{"id":21635,"date":"2023-08-24T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635"},"modified":"2023-08-19T10:32:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T14:32:40","slug":"trouble-cleaning-try-junebugging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2023\/08\/trouble-cleaning-try-junebugging.html","title":{"rendered":"Trouble Cleaning? Try Junebugging!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You know you need to clean up that garage or extra bedroom. Your intentions are good. However, it hasn’t gotten done and your partner has had enough. You feel bad too because you fully intended to get get the job done.<\/p>\n

Well, maybe the 15.4 million views on TikTok are on to something. Videos abound about a technique that can provide a strategy that might work for you. \u00a0It’s called “junebugging.” No, it is not a psychological term, but a colloquial term that might change your cleaning habits. While the name comes from an actual bug, the intervention comes from working with people with ADHD who often feel frustrated that they begin a task, get distracted and then don’t finish the task. This technique seems to help get one task done.<\/p>\n

OK, so what is up with the bug part? The term, “junebugging “came from studying the habits of the actual June bug. This bug is noted for returning to the same site over and over no matter how much it flits around during the day. So, playing off of the behavior of the bug, junebugging involves coming back to the same task over and over until it is done. For example, let’s decide to clean that spare bedroom. Instead of looking at the entire room and feeling overwhelmed, you focus on one aspect of cleaning like maybe a shelf in the closet. That shelf becomes your anchor point or focus. Then, whatever you do during the day, you return to that spot and work on the shelf until it is clean. In other words, you pick one task or spot and keep returning to it throughout the day until it cleaned.<\/p>\n

It goes like this: You start cleaning a few items off the shelf, get distracted with other things, but continue to wander back to the shelf (like the June bug) and eventually get that shelf cleaned. The idea isn’t to identify a step-by-step process to cleaning, rather pick a task and keep returning to the site.<\/p>\n

This technique claims to remove the shame of not getting cleaning done. I would change that to guilt, not shame. The idea is to get your mind off tackling a big cleaning job and focus only on getting one task done, regardless of the length of time it takes you to do.<\/p>\n

Now, if you are someone with ADHD, this practice can help. People with ADHD struggle with messiness due to working memory issues. Working memory has to do with short term tasks and forgetting. So, identifying one thing to focus on helps. Honestly, this technique works for anyone who is easily distracted. With this method, you embrace the distraction and keep going back to the original task.<\/p>\n

Got it! Now give it a try and see if it works for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You know you need to clean up that garage or extra bedroom. Your intentions are good. However, it hasn’t gotten done and your partner has had enough. You feel bad too because you fully intended to get get the job done. Well, maybe the 15.4 million views on TikTok are on to something. Videos abound…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[913,914,917],"tags":[808,3159,96,4541,7310],"class_list":["post-21635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-couple-relationships","category-family-relationships-2","category-friend-relationships","tag-adhd","tag-cleaning","tag-distraction","tag-getting-things-done","tag-junebugging"],"yoast_head":"\nTrouble Cleaning? Try Junebugging!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You know you need to clean up that garage or extra bedroom. Your intentions are good. However, it hasn't gotten done, try this!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trouble Cleaning? Try Junebugging!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You know you need to clean up that garage or extra bedroom. Your intentions are good. However, it hasn't gotten done, try this!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-24T12:00:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-19T14:32:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/08\/girl-1531575_1280-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trouble Cleaning? Try Junebugging!","description":"You know you need to clean up that garage or extra bedroom. Your intentions are good. However, it hasn't gotten done, try this!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trouble Cleaning? Try Junebugging!","og_description":"You know you need to clean up that garage or extra bedroom. Your intentions are good. However, it hasn't gotten done, try this!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2023-08-24T12:00:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-19T14:32:40+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/08\/girl-1531575_1280-scaled.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635","name":"Trouble Cleaning? Try Junebugging!","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/08\/girl-1531575_1280-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-24T12:00:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-19T14:32:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"description":"You know you need to clean up that garage or extra bedroom. Your intentions are good. However, it hasn't gotten done, try this!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/08\/girl-1531575_1280-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/08\/girl-1531575_1280-scaled.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21635#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trouble Cleaning? Try Junebugging!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21635"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21689,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21635\/revisions\/21689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}