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The Doona Principle

 

Some principles have ramifications across many disciplines. Some science “laws” can be used to explain behavioral patterns in psychology. So it is no doubt unsurprising that the Doona Principle crosses many fields while being primarily a sociological phenomenon.

 

The Doona Principle is merely the name of a common pattern of behaviour. It was named and put into diligent practice by the youngest of my siblings. Even as young children we were intelligent and resourceful, so developing a principle of this kind was almost second nature.

 

The Doona Principle in Development:

 

The first acknowledged association of the principle was influenced by our maternal figurehead of the family. Like all strong female domestic supervisors, our mother insisted on a level of cleanliness and household practices. One of these was the making of our beds in the morning before the working day.

 

Sometimes to ensure that this task was actually performed, our mother would stand in the room and supervise the neat folding and tucking of sheets, and straightening of the doona. After the weekly sheets and doona cover washing, the doona was required to be replaced into its now clean cover. This, as most will know, is not as easy task. The cover tends to encourage the doona to bunch and fold rather than fit snuggly. It was on one of these occasions that the doona principle gained its name.

 

In Name Only:

 

This is not to mistake the naming and active use of the principle as the first time this phenomenon was practiced, nor the first occurrence. The Doona Principle can be linked back as far as early settlements in Jericho. With the birth of agriculture came the rise of the practice of the Doona Principle.

 

The Doona Principle Defined:

 

One morning in replacing the doona into the clean cover, the principle was enacted. My youngest sibling never liked making the bed. My mother was overseeing the task to make sure that the task was completed. My sibling was unmotivated and “going through the motions” of replacing the doona into its cover. This frustrated our mother, to the point were she could no longer stand the poor effort involved. She took over performing the task and completed it while my sibling was able to slack off.

 

“If you do a half arsed effort, someone else capable of the task will become frustrated with your incapable actions and perform the task for you.”

 

Use it today!

 

If someone wants you to do a job you don’t really want to do, simply state “Are you familiar with the doona principle?” In this manner they will understand that you will perform a half arsed effort and they will end up doing the job for you. This effectively ‘handballs’ the task back to the person, and they won’t bother annoying you with jobs you don’t want to do in the future.