A few weeks back, I was trying to put a glass in the dishwasher.
The prime spaces in front of the top rack had already been claimed. I nudged the drawer open, trying to find the right angle to reach around to the back.
This turned into a curious sort of gymnastics trying to contort my arm into the back of of the half-open drawer.
And of course, I ended up knocking over two sippy cups in the process, which also had to get put back in place.
Then I thought, ‘What am I doing!?’
Yes, dishwasher drawers tend to be a bit fiddly. Yes, it’s a bit annoying to have to coax them out. And yes, sometimes you can get around those facts by only pulling it out a little bit of the way.
But honestly, I would have actually saved myself time and effort if I had pulled the drawer all the way out. Trying to find a creative way to wrangle that glass in without fully committing to opening the machine ended up being even more of a hassle than just getting the drawer out properly out in the first place.
So often we take shortcuts. Sometimes this is a good thing. But other times, it costs us even more energy.
(And I always think this doubly for dishes left in the sink – if you’re going to set it down, might as well just put it in the dishwasher rather than doing it twice!)
Since then I’ve been pondering, in what other areas in my life am I doing the equivalent of only pulling the dishwasher drawer halfway out?
What other areas are there where if I exerted just the tiniest bit more effort and energy, I would find my life getting better and easier?
I wonder…
But even though there are deeper metaphorical questions that are probably worth pondering, sometimes it’s best to start with the little things.
For today, it can be as simple as this: pull the dishwasher drawer all the way out.
(And if you decide to join me, let me know how it goes! Do you already do this? Or what is your ‘dishwasher’ equivalent?)