When mundane becomes a chore…
The word “Mundane” came into a conversation with a friend not long ago.
This word has a lovely and interesting sound which is ironic when you know the definition:
“Something that is mundane is very ordinary and not at all interesting or unusual”
How else can we describe “Mundane”
That word as mentioned can be replaced easily by other words
Day to day - task that need to be done every day
Ordinary - with no special or distinctive features; normal
Routine - a sequence of actions regularly followed
Necessary - needed to be done, achieved, or present; essential
Required - officially compulsory, or otherwise considered essential; indispensable
Needed - require (something) because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable
Recurrent - especially repeatedly or periodically
Boring - not interesting; tedious
Not exciting - Dull
Dull - lacking interest or excitement
Repetitive - containing or characterized by repetition, especially when unnecessary or tiresom
Inevitable - certain to happen; unavoidable
Essential - absolutely necessary; extremely important
Chore - a routine task, especially a household one
Normal - conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected
Indispensable - absolutely necessary, essential, or not to be spared
Compulsory - required by law or a rule; obligatory
But there is one item that required to be added to some of the above words to make them match “Mundane” and it is the fact that those daily mandatory activities need to be lacking of interest or dull or lacking excitement just like Atlas having to carry the world on his shoulders everyday for the rest of his life.
The advantage of a mundane life
From the moment we are born, we require to have routine. Babies and children strive on routine hence why it is important to reduce the amount of times when you change that routine.
You can notice how children act up much more when they are in unusual situations such as holidays, weddings or other celebrations, going to the restaurant and so on.
Even at work you can see how much harder working in a shift pattern is rather than working regular hours even if those hours are unsocial - such as night shift - also called the Grave yard shift
The fact to have to change working time causes tiredness - fatigue - insomnia - mood swings to mention just a few consequences.
It also makes work life balance much more difficult due to the fact that you need to find your activities at different times, or change your activities with your shifts.
Typical examples would be nurses - firemen - police officers - factory workers - call center agents and so on.
Now the fact to work hybrid between home and in the office have advantages but it can also put another strain on work life balance.
Having the computer available all the time makes it easy to let the work invade your life allowing your daily routine to become chaotic or non-existent.
Having the choice to work anytime, can allow to use work as an excuse to avoid those tasks- a new way to procrastinate without feeling guilty.
But it also drains your energy, as you keep thinking about work evenings, weekends and sometimes during holidays.
Those moments when you should refresh yourself and reset your priorities get blurry and muddled.
By your own doing or lack of discipline the mundane has become a chore.
The mundane has become a chore
So because you left work takeover due to overload or due to procrastination, or other reasons, ordinary life has now become overwhelming.
The mundane tasks of your life which are mostly cleaning I believe for most people are becoming too much.
If you can spend a few minutes/hours every day/weeks to keep up with the daily cleaning then everything is bearable.
But indeed those daily tasks are repetitive, boring but necessary as mentioned before.
It is hard to enjoy and keep motivated for those inevitable, essential chores, they do repeat and are never ending.
They need to be done over and over and over….for ever
Life sparks
Is it not amazing though how tired and un-motivated we are on a daily basis to do those mundane tasks, but if you have a dinner planned - for example - you feel so full of energy, you are bubbly with joy taking shower, picking clothes and then meeting with your friends.
So why is that so much different than the normal days where we feel no energy…dopamine certainly has some answers to provide.
Makes us happy and give us energy.
That is why, it is important to organise weekly little rewards, going on weekends or holidays so that that little happy hormone can give you a boost and help you with the daily routine.
Another option is to invite people over, you will notice how having visitors make you complete those tasks much faster, energy is returned.
This time it is not dopamine that you can thank for but adrenaline. That hormone allows you to get motivated really, fight or flight hormone.
So you want a boost to reset your house, organise a dinner party!
Relationship and mundane life!
I believe that the same thing happens to relationships.
Why do people take their other half for granted or get bored with them?
Does the original spark disappear?
I strongly believe that daily routine is a couple’s killer, it is inevitable unfortunately not to get into a routine as a couple especially once children are in the picture.
But is the mundane of a relationship, the end of a relationship for sure or can it be salvaged?
As for work, you can let it take over your life and wanting that dopamine you go for the easy option of fast solution that is an affair…that is spicy because it is new and exiting….not mundane, ordinary and boring like your partner of 20 years.
Same as buying some flowers, going for dinners, going on weekends or holidays boost your life, the same treatment should be for your couple. before it is too late.
Being happy in a relationship is hard work because life gets in the way.
People forget that it takes time and require some effort to make time for each other and bring that sparks back and keep the fire burning regularly.
How to make mundane exciting?
Well is this really possible knowing that the definition include the word “dull” in it?
I have met people in my life that are happy, really happy and they have that energy emoting from them which is actually exhausting due to the fact that their energy does not always match yours.
And you have the opposite people who are never happy and always disappointed, those definitely drain your energy like vampires.
So is one or the other good or should you be satisfied with being happy most of the time?
I believe that those happy people find mundane enjoyable because of their way of thinking.
And that the way to fight the mundane, it is to make it fun or get on with it with a very straight routine.
The strong routine allows to know what needs to be done at all time and get done with things but I do find those more difficult when you have children and/or a demanding work.
Children because it can be very demotivating to complete your tasks and turn around few minutes later to see that what was done is now needed to be done again. Feels like you chasing your own tail.
Demanding work due to time tables which can be changeable, that strong routine is out the window regularly making it very frustrating.
So the best option is to try to make it fun, this also ask energy to keep having fun and motivating yourself but it becomes a habit and that also can be learnt.
So let’s make the mundane a fun activity and maybe reactivate that spark at the same time!
