"Let’s have fun first. We can do chores later."
It’s early-ish on a Sunday morning in Philadelphia. The house is still warm from yesterday’s summer sunshine and swampy humidity. I’m already mildly sweaty.
The house is quiet, the kids are still asleep. I’m sat at my friend’s kitchen table listening to her and her husband talk about our plans for the day and then he says it:
“Let’s have fun first. We can do chores later.”
Let’s have fun first.
Let’s do chores later.
I think my brain stumbled a bit when it heard those words. It was all “Wait… what do you mean have fun BEFORE chores – If you do that you might not have enough time for all the chores!”
Luckily, being a) at my friends house and b) on holiday, meant that I didn’t have any chores so, I was able to chew on this strange new idea rather than immediately dismissing it and going off in a huff to clean the toilet.
You see, for as long as I can remember I’ve adhered to a strict “Homework / chores / boring stuff first, fun later” policy. The thing is though, is that often the chores often end up expanding – kinda like how, apparently, if you have a bigger bag you will always put more stuff in it purely because there’s more space to fill.
What often happens is that I never quite get to the end of the chores. Or, when I DO get to the end, it’s either too late in the day or I’m too tired to do anything fun so the “fun” never gets to be had.
This week however… oh, this week!
This week has been different.
This week I did fun first, chores later.
I ran away from unpacking moving boxes to go surfing.
And then I ran away from unpacking (again) to go hiking with a friend and her kids.
This morning, when I originally planned to be writing this very newsletter, I sat and read my book for 2 whole hours.
And you know what?
The unpacking still got done.
This newsletter is still getting written. Chores are still being taken care off. No one died. The world didn’t stop turning and I didn’t suddenly spiral out of control.
And you know what else? I feel more relaxed, calmer and like I actually have some balance in my life.
18+ months after being inadvertently introduced to the idea of “fun first, chores later” and I think it’s slowly starting to sink in.
If this has stuck a nerve and your brain is screaming “WHAT – HOW CAN YOU EVEN SUGGEST SUCH A THING?!?!” maybe you’d like to try a little experiment. Pick a weekend day (or a non working day) and, instead of doing homework / chores first, try doing something fun first and see how it feels.
And, please, do let me know how you go and / or what fun thing you decide to do before you get stuck into the chores.
*** This is an excerpt from my newsletter back in Feb ’24.***
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