Those pesky, pedestrian chores…

Were you responsible for specific chores as a kid? I think of chores as household-related (and they certainly are) but they include anything we have to do on a regular basis. Chore-tasks are certainly not glamorous and even the most wealthy among us probably still have things-they-have-to-do — tasks that cannot be outsourced — that are necessary, and often unpleasant.

Paying bills, invoicing clients, tracking time, entering expense reports — these might all fall within the pesky category of chore-like maintenance.

The problem with chores is that we de-prioritize them. Chores are not as important as project work and meetings, so we put them off. Eventually, these pedestrian, basic tasks add up to become mountain-like projects. Addressing the mountain seems scary, big, and ill-defined, so we continue to de-prioritize. It’s difficult to get started when there is NO CLEAR END IN SIGHT!

So how do we avoid mountains and/or how do we deal with a mountain if we have one?

Take some time to assess the chore. How long does said chore REALLY take and how often do we REALLY need to do it? The answer is TOTALLY up to you! If you don’t want to be chased by creditors, you likely have to pay your bills within a certain timeframe. If you want to have a fresh pair of socks every day of the week, this will determine how often you do laundry. Entering timesheets probably takes less time that you think (or if it was tracked regularly, the impact of the task would change). It all goes back to the preview I wrote about here – if something needs to happen on a weekly basis, just throw it in your calendar, in a time that makes sense, when you do your preview. Sometimes just having a realistic sense of scope makes EVERYthing easier.

I have been resistant to chores my entire life. I have a perfectionist sensibility that debilitates me, so I consciously work to reduce this unrealistic sensibility. I cannot expect to be 100% on top of everything, but I can keep important projects and chores in forward motion most of the time.

Forward motion — with chores, with projects and with everything else we endeavor to do — is an awesome shift away from perfectionism.

If you need help with forward motion, being less perfectionistic, and more fundamentally satisfied with the structure of your life, consider working with me one-on-one!