The Clean Sweep Principle: Tidying Up Unleashes Breakthroughs
We do it all the time, we hate it, we hire other people to do it for us.
— CLEANING —
But what if I told you that you’re missing out on a lot of personal growth or even wealth by not cleaning?
It is a misconception of Western civilization, a crisis of convenience that opens up many opportunities for those who do it. We all know that we are gettin more and more lazy. But conviencie always has a price we have to pay.
Less movement — more diseases
Less challenges — less life happiness
Less cleaning — ……?
We’ll dive into:
- why cleaning separates good leaders from bad leaders
- why it pushes you to be a better version of yourself
- puts you ahead of the 99% of people
Let´start.
Humility — the art of being a great leader
I taught inner-city kids.
One of the classroom rules was that we all had to clean up the classroom after school. I dictated who would do it. As long as I micromanaged that everyone did their job, it was fine, but when I tried to take a few steps back, they didn’t do their job.
The problem?
They knew why they had to clean the room, but they never saw me get my hands dirty.
The solution?
When I started cleaning with them from time to time, the problem was solved. I showed them that I wasn’t better than them by doing all the chores, which builds authority and allows for a better relationship.
You build authority and trust by cleaning or doing the chores that no one wants to do.
Joco Willink, Ex-Navy Seal and podcaster, talks about picking up the brass with the boys to create authority.
Along the lines of "show, don’t tell".
(The same is true in your household. You teach your children humility, and by sharing the chores between you and your wife, life gets better. Simple.)
Conscientiousness — hate or love it, but you need it
Remember the old Disney classic where we see the amused and playful cricket laughing at the ants during summer?
While the ants were working and preparing for the coming winter, the cricket was enjoying himself, not worrying about work, playing music and just enjoying the fruits of summer.
We all know how the story ended.
The cricket freezes hungry in winter, while the ants feast in their warm homes.
But what does this have to do with cleaning?
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Quite a lot.
What I am talking about is called conscientiousness, which is the is the tendency to be responsible, organized, hard-working, goal-oriented, and to follow norms and rules.
I considered myself to be a creative person and still do. But it was due to hard work on hard things that I developed conscientiouness and one of the hard things was cleaning.
After high school I spent a year as an assistant teacher in Scotland at an international school where we had to clean the houses every day.
I hated every part of it because I did not understand that it was supposed to develop the character of the teachers and the students, and actually build my authority, as I already explained.
Only years later did I realize the tremendous benefit it had on me and my development, because it allowed me to focus and structure my creative output, which puts me ahead of other people in my profession.
Conscientiousness individuals…
tend to be high achievers in both academic and professional life. At work, in addition to high [productivity] , they achieve higher earnings, good relationships, job satisfaction, and performance. In addition, the conscientious tend to get more leadership positions.
Psychology Today Editors. (n.d.). Productivity: The Ultimate Guide. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/productivity
Learning Momentum — Cleaning sets you apart
Whenever I talk to friends about what I do on a daily basis, it’s often the same reaction: "How can you do that much?
I tell you.
Honestly, we either don’t know what we do all day, or we don’t care.
Try for a couple of days to write down what you’ve done in every waking hour of the day. I did this a couple of years ago, three days was enough and I realized I was not doing much.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t squeeze every waking minute of productivity. I hate that stuff, but be mindful of what you do.
This is where cleaning comes in and why it puts me ahead of a lot of people.
I have to clean and tidy up anyway, and when I feel like it, it’s my study time.
I have at least 3 hours a week of uninterrupted cleaning and learning.
- bathroom
- kitchen
- basement
You name it, I cleaned it.
It is the best time to listen to audiobooks or podcasts. I can easily finish 1–2 audiobooks a week if I choose to listen besides cleaning, whilst hitting the gym, or the road.
It creates a huge gap between you and other people around you.
Of course, listening is not enough, I usually mumble notes into my note-taking apps to return to certain topics later.
To recap:
- Cleaning makes you a better leader,
- a more conscientious person,
- and an eager learner
Use it!
Have fun!
