Here we have it. Proof today that I was productive. And this is but a tiny fraction of my productivity. I’ve paid bills, called conditional employers, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned my shower, and did another round of handwashed laundry. And of course the above, picture-perfect sink.
As I vigorously scrubbed weeks of food off the kitchen stove, I thought about how much I felt like my mother. She kept a clean house all the time. She didn’t need to motivate herself to do simple household tasks. It didn’t require tons of motivation and a huge overhaul of her day to get caught up on just a few to-do list items.
With the helpful reminder app on my phone, maybe I can start making these big chores seem a lot more manageable. Maybe I too can devote a portion of my day to maintaining cleanliness instead of playing catchup.
Of course, there’s a balance to everything. I don’t want to spend the majority of my day fussing over household chores or making sure everything stays exactly as it was when I cleaned it. That’s an anxious, joyless way to live. One reason I relaxed so much on my duties is because I easily become obsessive when I start caring about something.
So for now, I’m working on bringing it to a 5. Not a zero, not a ten. Just somewhere in between. And for today, I knocked some things off the to-do list. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
The Unplug Initiative 