Hey there honey badgers!
Ever heard the saying, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person” or “if it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done”?
Back in 1955, British naval historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote a satirical essay for The Economist that started:
“It is a commonplace observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
He also pointed out that:
- The number of navy ships was decreased by two-thirds
- Personnel was decreased by a third
- Yet… the number of bureaucrats was increasing by 6% a year.
Fewer ships, fewer people, but more managers!? The work was expanding to fill the time available. His argument was that a 6% growth rate in any administrative body is a strong sign the company will die – they have all their workforce in bureaucracy and none in production.
After the essay was published, Stefan Thurner, an impressive man with a PhD in BOTH theoretical physics and economics and who is a professor in the Science of Complex Systems noticed the same happened at the Medical University in Vienna – the number of scientists stayed the same but the number of administers was BALLOONING. Thurner turned Parkinson’s idea into a mathematical model and found that Parkinson’s Law had merit.
(Anyone else thinking of Kafka?)
This piqued the interest of psychologists. Why do we tend to fill time unnecessarily?? They found that when deadlines were extended, people spent more time on tasks—and ironically felt more stressed. The quality of the work didn’t improve either.
Why? Because often, the thought of a task is worse than the task itself. The more time you give yourself, the more time you spend procrastinating. If you have a day to write an essay, you’ll take a day. If you have a week, you’ll take the week. A year? You get the idea. And with no deadline? Good luck—it might never get done.
What on earth does all this have to do with home maintenance?
I’ve noticed that my running mental to-do list often doesn’t get done. I set deadlines for myself, but I miss them. Yet when there’s a deadline for work or someone else? Boom—done.
And here’s something else: when life gets busy, I actually become more productive at home and work. When I’m in the zone, crushing deadlines and crossing tasks off, a few things are usually true:
- I have a clear purpose. I know what I’m doing and why.
- My to-do list lives on my calendar.
- I have accountability systems in place.
- I review and revise my plans to stay on track.
- I’m motivated—when a fire is nipping at my toes, it’s easier to see what is unimportant and to ignore it.
Now, I don’t love feeling the fire nipping at my heels, but I’ve learned to channel that energy into something productive. I also enjoy a slower pace—leisurely writing or tackling chores at a reasonable speed. But let’s be honest, it can be hard to make myself focus without some kind of structure.
How I Created My Home Maintenance System
I realized I needed a system that works for me, based on habits that stick. I sat down with my family, and together, we envisioned what we wanted home life to look like, including how to manage chores.
We started with a family calendar. We scheduled time for home maintenance chores, strategically avoiding busy seasons like birthdays, holidays, and Texas summers. We built in purposeful deadlines.
I also added accountability. It started with my family, then expanded to friends, and now includes Main+Tenacious. There’s something about paying for a program that makes you more likely to follow through. (Case in point: when my kids were little, I joined Stroller Strides—a group where moms worked out while their babies were in strollers. Not only did I get fit, I made some great lifelong friends. When our instructor had to quit, we thought to ourselves, we have been doing this so long we can just keep it going ourselves! We know what to do! But once we stopped paying for it, people stopped coming after a couple of months!? There is something about paying for something that increases the chances you will follow through. This is true now- I am paying for hosting the community so I better do the chores!).
Planning for Success (and grace)
Every week, I review our family calendar with the family. Quarterly, I schedule catch-up time for chores that slipped through the cracks. I plan for failure because life happens—and giving yourself grace is key to maintaining a system.
Funny enough, when I’m especially busy, I always seem to find time for this system. But when life slows down, it’s harder to stay on track.
Think back to a time when you were really crushing your goals. What worked for you? What habits or systems helped you thrive? Whether you build your own system or “cheat” by letting Main+Tenacious do the heavy lifting, remember the three foundational skills for success: intentional planning, DIY skills, and tenacity.
Special Holiday Promotion!
Until December 24th, save 50% on annual memberships with Main+Tenacious. Give yourself (or a loved one!) the gift of a stress-free home this Christmas. Main+Tenacious helps you stay on top of home maintenance without the overwhelm.
Don’t let another year go by wondering if you’re taking care of your biggest investment. Join our community of intentional homeowners, and let’s master home maintenance one task at a time.
Rita
December Tasks
Reoccurring Tasks
- Have snow and ice? Check that roof often for damage and ice dams.
- Is it time to change your HVAC filter or check your water softener? When you are done, mark it in your calendar.
Maintain
- This is the time to enjoy your home. If you want, use the time to catch up on any tasks you missed during the year. I tend to tidy the garage and peak in the attic when we get out the lights.
- If you haven’t properly labeled your circuit panel, this task is easier using the many strands of Christmas lights (see the free prep course for instructions)
Prep
Haven’t been keeping up with home maintenance? Keep it simple and just do these tasks to start. These tasks are the one and done tasks you can do that will make future maintenance and DIY task so much easier.
- New? Join us online December 7th or 9th for an orientation.
- Organize paperwork related to the home.
- Create a home maintenance budget for your home.
- Get rid of common hiccups to home maintenance carefully assessing those things that make chores bigger than they need to be (i.e. creating access to common maintenance places). No body wants to do two big chores at once! See the Prep course for more on this.
Need help with any of those tasks? There is much more information inside our community.
