6 Chore-Conquering Tips for Mundane Multi-tasking
In response to my recent post 2 Days in 1: Get More Done, ScottyG, a reader and good friend of mine, exposed one of the biggest struggles young professionals deal with at home as they start their career; chores. He states:
I find my biggest issue comes more when I am trying to prioritize other more mundane activities that aren’t at the same level as say growing my feeds…like grocery shopping or going to a laundromat. All the things that can be put off until the weekend, assuming I’m not going to wake up for work foul-smelling and starving.
Specifically, how do we balance the mundane tasks we have to manage at home, our busy work lives and our social pursuits? Staying home to do laundry and clean is far less tempting then beer with a friend or even some residual work tasks (though hopefully A Millenial’s 6 Step Guide to Getting Things Done helped you complete those). Here are six quick strategies for conquering these oft-ignored, distasteful life maintenance tasks.
1. Apply your Laundry Rhythm. We all know you can work while your laundry is in the machine, it’s great opportunity to multi-task during your “2nd day” but, it can actually help you focus on your ongoing tasks. In between loads you are forced to get away from the screen and think about you current task as well as many of the things you should be doing.
2. Shop with your Sandwich. Spending the lunch hour with your co-workers can be a great opportunity to network (even if you do get into discussions on politics or religion) but, if you are pressed for time in the evenings, take a lunch hour to get grocery or other types of shopping done.
3. Cook for Continuity. Every time I cook (which is different then Brandon A’s gourmet cooking), especially during the week, I try to cook enough food for 3 or 4 dinners. It’s cheaper to buy bigger portions and its a great way to have something healthy on hand for those evenings, after a long day at work, when you don’t want to cook (most nights for Generation Y). My favorite easy meal-for-a-week is about 1.2 lbs of beef (stew cut) and 4 bell peppers sauteed with your sauce of choice. You can toss it with salad or just warm it up later on with a piece of bread or more vegetables.
4. Fill Up at Happy Hour. Not only are you capitalizing on a great networking opportunity, you are eating when prices are lower (and sometimes even paid for by your company). Keep proper decorum in mind on this one, there is no need to be impolite.
5. Jog your Errands Away. Picking up little things that you need on your evening jog can save you time, odd trips to the convenience store add-up! You can even pick up missing ingredients for dinner (as long as you can run with a gallon of milk).
6. Outsource It! Even when you have a great cleaning guide for bachelors, it can be tough to keep everything in line. Consider getting a cleaning service to help you keep up on your cleaning. It can be much cheaper than you think, especially when you consider the opportunity cost of missing much needed time at work or with your friends to vacuum all the floors and clean your doorknobs.
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Tags: Food, Generation Y, Getting things done, Health, Home, Life, Young ProfessionalRelated posts
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