Life for most people these days is far busier than it ought to be. Some days come with to-do lists too big to manage, and other days, the tasks start to feel a little unnecessary. I have been toying with an approach lately that has been changing my attitude toward my personal task list and has overhauled how that work is prioritized.
I ask myself this question:
What can I do that will most improve my life right now?
There’s a lot that needs attention here at home. Honestly, my closet needs to be cleaned in the worst way and I have stacks of things needing to be given away or sold. My kitchen floor could benefit from a good mop. But when I thought about all these things that need attention Friday night, I zoomed in on the things that would make the most difference to my daily life.
In this case, I chose to focus on my bathroom. The shower drain has been running slowly and everything needed cleaned. I also took the recycling to the car so I could drop it off at the recycling bins in town the next day. I needed to chop veggies, make pasta salad as well as some pudding, and tidy the kitchen to make meal prep easier the next day.
These are things I focused on. They took up most of the evening and I was pleased for the sense of accomplishment.
Did I do everything on my list? Nope, I did not. Some things will wait for another day.
What I did accomplish is more important: I changed my attitude.
We tend to think of household chores as just chores. We have to clean house, take out the trash, water the flowers, clean the cat’s litterbox, and prepare meals every freaking day whether we want to or not.
That doesn’t sound so great, does it?
But your internal dialogue shifts when you think of it as doing things to make your life better.
For example, I scoop Scout’s litterbox before bed every night whether it needs it or not. This improves my life because he is less likely to throw litter out on the floor at 3 a.m. He is pictured above looking quite smug because he knows he runs the house and I do not disagree.
Moving recycling to the car the night before streamlined the morning and guaranteed I would actually take the recycling. I know this because I had walked past it the three previous mornings. Having a clean shower with an open drain makes my mornings so much more pleasant!
The rest of the stuff on my list needs done – dusting, tidying the sock drawer, reorganizing the freezer – these things all need attention but aren’t vital to an easier life. I’ll get to them another night.
I’m also trying to reframe how I think about certain tasks. Watering flowers allows me to nourish small lives that make my life beautiful. Washing dishes can’t be multitasked but it does let me listen to some good music or just brainstorm while I work. Preparing food today will save some time tomorrow and many foods like soups, pasta salad, and casseroles actually taste better on day two.
Our mindset can make or break us. It can improve our lives exponentially or ruin our day. So, framing things in a more positive light makes a huge difference. Coming to think of these chores as things that will improve my life has made a tremendous difference to me. It’s still a relatively new approach but I’m curious to see the difference it can make in the future.
Incidentally, I told you about another life improvement strategy a while back. You can read about it here!
Here’s another one about productivity you might find helpful!
