We all hate doing chores, but here are some ways to make it more bearable.

You can add the chore to the story. For example, why is the main character doing the dishes? Did they forget their purse/wallet and are now doing dishes to pay for their meal? Is it a summer job? Are they a busboy/girl or a waiter/waitress and they overhear some plot while working in the kitchen?

You can try altering the chore a little. For example, you are shredding paperwork with your information on it, so you brainstorm about a spy that is gathering secret information or plot out a story about a corrupt businessperson trying to get rid of the evidence.

If you have kids (or babysit a friend or family members’ kids) or are just a little odd (like me), you could use your *insert obligatory meme here* imagination. You could be a pirate trying to uncover buried treasure as you clean out your closet. Or you could be a slave on a ship that is hunting whales as you clean your bathtub.

Either way, pretty soon the job is done and you might have the beginnings of a story.