Let’s be real, the little tasks we have to do over and over again, every single day, can feel super monotonous.
But what if we took action to make them the highlights of our day?
Recently, a trend has emerged on TikTok where people post videos of them essentially romanticising their life’s mundane tasks.
This can be anything from making your bed to making yourself some coffee to planning out your day or going to the library.
‘Romanticise your life’ has a massive 1.3 billion (yes, billion) views on the app as more and more people embrace even the most boring moments of their days.
For example, TikTok user Kate posted a now viral video, giving people a look into how they can romanticise their life “all with your headphones and your favourite music playing, of course.”
The video features suggestions like working at a coffee shop, going to the library, buying yourself flowers and so on.
There are countless more videos like this on the social media platform. Like that of TikTok user Lee, who likes to film everyday things that “no other people don’t care about” because “it makes me feel like I’m doing something important.”
So why do people romanticise their lives?
According to psychology coach and therapist Clare Deacon, it can be for a variety of reasons, but the biggest one is to motivate people to complete their tasks. It can also act as a coping mechanism.
“People romanticise for a variety of reasons but generally it is about increasing their motivation to achieve the everyday task. Through romanticising they gain benefit from feelings of positivity,” she explains.
“Perhaps it gives them a sense of meaning and purpose, or helps cultivate a positive mindset, maybe it provides distraction from feelings that aren’t serving them. It can be a coping mechanism and way of avoiding feelings of depression or anxiety,” she adds.
But romanticising your life can also lead to unrealistic expectations and procrastination. And while it can work as a short term remedy, it is unlikely to work in the long term – you’re treating the symptom, not the cause.
“The disadvantage of this is that it places unrealistic expectations in terms of feelings they are expecting and whilst it may work as a short term remedy the effect is unlikely to be long lasting. It may also lead to procrastination spending more time on romanticising than actually doing the task,” says Deacon.
Romanticising your life’s mundane tasks might just be you avoiding a problem for the time being, but that doesn’t mean that doing so is an entirely bad thing. As long as you’re able to manage your expectations, you can look at your everyday tasks with rose tinted glasses.
“Some might worry that it is putting pink shades on and detaching oneself from the reality of life but in reality, it grounds people in the simple loving gesture of life so that they have a solid foundation when life’s hardship hits,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Yasmine Saad.
“Being aware of all that you do for yourself will make it easier to connect to self-appreciation and will help you build a protection against adversity when it comes your way,” she adds.