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RSSGet To Done: Time Those Tasks You Hate Doing
We all have certain tasks that, for some reason or another, we just hate doing. For me, it was cleaning the coffee pot every day. I know it’s insignificant, but for some reason, I would avoid it like the plague. The longer I let it hang over my head, the aggravating it would become. If I hadn’t cleaned it by the end of the day, washing that coffee pot would seem as if I had to clean out the garage.
One day, as I was making myself unnecessarily miserable over having to clean the coffee pot again, I had the temporary clarity to time how long the task took to complete. From start to finish, the chore that had made me monumentally miserable took exactly three minutes out of my life.
From that point on, cleaning the coffee pot became a non-issue because I knew exactly how insignificant it was. When I couldn’t overestimate the time it would require, I minded doing it a lot less. Now when I find that I’m avoiding a chore, I dive into it with stopwatch in hand, and most of the time, it ends up putting the chore back into proportion.
Do you have a chore that you hate doing? Timing it just might make it less of a chore.
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December 27th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Do you actually clean it with soap and water, or do the lazy man method and rinse it out with water, only to refill it with sweet nectar again?
Unloading the dishwasher and folding clothes is something I absolutely HATE with a passion.
I may have to try this.
December 27th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Don’t think I didn’t get the point, but for 99 bucks you can get one of those Keurig One cup coffee makers. I got #1Wife one for her birthday. She loves it. You just press play and it plays a coffee right into your cup. It’s the coffee version of the iPod….iCoffee.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
But why don’t you just take your handy ol’ insulated mug across the street for a coffee refill at your local coffee shop? No pots to clean…you get your morning buzz…and you support your local economy. Everyone wins!
See how helpful perfect strangers can be?
I hate cleaning my cat’s litter box. I’m hoping she just runs away some day. But first I suppose I have to let her out.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
I clean it with soap in 3 minutes or less.
I avoid coffee shops because I make better coffee for cheaper. I sort of support the local economy when I buy the beans I suppose.
The point isn’t the coffee, though. The point is to turn unpleasant tasks into neutral tasks by realizing how insignificant they are.