We can make the task as easy as possible. We do that by removing the biggest obstacle for anything getting done. David Allen, creator of GTD, has often remarked at how thought is the antithesis of work. The more we think about doing something, the more excuses we have to not do it. So if you want to get people to do their chores, remove that obstacles. Here are 5 steps I've used in the past to do just that:

1. Think of what tools are needed, and buy them ahead of time. Not having the tools for the job is the easiest excuse. One of my peeves is my roomies leaving water all over the bathroom sink. Once I started buying paper towels and making sure they were right there, people started wiping up after themselves. Which leads me to...

2. Place those tools right at the scene. If someone has to look for bottle of spray cleaner guess what, it's not getting clean. In each room I have the appropriate cleaners in a plainly visible and accessible place. They're never more than 5 steps from a mess.

3. Do any prep work you can ahead of time. Multiple steps is another mental block that can stop people from pitching in. If you want your wife to start dinner as soon as she gets home, try separating and labeling the vegetables, pasta and meat the night before. The more automated you can make the process the better. Along those lines remember to...

4. Break things down. Big, complicated tasks are intimidating. The smaller you can make the steps the more likely someone is to do the job. Instead of saying "Clean up the garage" list all the smaller tasks, from sweeping the floor to putting tools on the pegboard, that go into it. It's much easier to say "I don't have time to clean the garage tonight" than "I don't have time to sweep the floor."

5. Frequent accountability. Tasks need to be done on a daily basis and people need to be held accountable for doing them or it just won't stay in their heads. If your real goal is to have someone take out the trash once a week, try setting up a 'chore time' every night and schedule the garbage in for the right night. That way it's not something that sneaks up on them weekly, it's just another night.

Let me tell you my experience. I was unhappy at being the only one in the house to clean the bathroom and I knew that snide notes weren't going to help. The problem was that nothing else helped either. We'd all agree to clean it at certain times and then it would just go untouched until my turn came around. It was easier to clean it myself then police everyone.

Then I decided to make it as easy as possible to clean the bathroom. I bought all the supplies, I laid them out in the most convenient place possible and I broke down the cleaning process into 4 'micro-chores.' Then I asked everyone to do one micro-chore a day and initial it on a list I printed. It's an extra 30 seconds after you shower with no thought involved and our bathroom has been sparkling ever since.

So if you want someone to start picking up the slack, don't waste your energy confronting them. Use that energy to take all the thought out of the equation. I won't tell you that the extra steps are fair, but I will tell you that they work. Now it's up to you..

我们都希望在周二给草坪割草或扔垃圾，但是我们要么忘了要么是被其他事情挡住了。对最后要做这些事的人没有安慰，但是这是事实。所以要让那些我们爱的（或被迫容忍）结束这些家事，我们能做些什么呢？

我们可以使家事尽可能的简单。我们这样做，消除手头最棘手的。大卫艾伦，GTD创作者 ，往往如何评论认为是对立面的工作。我们越是想事情，更借口，我们必须那么做。因此，如果您想要让人们做家务，消除障碍。这里有5个步骤我用在过去做到这一点

1、想好我们需要哪些工具，并提前买好它们。不想做某项工作的最简单的理由就是我们没有工具。我很厌烦室友弄得盥洗槽都是湿的而又不去擦拭，一旦我买好厕纸放在那里，他们就会在使用完水槽之后并擦干。这使得我……

2、把工具放在看得见的地方。如果他们需要寻找清洁工具来打扫卫生，结果通常是房间不会被打扫干净。因此每个房间我都在显而易见的地方放上合适的清洁剂，那他们再也不需要用超过达5步来整理脏乱。

3、提前做好准备工作。繁琐的步骤是影响人们投入该件事的另一个心里障碍。如果你希望妻子一回家就把饭做好，那你应该在头天晚上把蔬菜、面食和肉分别准备好。工序越自动化，效果就越好。沿着这条思路，你要记得……

4、把事情拆散。大而复杂的任务让人畏惧。步骤分得越细，事情越容易完成。例如把“打扫车库”列为很多小的步骤，从打扫地板并把工具挂好开始着手。你可能会说：“今晚我没有时间打扫车库”，但“我没有时间扫地”却很难说出口。

5、责任心。有些事情需要当天就完成。人们需要有去做这件事情的责任感，或者他们根本就没有想到过去做这件事情。如果你想要某个人一星期清理一次垃圾，你可以试着去简历一个日常工作时间表，然后把清理垃圾这件事排在这个表里。这个方法就会让人们认为清理垃圾是预订好了某天晚上的事情，而不会显得一星期做一次很突然。

让我告诉你我的经验。我不喜欢成为我们屋里惟一一个打扫浴室人。我也知道我告诉别人这个理由，也不会有人理我。这个问题也找不到其它的解决方法。我们商定好在固定的时候打扫。这样直到该我打扫了，我发现又是我自己在打扫。这种情况下，我自己亲自来打扫比麻烦其它人一起弄来得更简单。

接下来我就考虑如何才能更加简单方便的打扫浴室。我买好所有的必需品，把它们放在方便拿到的地方，然后把打扫的过程分为四小步。然后我把这些步骤打印出来，安排每个人一天做一小步。完成这一小步，只需大家洗澡后的30秒时间就可以完成。但是从此以后我们的浴室就非常干净了。

因此如果你希望某人的惰性有所收敛，并不需要与他们正面冲突。而是把力气用来思考怎样解决这个关系。我的意思并不是指这些额外的步骤是不错的解决方法，但我可以告诉你们这些很有用。现在轮到你来处理了……