It's interesting, I use precisely the opposite approach. I work in passes, each one intended to make the room cleaner as a whole but not necessarily finish any part of it.

For example, let's say I've had a big party and the kitchen is a mess. Step one might be to put the trash can in the center of the room and dispose of all visible debris. Step two might be to move all remaining small objects to one side of the room to improve visibility, then repeat the trash pass. Step three might then be to wipe down the counters, which are now clear of objects. Etc.

I tend to work in a similarly incremental way on programming tasks. Do you have a more "touch-once" approach there?