Dreary Work Hour

[Text in parentheses added February 28, 2026.]

A few months ago my friend Amanda and I created a weekly dreary work hour. [We have now been getting together for a few years.]

I was two years behind on filing my income tax returns. She had tasks related to insurance claims (she’s a massage therapist who bills insurance for her services) that she had been avoiding for months. Having enjoyed having each other’s company for other work around the house and in the garden in the past, we thought that perhaps doing these odious tasks together would make them a little less odious. At the very least, we would get them done.

It works like this: At five minutes before our designated time, I clear and clean the dining table that doubles as my desk. I set up my computer on one side of the table. Amanda arrives and sets up her computer on the other side. (Dreary work almost always involves a computer!) I turn over my hourglass and we begin. When the last grains of sand have fallen we stop.

Just one hour once a week: a length of time short enough to commit to and long enough to get things done. And get things done we have. My 2020 tax returns have been mailed off and Amanda has taken care of multiple insurance-related tasks. [When our numbers increased, so too did the temptation to chat. To allow for this delightful activity, we now start our Friday dreary work hours 1/2 an hour early with an official chat time over breakfast. I am up to date on my tax returns and file them promptly now. Amanda rarely falls behind on submitting insurance claims these days.]

Who knows how much more we will be able to accomplish during all the dreary work hours to come! Or, how many more friends will join us. [Our fifth dreary worker will be joining us this week and soon we will hold our first dreary garden hour for those tedious garden tasks we all avoid.]

In time we may need to rename these sessions to dreary work PARTIES!