Life can be hard. Sometimes, with all the will in the world, it’s impossible to get going. I get it. You get it. I’m sure the whole world gets it. There are several solutions that you might try in this situation.
- Get motivated. You could get going based on that go-get-‘em attitude you’ve suddenly woken with but, ultimately, this is not going to last (trust me, I’ve already blogged about that).
- Procrastinate. Feel amazing about doing nothing important for however long nothing takes to do. The issue here? Whatever problem it is you wanted to tackle will still be there once you’re done.
- Change your mindset. The issue with that is…uh, well, actually, that might just work.
Here’s how to get out of that rut that you’re stuck in, with tips on making sure that you never get stuck there again.
Reframe your chores
Hands up if you don’t enjoy doing the dishes, or hoovering, or mopping.
If you couldn’t tell, my hand went straight up. I dislike hoovering so much that I spent over one hundred pounds on a smart hoover. It keeps my place looking super presentable and means that I get to avoid doing one of my dreaded chores. If you’re interested in buying one, check out my in-depth review here.
But, okay, not everything can be solved with technology. You might not be able to afford a dishwasher, or perhaps your kitchen’s not big enough for one. What then? You need to eat, and constantly buying and binning paper plates is neither good for the environment, nor productive; just think about the amount of supermarket trips you’d have to make to replenish your supplies.
Whichever way you want to look at it, the dishes will need doing. Right now, you’re probably looking at it as something that you have to do. What if I told you that it’s something that you get to do?
Let me explain:
If you have to do something, you’ve no control over it. Having little control will automatically lower how much you can enjoy it. Whatever that task is – something at work, a chore at home, anything – it’s something that you have to do. It’s time to exert a little more control over your tasks. If you have to wash the dishes, stack them all up and then spend twenty minutes washing and drying a load at once – but set up your tablet, too. Catch up on that latest streaming series, with your headphones in, as you clean up.
Before you know it, you’ll have finished the washing and you’ll be getting onto the rest of that Stranger Things episode from the comfort of your couch. Just be careful to not splash your tablet screen in the process.
By reframing your chores as something you get to do – simply by making them more fun – you’ll quickly find yourself enjoying the process a whole lot more than before.
The productivity rationale
Enjoying yourself while getting a boring chore done is one thing, but there’s another benefit to this process. All of that time spent doing chores will soon add up. Before you know it, if you’ve not made a change to your routines, you’ll be out of pocket of a lot of time that you won’t be getting back. Your evenings could turn into getting back from work, going to the gym, eating, washing up, collapsing in front of the TV, and going to bed – before repeating it all again tomorrow.
I take personal issue with that lifestyle. Not because collapsing in front of the telly is a bad thing; in fact, I quite enjoy doing that. My issue is that it limits the amount that I can get done in a day. If I have to spend ten minutes hoovering, twice a week, and then cook every day, and then spend twenty minutes washing my dishes – and do all of that without multitasking – then I am drastically limiting the amount that I can do in a day.
And I want to do so much more in a day.
I want to listen to a podcast on 2X speed while ironing. I want to set off my robotic hoover to sweep up the dust bunnies while I do the dishes and watch Netflix at the same time.
You might not care about productivity to that extent. But there’s no denying that reframing our mindsets and choosing to enjoy our time as much as possible will lead to happier lives. If that life is more productive? Well, even better.
While you’re here, you might also like…
Take control of time as you study
OneNote: the best productivity system?
How I spend my time as a Form Tutor
Why not follow my socials?
Hardly Hamilton 
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