Consciously or not, we seek instant gratification. And most of the ways we get them are far from healthy. In fact, they can be destructive when done in excessive measures: social media posts, masturbation, drugs and alcohol, food, video games…

To our disadvantage, all of them are fairly available, we can have access to them usually easily. And not only are they unproductive, we don’t feel good after the act is done. Far too often our day is ruined.

However, there is one that may not be tempting, but just when we start doing it, we feel a world of gratification and that is: cleaning your room.

The theory is that we cannot differentiate ourselves from our environment, the same way we would give our blood or an organ to a loved one because in a way they are us, they are part of us. So, when you clean your room, you have this relief of having cleaned your body.

The crucial point is that it requires willpower, but the good news is, you don’t need that much willpower, or for too long. Once you get over that make-or-break moment, you are off to a much productive day, or at least, not worse than it would otherwise be.