Consign your frustrations to checkboxes

There are certain things that you have to do, some through no fault of your own, that are frustrating. Tedious, unsatisfying, and unproductive. You can really waste some energy ruminating on how much you loathe the tasks — don’t do that.

Think of these irritating duties as just another fact of nature, and reduce it to another box to tick off. Like needing to wear galoshes when it rains, or taking out the trash.

A current personal example of mine is a certain police officer in my neighborhood gives parking tickets, but then waits weeks to turn them in. For the second time now, I’ve gone to the website several times to not find them in the system. Eventually, the officer will input them, and I’ll get a notice in the mail saying I owe three times the ticket. I’ll need to call, have them reverse the fines, then go back the next day to pay them. I could seethe about this (OK, I did for a bit). But since I can’t do anything about this (after complaining to the parking division and then to my police district’s captain), I’ve now scheduled reminders to check the site every other week. I won’t waste any more mental energy, it’ll just be a semi-regular recurring task until it’s over.