The first thing that came to mind: putting away folded laundry.
I have no idea why it is this step that trips me up. You’d think maybe I would get stuck at the washing or drying step.
Or the folding step, which is really what takes the longest.
But somehow, I have to really make myself spend the five minutes it takes to put a folded load of laundry away.
Another thing that came to mind: painting my bedroom.
I have had this on my summer list for several years, and I still have not gotten it done.
I don’t want to pick out a color, I don’t want to take my bedroom apart and live with the mid-project upheaval, and I don’t want the annoyance of painting over the burgundy color.
I also procrastinate with
- cleaning out my fridge
- going grocery shopping/running errands
What helps me
(No one asked, but I’m going to type it out anyway.)
It is almost always effective for me to just tell myself, “I’m going to do just a little part of this task.”
Because once I get started, I can almost always find the motivation to continue.
(A timely application: I need to go get a few paint samples for the bedroom. Once I do that, I will be extremely like to actually paint that room.)
Or, if I remind myself of how long something actually will take, I can sometimes find my motivation.
(“I can be back and done in an hour if I just go to the grocery store now.” or, “I can organize this fridge in 15 minutes.”)
Also, if I decide ahead of time that I will do task X, I am quite likely to do it.
I’m not good at spur-of-the moment errands, but if I plan to grocery shop on Tuesday morning, I probably will do it.
Some prompts require pondering. This one does not! Laundry! One million times laundry. I’d rather scrub toilets.
Filing paperwork. I won’t tell you how infrequently I do it. It’s embarrassing.
I don’t know why folding laundry is such a difficult task (it’s not, but we all think it is) as there is always a basket of unfolded laundry in my house. I’ve seriously considered purchasing one of those shirt folding boards to make it easier on myself.
Folding towels I usually do right away, though.
Cleaning the bathroom, always! Unlike Sara P., I’d prefer doing laundry any hour of any day over scrubbing one toilet. 🙂
Someone should start a company where folks can trade hated chores. I’ll do your laundry if you clean my bathrooms.
I like your idea!
I were wish I lived closer to you Mary! We could trade! I’m in CA.
I hate filing. My file pile will overflow and I will end up spending waay more time than if I had just done it earlier. That’s what procrastination creates: a task that takes longer than it would have…
Paperwork and phone called for stuff like health insurance! I just dread the waits, the trying to explain, the BS answers, the matching up of bills and EOB, all of it.
Making or receiving phone calls. I went to boarding schools so never went through the teen-with-phone-glued-to-ear stage so never learned to care about phone calls. That was exacerbated by a lot of years in a job where I was on call and when the phone rang, it was never good news. Now, years and years later, I still hate phones and avoid answering them or picking them up to follow up on stuff. I never carry my cell phone unless I am in the greenhouse, so I will have a way to call my husband for help if I fall. I don’t want people to be able to reach me all the time…
Moping the kitchen floor.
We (my husband and children) just repainted our poppy red dining room that’s been red since 2005. It did take several coats of primer, but the new color, SW Urban Putty, looks great, and I’m so thankful for the softer, more neutral color. I know once you get the bedroom painted, you will be so glad you did it!
You are 100% right; I will be so glad when it’s done. I just have to stop procrastinating. lol