Complicated Simple Tasks

Pick up any women's magazine and somewhere in it will be recipes, tips on saving money, ways to organize your life, or diet and exercise plans. Magazine editors study what women want--information on the complicated issues--and include articles each month to simplify the tasks.

If you've been cooking for ten years, the recipes might be a welcome reprieve from your rut of everyday dishes. If you've been carefully watching your pennies, the tips might give you a boost to keep saving. Savvy housekeepers will watch for new ways to organize, and healthy folks will find extra motivation from the diet and exercise plans.

But what if you've never picked up a pan in your life? If you're thousands of dollars in debt and don't even know the basics of financial health? If the last time your house smelled Lysol was the day you bought it--in 1996? Or if you've tried, and failed, at every fad diet on the market?

The magazine's simple tips make the hard jobs look simple, but getting to the point where you're comfortable cooking, budgeting, cleaning, and exercising can be very difficult and might involve complicated steps.

Take cooking. For even a simple recipe like spaghetti, you might need to purchase pans, learn how to brown ground beef, set a timer to cook the noodles properly, and learn words like simmer. I guarantee the process will take twice as long for someone who has never cooked than for someone who makes this dish once a month.

Learning simple tasks can be time-consuming, difficult, and miles away from our comfort zone. Sure, fast food isn't very healthy and can put a huge dent in your budget, but let's face it, it's a lot easier to drive to a window, order a few value meals, pay someone and drive away, than it is to take a few hours each night to learn the basics of cooking.

I can't speak for everyone, but in my case, learning to cook was one of the best skills I learned. It took time, patience, and many less-than-edible dishes, but it's satisfying to come home and be able to whip up a healthy meal for a fraction of restaurant costs.

The simple life is like that. We have to dedicate ourselves to learning many skills that will save us time and sanity in the long run, but short term might threaten our sanity, stretch our time limits, and cause us to wonder if the simple life is very simple after all.

I've been chasing the simple life for over a decade. The skills I've learned have simplified my life. They've given me the resources to chase my dreams, and they've given me the confidence to believe those dreams will come true.

Is there a complicated task you'd like to try? Do you purchase magazines when they promise to simplify that task? Am I the only one who gobbles up magazines like Halloween candy??

Join me on Wednesday when we'll look at society and simplicity.

I will be offline until August 11. I love to read your comments, so please leave one. Have a wonderful day!

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