I’m a glutton for punishment, but you don’t have to be

By Jessica Albon

Photo by sebadanon
So, I just got finished doing something I always swear I’ll never do again: giving my 85-lb dog a bath. Since there’s snow on the ground, we had to use the indoor bathtub. Even though Izzy’s a Lab and he loves dirty water, he apparently has a phobia to clean water and generally refuses to get into the tub without an excessive amount of persuasion and assistance (obviously, there’s not a lot one can force an 85-lb dog to do ;-)).

In other words, I’ve just spent the last hour having a heck of a lot of fun trying to coax him into the bath tub, convince him not to jump out of the bath tub, somehow manage to get his water repellent coat soaked thoroughly, lather the shampoo and then rinse him off–all while telling him what a good boy he is as he looks at me like I’m trying to drown him.

It’s really, really fun.

And what’s even more fun is that the moment we’re done, he flies out of the tub and shakes as if there’s a prize for soaking the ceiling. So, after giving him the bath, I get to clean the bathroom.

Obviously, every business coach out there would say this is not an effective use of my time. (Though yesterday Kelly made a compelling argument for why that ought to matter less in a way that involved waffles.)

Why I secretly love the process

Honestly, though, despite my protests, I enjoy giving Izzy baths. When it’s over, he’s giddy and eager to play (not that he’s ever *not* eager to play), and he’s delighted to be clean because it means he can get dirty again.

And, you might find the same is true of wrestling with your WordPress design. It is entirely possible that despite the mess (and trust me, if you’re doing anything interesting in WordPress, there *will* be a mess) that you will have a great time and find it to be well worth your energy.

If you don’t, though, know that you can absolutely get help with the project, just like I could take Izzy to the local groomer.

When you don’t want to clean the ceiling

Maybe, though, you like the idea of part of the project, but not the cleanup. If that’s the case, know that it’s always possible to get help with just one part. I happen to only do full service WordPress design or one-on-one consulting, but there are plenty of WordPress designers who will jump in and handle just a piece or two of the project. So, just like I could have someone else clean up all that water Izzy splashed on the ceiling, you can get help just with the parts you don’t want to do, too.