3/17/2023 0 Comments Mundane tasks![]() ![]() (This post was inspired by Suraj Shah’s post Last day living.) Bring the play back, by watching a kid and seeing how amazing life is for them. We’ve had the play pounded out of us, from years of schooling and work. OK, those weren’t all great, but I’m sure you could think of better ones once you get into the right mindset. Anytime you do something, ask, “What would Dwight Schrute Do?” (WWDSD?).Pretend you’ve never been anywhere before, and that everywhere is new.Talk to your computer, and give it a name.Imagine that your co-workers are robots, or vampires.When you have to clean something, give a play-by-play of your actions with a Howard Cossell voice.When you send an email, make fax noises.Annoy your co-workers by calling them Jeeves.Do a victory dance after you do anything good.Make bets with friends when it comes to doing things you don’t normally like doing.Imagine you are in a movie when you walk into a meeting.Give yourself points for checking off your tasks, and see how many points you can get each day.Make a game of computer tasks - see how fast you can get your inbox to empty (set a timer).Use dishwashing as a form of mindfulness practice.Though I don’t want to tell you how to play, by request, here are a few quick examples: How can you ever be bored when you see life like this? A living room becomes a place to make a fort, styrofoam becomes a toy, and if there’s nothing to play with, he’s pacing around making up stories in his head. We’re walking along the street and he’s a werewolf, a wizard, a superhero. My 8-year-old son Seth runs everywhere, jumps everywhere. Every boring work task can be turned into a challenge, a game. Every walk to the store can be infused with beginner’s mind, so that we see our surroundings afresh, ripe for exploration. Everything is new, and there’s always a game you can play. Why is that?īecause she doesn’t see anything as boring. The elevator ride to the 18th floor was like a roller coaster ride to her.Įverything she does becomes a game, an opportunity for wonder and exploration, or at the very least an opportunity to sing a song. ![]() As we walked, she talked about how the building the dentist is in might possibly reach the blue stuff in the sky, and wanted to bet me that it actually did (10 hugs if I won, $1 if she won). In the train, she sang, found things fun to see out the window, played games with me. We took the train and then walked a few blocks. ![]() She had to go to the dentist, which is a pretty routine thing for most people. Let’s take my 6-year-old daughter Noelle as an example. But those are only boring because we’ve chosen to make them boring. Sure, there are things we have to do every day that we might think are boring: household chores, errands, routine tasks at work, being in a meeting that’s makes you want to pound your head on the table. You just have to remember what it’s like to be a child. You can’t always enjoy what you’re doing, right?Īctually, you can. When I write about loving every moment and loving what you do, people often ask, “What about when you have to do something you don’t like?” ‘It is a happy talent to know how to play.’ ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Post written by Leo Babauta. ![]()
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