The Mega Millions lotto is over
$340 million this week and that inspires a lot of talk of “what if you win”
fantasies. I was having this conversation with my friend and he said he would move
into a hotel and not lift a finger to clean up or do anything he didn’t want to
do ever again. Well, as a consultant, I actually live in hotels and spend more
time in hotel rooms than my own home, and it got me thinking about all the
chores I don’t have to do during the week (when I go home it’s another story). This
chore-less life is a far cry from my Caregiver life. As a Caregiver, the list
of chores and things to do is seemingly endless. It is overwhelming. It is the
opposite of a chore-less life. It is a chore-filled life.
But,
what if you took a day to put aside the things you “have to do” and decided to
take a break. Rest. What would happen? Can it be done tomorrow? Next week?
Maybe, if you procrastinate, and put if off long enough, it goes away and doesn’t
need to be done ever? I know that is hard to take in, so let’s break it down.
Say
you don’t like dealing with the mail, and getting it and sorting it every day
is not “your thing.” What would happen if you sorted the junk mail to the
recycle bin and didn’t even bring it into the house? That would reduce your
mail pile right there. What would happen if you made a decision to deal with
the mail once per week? Just put it aside, and do it in one shot instead of
daily?
What
if you don’t like vacuuming or dusting, is there a gadget or appliance that can
make this chore easier? Or do you have to do it as frequent? Better yet, can
you afford to pay someone else to do it?
Housecleaning is not as expensive as you may think and, if you think
about your time as money, it can be quite reasonable. If you have a few extra
bucks and can afford it, maybe it would benefit you to have someone come in
once per week or even just twice per month (or monthly for the hard cleaning)?
What
if you don’t like cooking and treated yourself and your loved one to dinner out
or take out one night per week? Or maybe do “meatless Mondays” and make that a
nice big salad – no cooking! There’s many decent deli options or, if you are
lucky enough to have a place like Whole Foods around, there are a number of
ready-made options you can buy. It makes life easier.
Come
up with your top 10 list of things “I don’t like doing” then come up with
strategies to do them less or even eliminate doing them all together. It’s not
the same as winning lotto. It is a way to a richer life.
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