I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand cleaning up the kitchen. Ever think it would just be easier to throw away all the dishes…or all your clothes…or everyone you know and start over? It probably would be easier. But would it really accomplish anything?
I have to say I’m not in love with cleaning up the kitchen. Being in love with cooking, this creates constant internal conflict for me. It creates external conflict as well. I can’t stand to see dishes in the sink or crumbs on the floor so if I wait to clean up the mess, I feel irritated every time I walk through the room.
Now I know this is a silly dilemma because it takes very little time to remedy the problem. I have a dishwasher so it’s not like I have to wash each and every plate, bowl, or spoon. My All-Clad pans are easy to clean even when I’ve burned a sauce onto them. And, I don’t feel this way if I’m helping a friend clean up after a party at their house.
So what is my real problem? I let things sit and think about them too much.
I don’t have this problem when I do the dishes during wait times while I’m cooking. I just rinse, scrub, fill, dry, and put away as if it’s no big deal. When I think about it, it’s the same with laundry. If I move the wet clothes to the dryer in the morning when I reach for a clean towel, it feels natural to refill the washer with dirty clothes and turn it on. Boom! I just made progress on two loads of laundry before even having a cup of coffee.
It’s no different with paying bills, doing sales tax reports, watering the plants, or mowing the lawn. The more I put off the task, the more I think about it. The more I think about it, the more daunting it seems. The more daunting it seems the more likely I am to put if off causing me to think about it more making it seem more daunting, and well, you get the picture. I’m going round and round in a vicious circle until my mind begins to believe that it’s simply too overwhelming to tackle the project.
If I travel around the circle too many times, I may even begin to feel a need for relief from the mountain of work I’ve created in my mind. I may spend 30 minutes or an hour zoning in front of the TV, or ranting to a friend, or taking a nap to avoid that overwhelmed feeling.
If I’m facing a task that takes longer – cleaning out a closet – I may practice avoidance behavior for months or years. At some point I begin to feel justified because the obstacle has grown so large in my mind it truly looks insurmountable.
The truth is, I could put a box and a notepad in the corner of my closet and get rid of one thing per day and have the closet clean in a month or two. It would take so little time I wouldn’t even notice.
The same pattern often prevents us from beginning a fitness program, cooking healthy food, giving up gluten, changing jobs, or learning ballroom dancing to please our spouse. When it comes to all the small things that would improve our lives that we feel daunted by, Nike has it right. The best advice is JUST DO IT!
Now, I must leave you because I have dishes in the sink and you know what that means. No, I’m not going to take a nap.
What is it that you just can’t seem to begin and how can we help you?
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
