Last week, I shared with you guys some of the struggles I’ve been having with my house since launching the web design studio. We have been more successful than I expected (which is great!), but one of the things that caught me off guard was that my house would fall to the bottom of the priority list. When you’re working the equivalent of several jobs, that happens!
My friend Devon came up with a plan for her family that is so simple, so GENIUS that I just had to share it. As common sense a solution it is, I am surprised I’ve never heard it suggested before. So here goes…
Every evening after dinner (or sometime before the kids go to bed), the whole family pitches in to clean for 20 minutes. Whatever doesn’t get done, doesn’t get done. It doesn’t matter. The point is that if everyone cleans for 20 minutes, you double or triple your results without any additional effort.
Isn’t that beautiful? I almost want to cry, it’s so easy. You don’t need any complicated cleaning system to do this. Getting Things Done is fantastic, but it only works if your house is a high priority on your list. If it isn’t, then you’re going to end up doing everything else that is more important. I am still going to use the GTD system for my business tasks because it works so beautifully, but I’m going to keep it super super simple when it comes to the house. Otherwise, life here is going to remain pretty chaotic, and nobody in my family wants to live that way.
Anybody want to join me in this revolution? Because really, I think it is one. I love simple things that really work. It equalizes the family’s household responsibility and demonstrates that if the house is going to run smoothly, everyone is going to have a part in it. And since we’re all working together at the same time, it can even be fun — a kind of sweet ritual that we can count on each day. We can work together toward the same purpose and see immediate results.
I am SO PUMPED. Can’t wait to share how it goes. Give everyone specific tasks to do (even the little ones), turn on some music, turn on your timer for 20 minutes, and let’s go!
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