Stick with me for a few minutes, and I’ll make chores the most interesting part of your day.

Pinky swear!

Listen–we all know there are few things more mundane than chores. 

Unfortunately, there are also few things more demanding of our time and energy every day (booo). 

Sometimes, there’s only one way to get chores done…

And that’s to pretend that you’re someone who likes doing chores.

Let’s time travel back a bit…

I think everyone hates chores as a kid. I certainly did—so did my brother. “Clean your room” was practically a death sentence, and when the chores expanded beyond our bedroom it was game over. Our mom would ask us to windex the windows and the bathroom mirror, and even sweep the floor (gasp!). 

Then my brother had an idea: make up two characters who liked cleaning better than we did. Thus began “Chris & Jack’s Cleaning Business.” We didn’t get paid, but we pretended that we did, and that we were on our way to getting a five-star review. 

It was like magic—suddenly, much to our mother’s delight, we were actually asking her if we could do more chores. 

That became my go-to method for dealing with errands and chores for my entire childhood. 

But for some reason, once I became an Adult (trademark), I stopped doing that. Chores became this giant, ugly beast yet again, that I was seemingly unable to tame and unable to banish. 

So…when did using the imagination for everyday productivity become reserved for children and children alone? Why did my brother and I stop practicing the art of “pretend you’re someone who likes the chore”?

I think the answer to that is “we became angst-ridden teens,” but I don’t think that actually matters. What matters is that, at any time, we can flip our creativity switch back on.  We have the ability to harness our imaginations whenever we want—to turn chores into a game, to invent a character who’s on some mission way more fun than just “vacuum the carpet because it’s dirty.” 

Need more examples? Okay…I’ll expose my system for you: 

• I often call my house tasks and/or errands “side quests.”
• Whenever I sweep or vacuum, I pretend I’m Cinderella (sometimes I even sing).
• When I fold laundry, sometimes I have dialogue with an invisible person—usually it turns into a soap opera real quick. 
• …I actually like doing dishes (truly the most embarrassing thing on this list).

It doesn’t take too much effort to inject some fun into the ordinary. Imagination isn’t just for children—it can help you get you through a mound of unfolded laundry or a long day at work.  

You have the ability to make things fun. Why not harness it?

Bonus Step (the most important one):

Do you think God doesn’t want to hear about your day while you’re doing dishes? Hear about your worries and struggles while you’re folding laundry?

He does.

And the best thing about that is that, where God is concerned, you don’t need to pretend. He’s there, He’s listening, and He loves you.

Isn’t that wonderful?