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The word for today is maintenance. Yesterday, we looked at pressing reset on weekly tasks, but some to-do’s are more sporadic. For example, when’s the last time you got an alignment on your car? I can’t remember when it was for my car, but, according to tirebuyer.com, you should get an alignment once or twice per year. I remember, as a teenager, being constantly frustrated when I would take my car for service and they’d say that my tires were wearing out on the edges, due to misalignment. As we looked at in episode “56 - Upstream,” if you don’t want downstream problems, it helps to think a few steps ahead. Maintenance like wheel alignments, balance, and rotation can be the difference between getting to your destination safely or a roadside emergency or worse (Do you know how to change a tire? Do you know if your spare is inflated?). But don’t think that you’re exempt from this analogy just because you don’t own a car. What are some life maintenance tasks that happen throughout the year? Adulthood brings a whole raft of them, such as paying taxes, paying bills, voting, doctor visits for yourself and those you care for (including dental and vision), car maintenance, home maintenance, etc. Even if you’re still in school, you have exams to think ahead about, and hopefully you have some household responsibilities that require planning. I’ve always been interested in aligning all of the disparate tasks into groups of monthly, yearly, and miscellaneous and scheduling them together. For example, January could be the checkup month of the year. Doctor’s physical exam, dental exam, car alignment, HVAC checkup, etc. Why haven’t I done it, then? Because it takes effort and upstream thinking, which are difficult. I guess that’s part of why I’m writing this episode. If I want to commit, I will say the following phrase, “I will clump maintenance activities together in order to make sure they’re done.”
Today’s concrete challenge should be obvious.
If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will clump maintenance activities together in order to make sure they’re done.”
I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.
Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who thinks upstream.”
Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.
Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.
References:
How often you need a tire alignment
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