The 5-Minute Routine That Finally Stuck

There's one routine I started this January that has genuinely stuck.

It takes five minutes. It fits around everything else. And it's been surprisingly transformative.

It's a daily photo delete.

The problem with infinite storage

Here's the paradox.

We can now capture everything. Every concert, every birthday, every ordinary Tuesday. We take multiple shots to get the perfect one. We have more opportunity and ability to capture moments than ever before.

For me, that's resulted in almost a decade of photos sitting in iCloud that I didn't fancy looking at. Around 70,000 photos. Hundreds of gigabytes. Too overwhelming.

If I wanted to go back to a particular event, there was simply too much volume to trawl through. I felt blocked from actually accessing all of that memory.

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The five-minute system

The core idea is beautifully simple - credit to Kendra Adachi of The Lazy Genius.

Set a five-minute timer. Delete photos. That's it.

I didn't start with my most recent photos. I started with January of last year.

The passage of time works in your favour. Those screenshots, receipts, QR codes from a year ago?

No guilt. Deleting them is a split-second decision. It's like when something in your fridge is so far past the sell-by date that throwing it out becomes a total no-brainer.

I went for quick wins first.

iPhone's Duplicates folder - merged immediately.

Then selfies. I lamented how many versions of the same moment existed. I blame Instagram. Easy to favourite one and delete the rest.

Then videos, which give you huge storage wins very quickly.

Some days I work chronologically through last year. Other days I delete from the iCloud storage manager, which shows your largest files first. Other days I work on Videos chronologically. I jump around depending on my mood.

That flexibility is key for me - I'm not very linear and love finding the big wins. The only frame is the 5 minute window.

3 Unexpected benefits

There's nothing like trawling through 1000s of photos every day to make you more mindful of your photo-taking going forward. Recently my son was having a haircut. It was cute. I took about seven photos. But I immediately favourited the one I liked most, because I thought: my future deleting self is really going to appreciate that. Even if I take multiple photos in the moment, I'm now making it easy to delete later.

It brings some fun to January evenings! The kids have loved this too. They've seen me doing it and asked to look at funny videos of themselves. My son found one video of him having a tantrum at 4.21pm, and the next video showed him at 4.51pm in the garden, happy as Larry, painting his slide with mud. That contrast - how that late afternoon unfolded during lockdown - was absolutely priceless.

There's also a bonus - every year we store huge volumes of media, and servers consume energy storing things we don't even want anymore. On an individual level it's modest - but imagine if we were all doing this. It starts to add up.

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Why the routine is actually sticking

This routine works because it's easy, it's enjoyable, and it fits my life.

Easy: Five minutes. One timer. That's the commitment. I can do it in bed, on the sofa, waiting for the kettle. I've learned it's quite intense on the eyes, so I'm strict about stopping when the timer goes.

Enjoyable: There's a reflective quality to it. I've got to about May or June '25 now, and it's genuinely nice to see what was happening last year. There's also something intrinsically satisfying about watching your storage number and photo count come down - if you want an extra nudge, it's worth screenshotting where you start so you can actually see the progress.

Fits: It slots into those five-minute gaps that already exist. Unlike exercise, which needs specific time and energy, this can happen almost anywhere.

Laura Vanderkam talks about making big goals manageable by doing tiny chunks each day. She read War and Peace over a year because each chapter is short.

This is the same principle. A behemoth of 70,000 photos becomes manageable when you chip away, five minutes at a time.

But what do you actually do with the photos?

This was my big question for a long time.

I've created many, many painstaking digital albums over the years - because I really do care about savouring memories and taking stock. They're still great. But for this era of life, it's not going to happen (and hasn't for years).

What I have now feels much more doable - and, crucially, much more used:

One photo a day goes into the 1SE app (One Second Everyday). No pressure for completeness. No problem if there are huge gaps - mine has loads. It's just a light-touch way of capturing the essence of a day.

Then favourites go to our Aura digital frame in the kitchen. This has been a game changer. Those photos are infinitely more accessible - and more enjoyed - than any digital album I've ever created. We see them in passing, the kids comment on them, they spark little conversations. They're part of daily life, rather than something stored away for "one day".

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1 Second Every Day App, Aura Frame App in use, Photobook app dormant.

The compound effect

I'm now several weeks in and I've cleared thousands of photos. More importantly, I have a system that I'm genuinely enjoying, after years of being bothered by this growing digital mess.

So if you're like me - someone who's been avoiding that dark, hairy closet of overwhelming photo storage - this could be a gentle way in.

Here's to routines that survive past February.

Key takeaways

✓ Five minutes is enough - Set a timer and stop when it goes off, making the task manageable rather than overwhelming

✓ Start with last year - The passage of time removes guilt, making deletion decisions split-second and obvious

✓ Flexibility matters - Jump between duplicates, selfies, videos, or chronological depending on mood and energy

✓ Mindful capture follows - Trawling through thousands of photos naturally makes you more intentional about future photo-taking

Want more simple systems for a calmer life?

If you've been nodding along thinking "I need more routines like this that actually stick," you're not alone. The key is finding systems that are easy, enjoyable, and fit your actual life.

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🎧 This is the final part of my January series on helping high achievers build clarity around money, career, and daily routines for 2026. Catch up with the series on Youtube or listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Frequently asked questions

Why start with last year's photos instead of recent ones?

The passage of time works in your favour. Screenshots, receipts, and QR codes from a year ago require no emotional deliberation - deleting them is a split-second decision. It's like when something in your fridge is so far past the sell-by date that throwing it out becomes a total no-brainer. Starting with older photos gives you quick wins without guilt.

What if I don't have five minutes every day?

The beauty of this system is its flexibility. Some days you might do five minutes, other days you might skip it. The only frame is the five-minute window when you do it - there's no pressure for daily consistency. It slots into those gaps that already exist, like waiting for the kettle or sitting on the sofa in the evening.

How do I decide which photos to delete?

Go for quick wins first: duplicates (iPhone has a folder for these), multiple selfies from the same moment, videos (these give huge storage wins), screenshots, receipts, and QR codes. The passage of time makes these decisions obvious. If you're looking at photos from a year ago and can't remember the context, that's usually a sign you can delete it.

How long will it take?

Laura Vanderkam's principle applies here - big goals become manageable through tiny daily chunks. A behemoth of 70,000 photos becomes manageable when you chip away five minutes at a time. You'll be surprised how much you can delete in those five minutes, especially when tackling videos or duplicates. The compound effect over weeks is significant.

About Maya

Maya Gudka is an executive coach specialising in C-suite career progression and leadership development. She works with senior leaders in major organisations on strategic career planning, executive presence, and building sustainable influence. Maya hosts The Executive Coach Podcast, which ranks in the top 2% of podcasts globally and has nearly 300 episodes exploring the challenges faced by ambitious professionals.

Connect with Maya at www.mayagudka.com or on LinkedIn