When great sports teams achieve incredible winning streaks, no one really ever talks about the first victories. No announcer says, “Today, we saw the start of greatest winning streak in sports history.” Yet, those early wins matter the most. The team grows more confident in their abilities. They begin to see themselves as winners. They established a habit of winning. They get the job done and then they do it again. That’s a pretty powerful thing. Developing better habits can work like that too. You consistently get it done, day after day, until suddenly you’re doing it on auto-repeat. Talk about a winner! I promised I’d make chores more fun, and what’s more fun than winning?! Ready to get the party started and create a streak in your own life? How it works Think of a simple and specific habit change you would welcome in your life. Streaks works best for everyday actions. But hey, we’re making up the rules as we go here at Rock Your Chores. So maybe you have a habit in mind that would be great on a weekly basis, like trying a new recipe or going on a hike. It’s your streak, baby. You set your intention and define your streak. (Did that feel creepy? Me calling you, "baby." Little bit? For me too.) Here are a few ideas for everyday streaks—some I definitely need to work on myself. Side note: This streak technique is helping me rock one chore, but more about that in a later post.
1. Pick a habit and track your streak. I make simple hash marks with a dry erase pen on a menu board in my kitchen. I like the visual reminder of my winning record. But I discovered there’s also an app for that if that’s more your jam. 2. Celebrate each win, no matter how small. Run around the imaginary bases! Do a touchdown dance. Give your mama a shout out on TV. You’re on a streak! And your badass celebration is wiring your brain for future success. Remember Dr. Fogg’s advice. 3. Protect your streak like the fierce competitor you are, but don’t beat yourself up too badly if you do miss a day. That’s the thing about streaks … you can always start a new one, all bright-eyed and hopeful. What I like about this game:
You know that satisfying feeling you get when you create fresh neat rows of mowed grass? You don’t have to overthink it. You just proceed—row by row—until the job is done. I like to apply this strategy to systematically clean a messy room—to make the chore more fun. I call this game, “Mow the Lawn.” It keeps me from bouncing around and getting distracted. It also works great when you’re not sure where to even begin in places like cluttered closets and garages. (For me right now that's an oxymoron. Got some mowing to do!) How it works Start in one corner of the room or area. Decide which direction you’re going to mow through the mess. Proceed in rows, back and forth, until you’ve covered the entire room. Unlike mowing the lawn, you’ll have to leave the row to put items away but just return to where you left off and keep mowing along—until the job is in the bag. What I like about this game:
Girls can kick some grass When I was a kid, girls did not mow the lawn at our house. It wasn’t until I was a single mom with no manpower around that I ever yanked a starter cable. Somehow I made that sound a little dirty, and this is a clean blog about cleanliness, so don’t go there, OK?! Anyhoo, I remember how rewarding it felt to get the job done. Confession time: Now I have a handsome hubby who does the mowing. I could do it. I totally could. He knows that. But instead, I am a weirdo “mowing the lawn” in my kitchen. That’s me. I taught this make-chores-fun game to my 5-year-old granddaughter, and we mowed her messy bedroom in a matter of minutes. She happily sang, "mowing, mowing, mowing..." as we worked away. I recommend that for upping the fun and weirdo factor! Here’s a weekly game for folks who have a list of someday-maybe tasks. I am with you! Someday we’ll feel like it, right? Maybe we’ll have time later. Someday. Maybe. Organize my tax records. Order vacation prints. Detail the car. Sign up for a fitness class. Research a new laptop. Donate old coats. Clean the junk drawer. Trim that tree. Start that crafty project. Fix that broken thingamajig. Sound familiar? Chores like these don’t necessarily have to be done, but still, we would like to do them. And it can be a real drag when we carry them with us mentally month after month. That makes it time for "The Put Up or Shut Up Jar." How it works Write down a few someday-maybe tasks you can think of—the ones that come easily to mind. You can always add more later as they come to you. Let’s be retro and use real paper, because scissors are involved. To add some fun (remember that’s why I am here), throw in a few happy things you tend to put off. Maybe that’s getting a massage, seeing a movie or having a beer with an old friend. Or finding the perfect gray boots (that's mine!). Whatever you’ve been meaning to do for yourself and haven't made the time. Cut your list into separate tasks and fold them up … like cute little fortunes. Find a jar to put them in or use a bowl or cup. OK, now comes the put up part. You saw that coming. Draw one item out. In the next week, that’s your chore to rock. Do one of these four things: 1. Just do it. 2. Make real progress on it. 3. For a bigger project, take the first key step to get the ball rolling. 4. Delegate it or hire someone to do it. If you do one of those four things, you PUT UP. Way to go! If you finish early in the week, keep the progress party going and draw again. Just restart the 7-day clock. (I may have just invented something there.) If you didn’t do any of those four things, well, here’s the SHUT UP part. It’s time to let that task go. You didn’t fail—you were given a sign. You don’t want it bad enough to move on it. That’s OK. We all have limited time, energy and headspace. One day in the future, perhaps this undone chore will get bad enough, urgent enough or appealing enough to motivate you to take action. But for now, let go of the guilt and move on with life and to things that matter more to you. Don’t put it back in the jar. It’s dead to you. Mamas against meanness Writing this post made me remember this fondly ... When my kids were young, we had a mason jar that was better known as “The Shut Up, Stupid Jar.” If they ever called each other stupid or told someone to shut up, they owed the jar a quarter. At the time, I was a single mom and my tolerance for petty meanness was low, very low. I didn’t make much bank over the years, so they weren’t stupid and knew when to shut up. At the least, they had to come up with more creative comebacks and insults. “Little things make big things happen.” —John Wooden For years, OK, make that decades, I let my clothes fall where they may in the bedroom. If you thought that sounded sexy, you’d be terribly wrong. So not sexy. More like the dressing rooms at Old Navy on the Saturday before school starts … lots of poor choices, empty hangers and inside-out jeans. We’re talking clothes clutter. When I’d finally get around to tackling this fabric of my life, it was a serious time suck. That changed when I started playing a morning edition of “The 10-Pick-Up Game.” How it works Each morning before I leave the house, I pick up 10 items in the bedroom—clothes or otherwise—and put them where they should be. I don’t overthink it. Every flip-flop, dirty sock and coffee cup counts. It takes just a minute or two, and then I get on with my day. I am also not a morning person, so believe me, I am not always chipper about it. I just do it. I’ve been playing this a.m. game for a few months, and it’s like I am a real grown-up. I don’t have to ground myself every weekend until I clean my room. Not to be overly dramatic, but how does life-changing sound?!? And a funny thing has happened. Now that the room tends to stay clean, I am more likely to hang my clothes up at the end of the day. Who is this person? She’s someone who’s happier. Sometimes it truly is the little things. Finding little ways to make chores more fun. This post is the first in the RYC’s Pebbles category—small steps that can pave the way to success. This game started my make-chores-more-fun mission in life. My little sister and I would play this when we had a particularly messy room. It relies on the power of progress. You see results and build momentum. If you know anything about sports, momentum is something you want on your side. This is a great collaborative game to play with kids. Not too long ago, I taught "The 10-Pick-Up Game" to my 4-year-old granddaughter. Suddenly, cleaning the playroom went from torturous to triumphant. Grown-ups can rock this game solo too. It might seem silly at first, but it works. Trust me on that. How it works You have a messy room or area to clean. Pick a home base, such as a bed or chair. Pick up and put away items, counting from one to 10. Once you hit 10 items return to home base. If you’re playing with others, wait for them to complete the round. This is an important part of the game: Look around at your good work. Relish the progress you’ve made. Decide if you need to go for another round. Repeat until you have completed the job. What I like about this game:
This game has stood the test of time. Let me know if you give it a try. I’ve actually used a variation of it to change a lifelong bad habit. More on that later. Just to be clear, I never said I was good at chores. That's why I need these mind-altering games. They work for me, and my hope is they help others too. You could call this one "Musical Chores." To me, it's always been 'Rock Around the House." Clearly, I have a thing for rocks. So, let's set the stage: I look around my home and think, “What a freakin’ mess.” Disorder has been having a house party. But where to even start? For painful moments like these, I take it one song at a time. I grab my phone where I have an upbeat playlist at the ready. How it works Pick a room to start in, say the kitchen. Hit shuffle play on your playlist or favorite album. For the length of the first song, put away items and clean up as quickly as you can. When the song ends, stop what you’re doing and move quickly to the next closest room. Keep going room to room for as many rounds as needed. It’s actually pretty amazing what you can get done during a 3 to 4 minute song. On additional rounds, you can skip by rooms where you feel your work is done. What I like about this game:
Rock-it tips: If you have a particularly ambitious Rock Your Chores list, this is a great warm-up activity. Got kids? Pick music they love and take them along as you rock around the house. Productivity + family fun = best parent in the world. Move on. It's going to be OK. I'm guessing my type-A friends may have trouble leaving a half-scrubbed toilet when a song ends. That's the game. Keep moving even if it's out of your comfort zone. You'll make your way back soon enough. Or ... on second thought, make up your own rules. Stay and finish the job if that's what works for you. Your home. Your rules. HIT IT! Check out the Rock Your Chores Playlist. You'll be on your feet. You'll be having a good time. When did chores get so freakin' fun?! |
Hello!I am Margie Reece. I am here to help you rock your chores and have some fun doing it. Categories
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