The Put-Off List

Yesterday we talked about the Dread List, loosely defined as some household chore or task that is so annoying, awful, gross, offensive, exasperating, hateful, unreasonable or just plain boring that you would rather eat dirt—or as my sister’s friend said, scrub a toilet—than do it. But there is another category of chore that, while not as extreme as the Dread List, is perhaps more insidious: we’re talking here about tPOL: the Put-Off List. You don’t actually hate the items on tPOL; rather, you somehow never get around to doing them. The lack of urgency contributes to the problem. Unlike cleaning the cat box or taking out the garbage, you can go a long time without caulking the windows or painting the sunroom with little repercussion. For this reason, project work of all kinds tend to make their way onto tPOL: fixing holes or cracks in drywall, mending clothes, cleaning gutters, sorting through things to give away, re-grouting ceramic tiling, spring cleaning or re-organizing closets are a few examples.

The problem with project work is that it’s time consuming—or seems that way before you get started. Special skills, patience, equipment, or supplies can be required and decisions are often involved: do I try to do the work myself or do I hire someone else to do it? Will it make the problem worse if I try to do it and fail? If the project involves organizing, there are decisions on where to put what, what to keep and what to toss that are at best tedious.

Still, once you start in on tPOL item, momentum often takes over and sometimes you even find that you’re enjoying yourself. That’s the difference between the Dread List and tPOL: while I may have put off wiping down our 8’ bookcases after we re-finished our hardwood floors in October, once I start on the task it’s probable I’ll find the rhythm of taking the books down, wiping them off, wiping the shelves and replacing the books mildly pleasant in almost addictive, mindless kind of way, not unlike the repeated motions of old people doing Tai Chi in the park. But even if my trip to the Home Depot to return some stuff I bought goes without a hitch, I’d still rather . . . eat dirt. Or scrub the toilet.

In the next few days, I plan on putting together my Dread List and tPOL. The idea is that in addition to maintaining the recent progress I’ve made in several areas and continuing to make progress with the rest, I’ll committ to doing one thing on either my Dread List or tPOL every week—that’s 52 items a year. I don’t even think I have 52 items on both lists combined. I could make out my lists right now and see, but . . . nah. I think I’ll put it off ‘til tomorrow.