Reflection

Release Your Attention

March 22, 2021
Steven McCormack
1 min

We had a whole new experience this weekend; we hired a cleaner for the house. For many years I was pretty dismissive about turning house chores into a service, with a cost. I think it was a pride thing; I took an odd pleasure from doing these tasks. As if it made me a more moral person for mopping floors and wiping down kitchens. To be fair, it was my first job to clean at a hotel. I've never forgotten how to quickly change a duvet cover!

Well, it turns out the cleaner does a pretty good job, with decent equipment. The floors / kitchen / bathroom are pretty damn shiny now. But the real benefit was something else entirely. I now no longer have to think about these tasks. And the effect is really quite strong. After a couple of days, I actually feel like I have more mental space. Sure, the thought of wiping surfaces is not the most stressful. But thousands of those thoughts, when you enter every room, over a course of a week? That adds up.

It aligns back to my previous thought about energy; you want the spaces you inhabit to recharge you. Not to provide a low hum of anxiety. By releasing your attention from minor items, you can refocus on those activities that you really enjoy. For me, that is time with my gang, my websites, my writing and my guitars. It is a less mercenary approach than Naval's, where you set an hourly rate for yourself, and you cut out whatever is below that from your day. But it plays out in the same way.

So ditch the pride nonsense, and point your energies in the right direction!

Signing out, Steven.

Cover photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash.

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