The Modern Femme at home...egg timer trick

We've all been there.  It's at the end of a long day, and all you want to do is go lay down.  The family has been fed, the kids put to bed, the pets walked and watered. 

And now you're staring at a pile of dishes, or baby bottles that need to be washed and refilled for the next day, or food that has to assembled for lunch tomorrow, or laundry that has to be folded.  You contemplate the Goliath of a task in front of you and hear that siren song:  "I'll do it tomorrow. I'm tired.  I'm going to go watch tv/take a bath/go to bed."

I've done this so many times, I've lost count. The promise of tomorrow is a mirage, because often, you don't do it tomorrow.  The laundry sits unfolded in the corner for the week, the dishes pile up, people get sent off with money to buy lunch instead of being sent out with food. 

So, here's what I do, when faced with my Goliath task, feet sore, eyes bleary, will weak:



I get my egg timer.  I set it for 10 minutes.  I tell myself "get as much as you can done in the next 10 minutes, and then you're done."   And every time, I end up finishing the task before me, for one of two reasons: 10 minutes sounds deceptively short, but you can get quite a lot done in that time; and even if I haven't finished the whole task, often by the time the 10 minutes is up I'm nearly done, or have gotten enough done that I'm determined to finish the whole task.

If you struggle with completing chores when tired, give this a try.  If you can't stomach the idea of 10 minutes, start with 5.  Most of us can do anything for 5 minutes, even if we're exhausted.  And nothing feels as good as knowing that when you do go watch tv/take a bath/go to bed, you can do it with a feeling of satisfaction that you faced down your Goliath and won.

xoxo,

MF