Lacking in motivation

[missrat]

I have this problem with housework. I was making progress but have really slipped back and can't find motivation to get things done at present. Being in rented property and having to have a new boiler installed soon makes things really difficult. I feel I am slipping again.

[ThemysciraDrive]

Heya. When I'm feeling bad I try to break things down into very small tasks and try to do one per day. So, for example, yesterday I sorted out the rubbish and recycling and took it down to the bins shed. Today I will put the dishwasher on. Tomorrow I will wash some clothes, and so on. I still don't feel motivated to do it, but by setting a mini goal each day it becomes like an achievement when you stick to it.

Good luck with having the boiler sorted, that must be stressful.

[Gambit62]

Do you have a date for the boiler replacement?

I tend to do housework as part of a routine so it's not something I have to feel motivated to do - just something that gets done on Tuesday evening/Weds morning ... sometimes it doesn't get done - or not all of it but I try not to let myself feel like I've failed.

I guess I'm a pretty tidy person so there may be other times when I do housework because I'm starting to feel oppressed by clutter.

Are you managing to keep on top of keeping the rat cages clean - as long as nothing is a health hazard then the rest isn't important. I dust around things rather than picking them up and I have an American Colleague who says that you can get away without cleaning as long as things are tidy.

My brother's approach to housework makes me smile - doesn't need to be done unless his wife is going to give him grief - so nothing gets done when she is out of the country (Russian and occasionally goes back - particularly with their daughter in the school holidays). He did once have to go down to the flat below and ask if he could have a suit back because his wife got annoyed that he'd left it on the back of a chair for a while and threw it out of the window.

One of my favourite books as a kid was the story of a man who hated washing up so much that he just decided not to do it at all - used up every dish, plate cup and mug and even resorted to using the soap dish and just as things were looking grim it started to rain so he put everything outside and let the rain wash it clean. Quite right - god should take his turn at the washing up as well.

[missrat]

I had a big cage clean and re-organisation today but things are still very chaotic. I'm feeling really tired. I have to ring the boiler people when I am ready. I feel as if that will be never/