Listing

So what is a chore?  Stuff that needs to get done. As I look at definitions, the most consistent meaning is a routine task of a domestic nature.  Often, there is an additional connotation of unpleasantness.  In my experience, the unpleasant part is optional. Some days I enjoy doing the dishes. Warm water, soap, very tangible progress and change.  Other times, not so much. I’ve recognized that in many cases, non-enjoyment of a task is related to a combination of how obligatory it feels, my sense of time pressure, and conflicting interests–there is something else I’d rather be doing.

I’ve had a lot of chore stuff on my lists recently.  The featured photo is Monday’s list of tasks to be addressed. They all got done, along with seeing a few clients and other appointments. I do take pleasure when something gets removed from my list. Ahh, it’s done. Sometimes I think it’s about the task itself being completed, other times it’s the relief of not having it nagging in my head on my mental list. Breathing room for the brain.

Some people like lists, others find them burdensome.  In general, I find them helpful in helping to organize and structure things that need to be done. They fuel recall for me, even if I leave the grocery list at home when I go to the store. This has happened more than once. Having made a list, I usually am more successful at recalling the items on it than if I hadn’t made one. That said, if only one item is forgotten, it is almost always the item that prompted the shopping trip. Sadly, that has been known to happen whether or not the list came with me on the shopping trip.

As far as I can tell, chores are a part of life, and for me, accepting their presence without fun reduces the stress of their presence. And for me, a list of tasks reduces the likelihood of their being forgotten. The longer the list, the more it’s needed!

For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Chore