This Is the BEST Way to Take the Pain Out of Dreaded To-Dos
It’s hard to believe that the Olympics have already come and gone, after months of anticipation leading up to them. From Simone Biles’ history-making appearance and incredible routines to gold medal victories that gave us allllll the feels, there was definitely no shortage of superstar sports moments in Rio that totally set Twitter ablaze. To rediscover that excitement, we chatted with Jill Wilson, the SVP of Game Development at Social Gaming Network. She created five games you can play with your S.O., friends or your fam to turn the tasks you dread most into opportunities for amazing victory. Scroll on to read them and then go crush it!
The Dish Derby
How fast can you unload your dishwasher? Jill tells us, “Our household personal record is one minute, four seconds for a full load. But this type of chorelympics-worthy performance doesn’t come overnight. It takes practice, passion and dedication to the Dish Derby.” This lady totally knows what’s up.
How to play: Open the dishwasher. Start the stopwatch on your phone, and unload those dishes like your life depends on it!
Guess the Groceries
Jill swears that grocery shopping can actually be fun. “Get in the game while checking the grocery shopping off your to-do list, she says, “First stop, Whole Foods. Next stop, Showcase Showdown.” Oh yeah.
How to play: Shop ’til you drop. Guess the total cost of what’s in your cart. If playing with a partner, the person who comes closest to the actual total price of the groceries without going over wins. If playing solo, give yourself a W if you can guess within $10 of the actual total price.
Master Chef Me
Jill asks, “Can you channel your inner Gordon Ramsay from the comfort of your own kitchen?” Sharpen your knives and get ready to have some fun with this dinner competition.
How to play: Write down 10 ingredients you have in the house on little slips of paper and put them in a hat. Pick out three. Make a Master Chef-worthy dish highlighting those three ingredients. Best dish wins! If playing solo, you be the judge. Do you deserve to go up to the balcony for that meal?
Take-out Tetris
Finding old food in the fridge happens to most of us at one time or another. Jill agrees and says, “You NEED to clean out that questionable take-out before it completely takes over.”
How to play: Take everything out of the fridge — this way, you can’t quit halfway through the game. Put things back in neat rows. When you complete a row, throw out three expired products. You can even sing the Tetris song as you go.
Your Most Dreaded Task
Jill says, “We all have the one — that chore or task that keeps getting moved to the next to-do list and seems way too big to tackle. Whether it’s planning a family reunion for 120 people (yes, I’m currently doing this) or doing your taxes, when chores seem overwhelming, we oftentimes put off doing them. In these circumstances, you probably need a game more than ever.”
How to play: Break the task up into chunks. Then divide those chunks into mini chunks. Remember that no chunk is too small. Jill tells us, “For example, if I’m planning the family reunion, one chunk is to find a date that works for everyone. My mini chunks include emailing or calling each person I need buy-in from in order to make the decision, and then emailing everyone again to confirm. Already, I’m at about 12 items for just that one part of the task.”
Put it all in a spreadsheet and print it out. Stick it on the fridge. Write out a list of mini prizes you want to give yourself and one big prize. Put the mini prizes in a bowl by the fridge. Every time you complete a mini chunk, give yourself a star sticker. Every time you get 10 stars, pick a mini prize out of the bowl.
When you finally complete the whole chore, treat yourself to your a grand prize. New bag, anyone?
Will you try one of Jill’s games? Tweet us which one @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)
