I'm not loving painting the deck railing. But they way things work in my household is the person who most wants a job done does it. The rest of the family really doesn't care that much what the deck railing looks like, but I do. So, this is my job. It's a good thing that I'm neat and can paint carefully.
Just how do I make myself get out there to paint almost every day when I don't want to? I do this with other challenging tasks and ordeals, too. I tell myself I only have to do a small amount, and I can decide not to do any more after that. When I was going through all my dental stuff, especially the four surgeries (not all were big surgeries, though), I told myself I only have to get through this one, and if I don't want to go any further, I can choose plan B instead.
When I'm cleaning up the house after a family event, I tell myself I only need to pick up this one small space. What usually happens is I find the cleaning up isn't so bad, I get into a groove, and before I know it I've finished the house.
I didn't want to make dinner for tonight. I was tired. But I told myself I will just get the pasta cooked and set aside (I made a seafood pasta salad), then I could go rest for a small while before finishing up dinner. As it turned out, I had enough energy to do all of dinner and have it chilling while I rested.
It doesn't always turn out this way. Sometimes I do just the small amount I've convinced myself to try. I'm okay with that. At least I did a small amount of work. This reminds me of parents asking their kids to try a bite of a new food. Their hope is the child will discover they like the new food and eat more.But if they don't, at least they tried and had some.
This afternoon after my dentist appointment, I told myself I'd just go out and put a final coat of paint on the small section I did yesterday. I did that and then put two coats on one of the 4 X 4 posts and washed the section that I'll work on tomorrow. I didn't go all crazy and paint for hours, but I did get some good work in on a day when I felt tired.
And now. as I anticipate a lot of painting yet to do, I've been telling myself that it's okay if I don't finish the job this summer. This is how I'm getting myself out to paint each day, by not letting myself think the job is overwhelming. If I finish the whole railing, that will be great. But if I don't, I've already decided that that outcome will be okay with me. I can always do the rest next summer.
Anyway, this trick has worked to get myself started on many tasks. Do you have any ways you get yourself to do work that really isn't something you enjoy?
My problem is I enjoy everything and take on too many projects. Cooking, sewing, baking, building barns, decks, DIYing everything in my house, gardening. You name it. So sometimes I get overwhelmed. My trick is to visualize the finished product or project. If I can see in my mind what a room is going to look like with a new color of paint, I can’t wait to get it done. Visualizing a cabinet full of jars of honey…yep, I’ll put on that full bee suit in 90 degree weather and work that hive. Anticipating the look on my 6 year old granddaughter’s face when she sees a three layer My Little Pony birthday cake that literally took four hours to decorate? That’s how I muscle through. My husband says my mind is always three steps ahead of my hands. I literally was arranging furniture on a deck I was building before I had the deck boards laid (I flattened the heavy duty cardboard the furniture shipped in, laid it on the joists, then set the furniture on it). It gave me the incentive to get out there in the worst of the heat and finish the deck. Annie
ReplyDeleteHi Annie,
DeleteThank you for sharing this. With some projects I can visualize how it will look, but I sometimes "forget" to do that with others. I'm going to work at this aspect more as I go forward with this deck painting project. I have a general idea of what it will look like, but I need to start thinking about how this will effect our use of that area.
I'm impressed with your beekeeping. What's been the most trying aspect of keeping bees?
We had about two cords of wood to stack for this coming winter, so I took on the job. My husband would bring over three scooped up bucket loads a day for me to work on. That was what I could manage without overdoing it. We're 99% done now. A little a day got it done.
ReplyDeleteHi Judy,
DeleteYay for getting so close to being finished with the wood stack! That's a lot of hard work. But doing it bit by bit is sometimes the very best strategy. I can imagine how much body strength you built up stacking the wood. This is better than lifting weights at the gym, as you use more muscle groups when doing hard physical labor. Bravo! Do you use wood as your primary heat source in winter? How long will the two cords last? Wood stove, I'm presuming?
Thank you for sharing.
I get overwhelmed with a big task, especially if I don't have a plan of how it's going to get accomplished. So, I need a plan for a big task even if I don't follow it exactly. For smaller chores, I do a lot of timer work. I say just do this task for a certain amount of time and then you can chose to continue or do something else. That helps me a lot.
ReplyDeleteDo you listen to anything like music or a book while you are painting? That also helps me be distracted from a difficult task.
Hi Live and Learn,
DeleteI've seen this with your blogging at times, using a timer. Limiting the time on work is a great strategy that I use sometimes, too. I do this not necessarily with a timer, but with the number of moves I make, such as "pick up 20 things" or "throw away/give away 15 items". That limit helps me see the end to that moment's work. I think a timer would do the same.
You know, I keep thinking I should bring a device outside and listen to a podcast while I'm painting. Thank you for asking about this. I'll try listening to something interesting this afternoon while painting. That would definitely distract me enough to continue on for a little while longer.
Having a plan to how a big job will get accomplished is really essential. I often jump into a project before thinking through a plan. Do you plan something out in advance of starting or do you formulate a plan as you go once in process?