Lately, I realized I haven’t been a very good roommate to myself. I live with two dogs, and while the dogs are wonderful company, they’re not helpful around the house.

When I used to live with other people, I promptly took care of chores, but now that it’s just me, it’s tempting to leave tasks for myself to handle later: folding laundry, doing the dishes, cleaning a tea stain out of the carpet.

It’s easy to fall into this routine. When you’re the person ultimately responsible for the task, does it matter if you do it right now or ten days from now? It falls on you either way. But then I remember the stress I feel waking up to a sink full of dishes because I decided it was more fun to watch Netflix last night.

I’ve started to think of my future self as my roommate. Why should I treat her worse than I would treat any other roommate? Why am I being so disrespectful toward myself?

This month, out of respect for future!me, I’m challenging myself to take care of things right away:

• Rinsing tea & coffee cups immediately so they don’t get stained
• Washing the dishes as soon as I’m done with the meal instead of letting them pile up
• Folding the laundry as it comes out of the washing machine rather than leave it in a basket for weeks
• Wiping down the counters and coffee table
• Folding and storing lap blankets before we go to bed
• Make overnight oats the night before so I have breakfast ready the next morning
• Clean the tea infuser after I’m done using it rather than in the morning when I’m desperate for tea
• Take dishes to the sink instead of leaving them around the house

Even if I only manage one of these consistently, it will cut down on tomorrow’s stress.