image credit: Natalie Dee
“How do you do it all?” is a quesetion I get asked a lot. This usually makes me fall on my (dirty) floor laughing as I blurt, “Not well!” I’ve become a master of making easy things look difficult thereby making me look cooler, more talented, and possibly possessing 7 arms. The truth is that while I do a lot of things, I don’t do a lot of them well. For instance, I have a load of my boys’ laundry that has been rewashed four times now because I keep forgetting to move it to the dryer and so it sits for several days in the washer until I wonder what reeks like a sweaty sports bra left in my gym bag for a week before finding the damp, stinky clothes again. Once is funny. Four times is indicative of a brain injury. (Which reminds me, I need to go put those in the dryer now. I’ll be right back. Yes, I’m serious. I forgot them again until I decided to write a post where I needed an example of my awful inefficiency. Wow, it’s like Inception for the hygenically challenged.)
Whether it’s housework, homework or workwork, everyone has something that they have a hard time getting the motivation to do. It’s just one of those parts of the human condition, you know like sniffing your finger after sticking it in your bellybutton even though you know it’s going to smell like two dozen eggs forgotten in a hot car for three days (something else I also did recently). Fortunately for me, I’m super motivated to workout and write so I never need any prodding there. As you know sometimes I need help reining those impulses in. But unfortunately for me that mad motivation does not extend to, say, cleaning up the poop streaks on the downstairs toilet seat. (My strategy is to just shut the door every time I walk by and tell visitors it’s out of order but we have some nice secluded trees in the backyard.)
So how do you motivate yourself to do something you don’t want to, especially when the finale of So You Think You Can Dance is beckoning from your Hulu queue? (DON’T tell me who won! Of course it’s going to be Melanie but I want to SEE it with my own eyes.) My favorite tip is the 10 Minute Rule (which I’m sure I didn’t make up but I don’t know who did): you tell yourself you’ll just do whatever it is for 10 minutes and then you can stop if you want to. Usually you’re in the groove after 10 minutes so you’ll keep at it but if not, hey at least you got 10 minutes’ worth of stuff done!
A new site has come up with, what I think, is a pretty awesome solution. In the past there have been websites that will allow you to punish yourself for not reaching a goal – as if I need a website to point out my failures, that’s what my kids are for! – or allow you to set up a reward for yourself or inspire you with real life and/or celebrity stories of success. But DailyFeats.com takes this to a new level. I don’t usually go for stuff like this and I almost deleted the e-mail unread but I’m glad I didn’t.
Here’s how it works: you check-in every time you accomplish a daily feat – usually something that people don’t naturally want to do like “!walking” “!cleaningthebathroom” (hey-o!) or “!talkingtoakid” (yeah that’s on there! I’m gonna be a millionaire!) – and then you get points for each feat you accomplish. You can set up reminders for feats you want to accomplish or you can just go to the site or use your smartphone to mark it as done. Some feats are worth lots of points, some just get you one but you can use your points to buy real-world stuff. For instance, 3,000 points gets you a $10 gift card to Amazon, Home Depot, Starbucks or a bunch of other companies you likely frequent. Not bad for stuff you’re supposed to be doing anyhow, right? Even better, DailyFeats gives you the option of donating your points or money/goods to a charity or gifting them to a loved one. I get a nudge to switch my laundry and I get to do something nice for someone else? Love it.
Now the only trick is getting motivated enough to sign up and log my feats every day! To help get me – and you! – started, DailyFeats is offering us 50 free points by using the code greatfitnessexperiment50 when you sign up (it’s free but the bonus code expires Friday, August 19!). To be clear: I’m not getting paid by them nor am I getting any kickbacks or commissions or whatever, other than the 50 starting points. I just thought this was a really cool idea and wanted to share it:)
What’s the #1 thing that’s hardest for you to get motivated to do? What’s your best motivation tip? Anyone else ever left wet laundry in the washer for a week??
Deadline and humiliation are huge motivational tools for me. I’m also (fortunately or unfortunately, I’m not sure which) a person who works very well under pressure, meaning I can procrastinate everyday “to-do” list items without *too* many problems (usually). The cleanest my house gets is when someone calls up and is going to stop by unexpectedly. I swear, I can power clean the kitchen and bathroom to be 300% more sparkly in 30 minutes than after a whole afternoon of cleaning. No clue how that works, lol! I also tend to work in blocks, meaning I’ll do a huge amount of work, take a huge amount of time not doing work and then do another chunk, stop for a while, etc. and repeat as necessary.
Okay, this: “The cleanest my house gets is when someone calls up and is going to stop by unexpectedly” is totally me too! In fact, my husband has been known to invite people over for the express purpose of knowing it’ll make me clean… haha
I’m exactly the same way! I couldn’t have said it any better.
1 in every 4 loads of laundry at my house smells like wet dog from sitting in the washer for 4 days! My husband likes to remind me of this fact when I am in too big a hurry to rewash them and he puts on said dog-smelling shirt for work! So yes, motivation to do laundry is not high on my list. On the same list is mowing the lawn, cleaning out the garage, picking up junk in the yard, sweeping my floors, mopping my floors and cleaning my room. So, I’m pretty much only motivated to keep my children alive each day…everything else seems to fall by the wayside 🙁
Hahah – how did I not know you had laundry issues too? That makes me feel so much better! And I think lawn mowing is the definition of futility. My fave yard was when we lived in Arizona and it was all rocks that we only had to rake every once in a random while. (P.S. You are a great mom so if that’s “all” you do, then I’d call that success)!
hmmmmmm.
for me?
right now?
writing.
the unpaid just for me variety.
laundry grocery cleaning straightening etcetcetc—-I may not love but they goooood procrastinatory projects.
(looks upward at the red squiggly. thats not a word? it should me! procrastinatory.)
You obviously just need a maid, Charlotte! 🙂
The 10-minute trick usually works pretty well for me. Guilt, humiliation and negative consequences have stopped working as motivators, presumably because I overused them.
Thanks for the DailyFeats tip! I would do anything for Amazon giftcards. Now I only have to floss my teeth about 1000 times so I can get a $10 Amazon gift card and bye me some more books. I really need flossing, I’ve started having anxiety dreams about my teeth!
I DO need a maid! And I also need to floss more too – thanks for the reminder!
What’s your best motivation tip? = If I am hating this in 5 minutes I can quit. If I am not too jazzed up for a workout, I give myself that out and 99.9% of the time I dont need to use it b/c I get into it but it’s there if I want it 🙂
I live in an apartment building with one washer and dryer per floor so I can’t forget my laundry or who knows where it will end up!
I set the timer on my microwave so I will remember to retrieve it.
Oh I remember those days when I used to come home with a stranger’s underwear in my laundry basket (or worse, find mine that I’d forgotten pinned up on the bulletin board….)
The 10-minutes thing sounds like Fly Lady. You should check her out, if you haven’t done so:
http://www.flylady.net/
Your little cartoon at the top reminds me of another hilarious link (just what you need) about Parenting, illustrated with crappy pictures: http://crappypictures.typepad.com/crappy-pictures/
Now I’m off to check out Daily Feats.
I love crappy pictures!! One of my friends got me hooked on her – my fave is the nursing one, lol. And I tried Fly Lady once but it was a long time ago. It didn’t end well. ALthough I’ve kept her tip of always starting with the sink first.
My last comment is in moderation, probably because I used the word c****y.
Hahah – that looks so much worse all asterisked out!
I leave the clothes in the washer… or the dryer. All The time. It’s ridiculous. We must have the same brain injury.
You know this makes me feel better:)
Love the laundry laxness, have a similar problem, except mine make it to the clothesline (where I am this is a good drying option) in the backyard and tend to stay there for quite some time. I come from a small bush town where my mother used to hang clothes on the line overnight because there was no one around who’d want to steal them. Now I live in a city and just hang the clothes out and hope for the best. If they are still there when I finally get motivated to take them down, then they are luck winners in the laundry test of life.
As for any other household ‘chores’? I agree, as procrastination tools they are second to none!
Do people really steal clothes off your clothes line?! I’ve heard that clothes dried outside smell really good:) With our weather that never works here – they freeze in the winter and never dry in the summer!
I am pretty good at remembering the laundry but my husband is always forgetting his and leaving it for days. Yes, I make my husband wash his own clothes. We both work full time and I have enough to do – he can do his own laundry. My mother was shocked by this, my dad thought it was quite reasonable.
Housework I am really bad at. I start every weekend with a list of things that I want to get done and usually by Sunday night I’ve only managed one or two. Partly it’s that I’m really disorganized and also busy, but it doesn’t help that I hate house work. Also, I’m very bad at it. I do try but I just did not inherit the good housekeeping gene (my mom and both sisters seem to have it).
I didn’t inherit that good housekeeping gene either, lol.
I once read a story about the laziest guy in the world! He was quite accomplished because he always found easier ways to do things!
Yup. The laundry. It’s hardest when I’m sitting on my bed on the top floor, getting ready to sleep, and I realize the laundry is still in the washer, which is in the garage, which means schlepping down 3 flights of stairs (and back up again).
And then there are the times I simply forget and it grows mold that would make any scientist proud.
I told my husband when we met that I was born without the housekeeping gene, and have been true to my word ever since. We both do the best we can but, well, neither one of us is Martha Stewart. Luckily, Hubby voluntarily washes the dishes frequently, helps with the laundry, and does the vacuuming. (I HATE vacuuming!)
The site sounds pretty great! I’ve been trying to motivate myself to study, so this should help. 🙂
Let me know if you try it! And I love vacuuming. I’ll vacuum your whole house if you clean my bathroom!
I HATE vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning the shower. I just don’t do it until it is so nasty that even I am grossed out. Or I clean the shower while I am in it warming up.
I’m gross though.
I’ve actually worn flip flops in the shower, not proud about it. But we have never invited anyone over to shower, so it takes me awhile to get to it.
This made my whole darn day. Awesome.
I clean the shower while I’m in it! I even keep the cleaner in the shampoo rack (hopefully that won’t confuse my kids someday). But if I recall correctly you’re also the one who admitted to peeing in the shower too;)
I mean, its not like I hop in the shower every time I have to go, but I’m not about to get out all wet just to go either. The soap rinse cleans it, right? 😉
So true that the things I am interested in I can get done quickly, but those that I’m not as interested in… well they have two nicknames in my house either “butterfly brain”, as in I flutter from here to there to something else, rather than in a straight line and get it done quickly- or “squirrel brain” as in I get distracted by things easily like a dog when he sees a squirrel and go off doing something else.
I always get things done, just not necessarily what is on my “to do” list 😉 I am intrigued by this website, may have to check it out.
“I always get things done, just not necessarily what is on my “to do” list ” I like that! Win-win!!
Am I the only person who adds the things that I have done to the list so I can cross at least one thing off
Got to give yourself credit for those accomplishments too! 😉
I hate weekends because it simply mean laundry day. But do i have a choice? Definitely no. But what motivates me is to see my husband staring at me with dirty clothes! Yawn….
Wow, that site is awesome! Are we going to have a GFE team?
Oooh we SHOULD!
Yes PLEASE lets have a team!
Looks like a good website. Reminds me a bit of Flylady, which I think someone else has mentioned. I love her ideas of “you can do anything for 15 mins” and setting up daily routines to get the boring stuff done. My favourite phrase of hers is “every bit of housework blesses the house” and I always try to keep that one in mind for motivation.
I’ve tried flylady in the past… it didn’t workout so well for me then but maybe I should give her another go!
I just remind myself that I can fully rest when I’m done my obligation. That the sooner it’s over the better cause then I don’t need to keep thinking I have to do it!
Dude. My floor is dirty, too. But I must first tackle the laundry. I gotta hop a plane tomorrow, and as of right now, I’ll be packing from the basement, picking out the clean clothes I STILL haven’t folded from two weeks ago. Gaaaahhhhh.
What if I put off signing up cause it will make me do things I don’t want to like cleaning! 😉
Greaideaae though! Will check it out!
I use that 10 minute rule when I want to eat something I really should not.. I tell myself to wait 10-15 minutes to think about the why. If I decide to eat it, I OWN it! 🙂
Ooh I like applying that concept to eating – I hadn’t thought of it that way but it’s a great way to practice mindfulness!
i’m tempted to try this out, although I don’t need one more thing on my plate. soooo… how do they know if you aren’t lying about all the things you want to do?? I mean, can’t I just rack up random points??
but it’s a cool idea. wish i had a smart phone for easy checking in.
i need motivation to sit down and WRITE.. without distractions… write write write… my new site, this ebook that’s been on my mind…
They have a thing on their site about how they catch “cheaters” but yeah, there are obviously some flaws… And I hear you about the finding time to write without distractions! That would be why I’m up right now… at 1 a.m. si8gh
I think the hardest thing for me to do is to walk the dog….I know I love him and he loves me back but actually motivating myself to put him on his leash and walk out the door is the hardest thing ever. And I feel really bad and I know he needs to be walked but I usually work 10 hours a day and then I try to fit a work out in there somewhere and I’m pooped because I’m making a growing a baby in my tummy. I think maybe once this little guy gets here things will return to normal and I’ll be able to walk my dog again..but until then I just pet him and feel terrible…
Alright, you hooked me – I love external motivation!
Are we living the same life? Is this why I like you so much? I need you in my life to validate my chaos. I love this idea, but I was only sold on the points thing because otherwise I hate to-do lists (but I’m reduced to making one right now because I feel so scattered).
I’m a sucker for points, even if I DON’T get anything with them. The fact that I can actually earn something is exciting! I already signed up and got my 50 points. Thanks!
Signed up and started logging – yay! Thanks for the site tip 🙂
I always use the 10 minute rule for my clients when they are having a hard time sticking to their workout routine. But it actually never came to my mind that I can use this rule for EVERYHTING, not only fitness related stuff. So maybe I’ll try it to get some things done myself I am trying to ignore for the past few weeks 🙂
Thansk for sharing!
Best,
Jen