microstory: Music for Difficult Tasks

Happy Orthodox Easter Sunday everyone! This is what I listen to while cleaning my apartment. My father once told me, when I was very small and frustrated with the time it took me to get dressed in my Sunday Best (I preferred overalls, & still do): “If you sing a very slow song while you perform an difficult or tedious action, the action will feel shorter in duration than it would otherwise.” He sang “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” at a torturously slow tempo while gazing out the window, and in what felt like no time at all I was fit to be presented to my Grandparents. I still apply the same principle to music I listen to while cleaning house or performing other intimidating tasks, and sure enough, the more expansive the music, the faster my apartment gets cleaned.