits can feel harsh, and if you’re already stressed, it might not be helpful. I’ve found that when I first arrive at work, I’m always shocked by how much time has actually passed when I check the time again, so a timer that tells me my five minutes are up wouldn’t be so helpful.

The goal here is to commit to a manageable time goal. Five minutes isn’t actually that bad, but you’ll find yourself flying past it because it’s such a short amount of time, especially once you get into a rhythm. If you don’t, it’s not demotivating; you only committed to five minutes, and as long as you hit that goal, you’ve accomplished what you set out to do.