Choosing Chores

As the year's end draws near, I am reminded of all the projects and chores that were started this year and left undone. Living in Costa Rica, the land of Pura Vida, I have managed to take my procrastination skills to a new level of expertise.

Resources (and $) are not as plentiful here so I rely on myself to get things done. No garderner, no housecleaner,,, I don't even take my car in to get detailed. It all gets done by me. Having a two-story house, four dogs, car, garden, and a big yard, I am overwhelmed at times, like now with all the Christmas stuff to be put away as well. I'm NOT complaining, I do feel blessed.

I remember growing up, us three girls NEVER told our mother we were bored. That was the word (BORED) that would spring our mom into reciting this arm's length list of chores she wanted us to do. She was raised on a farm so she knew chores, like milk the cow stuff. She believed in giving us our daily chores to complete before we could play after school. The "I am bored" chores were stuff like cleaning windows and screens, racking pine needles in the yard, sweeping the driveway, and 20 plus other things she would rattle off in one breath that needed doing. She amazed us.

Stuff like that never leaves you. I was resting from completing a hard project and a million other little projects kept spinging to mind. They were popping up like flashcards so I decided to write each one down on a slip of paper, fold them, and put it in a vase I painted. It eased my mind and let me let it go for now.

Turns out, this is a fun way to tackle projects. Most projects can be completed in 15 minutes or less,,,, amazing when I put off doing it for MONTHS. Somehow, by making it a game and randomly picking chores/projects, it's working! I did put some notes in the vase for fun stuff, too. That lead me to consider making a similar set-up but this one would be "Just For Me". All the things I never get around to doing, just for myself. The slips would include things like beachtime, massage, photo excursion, call home, that sort of stuff. Things I put off doing for getting my chores done first.

This next year it is all about making the time to do the things that bring peace, love, and harmony in my life. (goodbye clutter)

Note: When I pick a chore that can't be completed at one go, I do as much as possible and then mark the date on the slip and return it to the vase for another day. Really small task are written on small pieces of paper.
I think this "Pick a Project" would work great with children. They don't understand the difference between 'work' and 'project' and would probably think washing the car is fun. Sometimes, it is.