I recently received a scolding for not having blogged in a long time. The truth is I often think about things I should blog on and sometimes even start thoughts but then never finish them, hence no posts in the last couple month. I admit that I am terrible at keeping things updated. But seeing as it is a new year, I suppose it might be an appropriate time to try to improve upon myself. I’m not going to make a resolution, because resolutions are made to be broken, however I will make a New Year’s goal to try to blog more often in 2011. This will also join my New Year’s goals to watch my spending more closely and to lose that 15 pounds I’ve put on since I graduated.
However, I’m not going to write a blog about my New Year’s goals because I suspect that everyone else is doing that and you don’t need to read one more blog about the changes someone is going to make for the up coming year. Instead am going to tell you my secrets to making mundane everyday tasks seem a bit more exciting.
Now for these techniques, it really helps if you have an imagination, other wise they might not work and you’ll just end up looking silly. Actually, you’ll probably end up looking silly anyway, which brings me to the second thing you’ll need – very little shame. You can’t be concerned with what other people think, otherwise it’ll just make you feel miserable.
Tip 1: I’m sure we’ve all had days where work was just dragging on and all we really want is to go home. In these instances, I find that it helps to hum the theme song to an exciting movie. Whatever is your favorite will work just fine. I find that humming the A Team theme helps work seem more epic and pass quickly. If you have a job that requires you to move about you can also walk in a sneaky manner and even throw in a few spy rolls. My theory is that life should have a soundtrack, that way you would always feel like every moment of your life is exciting and important.
Tip 2: Grocery shopping is not always the most exciting task. However, unless you grow all of your own food, you will find that it is nearly unavoidable all the time. So if you want to make this mundane task more exciting, you should turn grocery shopping into a game. I find that it helps to image my shopping cart as a game of Tetris and each item that I place into it is a funny shaped block that needs to be placed just right or else I will LOSE my game. You can also hum the Tetris theme, which helps it all seem more real.
Tip 3: One of my least favorite chores is doing the dishes. I have been unfortunate in that every place I have ever lived has NOT had a dishwasher. So if you are like me and find that you spend a good chunk of time washing dishes, here is what I do. There are two options for this chore. If you have a spouse or housemate, beware they may find this to be rather bothersome, but you’ll have fun. Option number one, this is the time when you get to be that pop star, opera singer or Broadway actor/actress that you’ve always wanted to be. It doesn’t matter whether you can actually sing or not. Pick your favorite tunes and croon them at the top of your lungs. Option number two, put on your favorite radio station or iTunes mix and dance around the kitchen as you work. The more ridiculous your dance moves, the better.
Tip 4: Laundry is one of those tasks that never are truly done. Even when you wash clothes there are more that immediately end up in the laundry. Whether you have to do your laundry at home or in Laundromat you can spruce up this mundane task with a little help from our friend Joss Whedon. If you find yourself a bit bored, hum tunes like Laundry Day from Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. You can also imagine you are a secret evil villain and come up with your own plans for world domination. Or if you feel so inclined to be the cheesy super hero you can come up with your plans to stop the evil villain from his evil plans. And if you’re feeling particularly multi-personality, you can be both!
Tip 5: No matter the season there will always be some sort of yard work, whether it is weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or shoveling the sidewalks, it is one of those pesky things that seems to stick around, unless you live in an apartment, in which case it is probably all done for you. The outdoors offers a great many possibilities, and they can change with each season. There are of course the obvious things like raking the leaves into a pile and taking a running leap into it. Trust me, you are never too old to jump into the middle of a pile of leaves. And snow in the winter offers many possibilities, such as throwing snowballs at passers by or the neighborhood children while you shovel the driveway. Snowmen are fun and you can be creative with snow sculptures. If you feel particularly mischievous you can build snowmen in the middle of people’s sidewalks or move all the snow from your sidewalk over to the sidewalk of that neighbor you dislike. There are of course less obvious options to help the time pass while you’re doing yard work. If you’re weeding the garden, use the mud to draw Native American war paint on your face and then dance around making up your own tribal dance. If you have to mow the lawn, pretend the lawn mower is a time machine that will take you to exciting places and eras. Use your imagination! The possibilities are endless.
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