There are certain things I dread doing. Every single time. I’ll sometimes put off doing them until I absolutely have to do them. Which is usually not the ideal time to be doing them at all.
So, I tried something.
I timed how long it actually took me to do these tasks.
And you know what? I was shocked at how little time each task actually took.
I felt kind of silly, to be honest. I’d been so unrealistic about how much time these tasks would take, probably—no, most definitely—overthinking these tasks so much that I was spending more time thinking about them than it took to actually do them. Crazy, right?!
Here are some tasks that I experimented on:
Filling my supplement holders: I fill 5 weeks of supplement holders at a time because why not? That saves time over doing it each week, but I still dreaded filling all 5 holders because I thought it took a lot of time. When I timed myself, it took 15 minutes. Only 15 minutes!
Emptying the dishwasher: Gotta’ be honest here. Sometimes I’ll wait to empty the dishwasher until the sink is full. But, when I timed myself emptying the dishwasher, it took less than 5 minutes. Even when it was super full, it took less than 5 minutes.
Folding a load of laundry: While I’ve never really minded doing the laundry, I know it can feel overwhelming to fold all those clothes. So I timed myself a few times, and it took between 5-8 minutes to fold a load, depending on the size of the load and what was in it. Since it’s just John and me at home now, we really don’t have much laundry every week. But when there were 6 of us at home, we definitely had more to wash, fold, and put away.
Putting away that laundry can be a dreaded task too. How long does it take you to put a load away?
Change the sheets on the bed: This is another task I don’t love doing. But it seriously takes less than 8 minutes to remove and replace the bedding.
For any task you dread doing, make it a competition against yourself to see how fast you can do it each time. Better yet, involve the kids and make it a family thing to see how fast those tasks can be completed.
If you liked this productivity hack, I’m planning to do more of them in the future. In fact, here are some I’ve already shared:
- Productivity Hack: One Hour at a Time
- Evernote: One of My Favorite Productivity Tools
- How to Start Your Day Successfully in 10 Minutes or Less
- Microbursts: One Key to Getting Things Done
- The 80/20 Rule || Decluttering Your Life
- My Top 7 Planning Tips & Tools
Are there tasks that you dread doing? Time yourself to see how long they really take. You might be surprised!
Leave a Reply