For A Clean House Do This One Thing
For a Clean House Do This One Thing
Ever find yourself overwhelmed with the amount of chores and tasks that need to be done around the house? Usually, this means its time to revisit the division of labor in your home. Getting others to do their share can be a daunting (and annoying) task and you may feel like throwing your hands up in the air and just do it your self. Well, DON’T! Not only will you become overwhelmed, you’ll develop some resentment too.
Instead, set aside two hours for a super-speed cleaning event and gather your tribe. We are going to prepare a little divide-and-conquer plan. Write down all the tasks to be done on index cards and place them facedown in a pile. Examples could be: clean all glass tables and mirrors; clean all wood surfaces; do dishes; vacuum; mop floors, dust objects, wipe window sills, clean toilets, etc. Announce, on your mark, get set, and GO! Everybody pick a card and hyper-focus on getting that one thing done to perfection. When you are done, grab another card and keep focused. Before you know it, the two hours are up and even if the house isn’t perfect, its pretty darn good. If you’ve got a family of 4, you just accomplished 8 hours worth of work in 2 hours!
More importantly, everyone in the home has contributed so not only will they have a sense of accomplishment and pride, but they will also be personally vested in keeping it clean - no one wants to see their hard work ruined. Better yet, you didn’t spend 8 hours doing it yourself and now there’s enough time to enjoy the rest of the day as a family.
If you know you're often distracted, you can apply the same concept of hyper-focused work but use the Pomodoro Method. Basically you're going to work in 25 min increments. Set a time for 25 mins and work only on 1 thing. If you finish that 1 thing during your time, move on to the next task. At the end of your 25 min work block, take a 5 min break - but don't ignore those timers and keep scrolling Facebook! It's amazing how much you can accomplish in short bursts of work that are focused.
You can ask Google or Siri or Alexa to set a timer for you - or if you're applying this method at you computer there are several websites and browser add-ons that will help. I love Marinara Timer for a browser option and Marinara: Pomodoro Timer for a Chrome extension.
Do you have a favorite method to getting through less than fun tasks? Share with me in the comments below!
Got a friend who is easily distracted and could use some productivity help? Send this or share it with your friends!