Studying errands is no small task. Everyday people are faced with the necessary errands – grocery lists need to be checked, tires need more pressure, credit cards need to be paid, new phones need to be acquired, broken things need to be fixed, dogs need their vitamins, sailboats need a specific polish, gifts need to be purchased, and everyone needs new underwear.

Common problems that can occur while fulfilling errands include: loneliness and alienation, boredom, impatience, anxiety, frustration, lethargy, hunger, flatulence, humming a Neil Diamond song, encountering stinky children, head bumps, and thoughtlessness.

In an effort to solve some of the aforementioned problems and create new and exciting ways of running errands, I have designed a two-part feasibility study:

Phase I: Running errands with others
Phase II: Running errands on a pack mule

Phase I: I run errands with strangers. I offer advice on which brand of cereal to buy, help folks fold laundry, determine the best quote on auto body repair.

Phase II: I do the same thing as Phase I, but now I’m on a donkey.

My studies determine that, if one desires to be spiritually fullfilled, errands need to be more than just a menial task. This can be achieved in many ways: go on your errands with another person, or in a group, wear some silly shades and a wig while doing your errands, walk backwards through the store, carry a really big boom box playing your favorite music, dress-up in a tux to go to Walgreens, if you don’t take the bus, take the bus to do your errands.

Go out and start an errand support group in your neighborhood or initiate group bill-paying sessions. The possibilities to make errands more communal and more appealing are endless.

This is a project I did a bit back, but it’s such a classic, I had to “re-release it”
Click here to read the San Francisco Chronicle Story