Who's Got the Monkey?

In the article Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey, it is about how managers can take a structured approach to preventing problems from getting delegated upward. This article addresses three types of time: boss imposed time, system imposed time, and self imposed time. To me this article is stating that many managers feel overwhelmed and have too many "monkeys" on their backs. One main lesson that I learned from reading this article is that when managers take problems over from their employees, important issues get delayed and the organization as a whole suffers. In summary, the article is saying that you should arrange your time properly not taking all the monkeys alone and share or transfer to the right person who actually owns the monkey. A monkey in the context of this article can be defined as the next move after two individuals meet. Everyone has "monkeys" or problems. Most of my "monkeys" are going to be found at home. First "monkey" is to take out the trash on the assigned nights prior to the AM pickup. I am in charge of gathering and dividing all trash into the compost, recycle or trash bins. My second "monkey" is to be available to run errands or go to the store for my parents and/or grandparents. I have been in charge of doing this ever since both of my sisters started their own journeys. The final "monkey" is just being around to be available for help. Since both of my sisters have jobs and go to school, it is now my time to assist with whatever needs to be done in the house. The first monkey is mine because I have volunteered to take our trash out whenever others were too cold or tired and ever since then, I have been trusted to do this weekly. The second monkey became mine because as soon as my sisters went off on their own, I was the only one at home with an open availability and the willingness to do these errands. The third monkey is mine because as the only boy in the house besides my father, it is my duty to make sure the house is safe and that everyone has what they need. Often times we find ourselves taking on too many problems and end up having too many "monkeys" on our backs. The monkey that actually didn't belong to me was given to me during the basketball season. Each year there are rookies on the team who get treated like dirt and they have to do all the dirty work of the staring players like fetch water bottles or carry around sweat rags. During one of the final games of the season, our designated rookie didn't show up and since I was not playing in that game, this monkey became mine. I agreed to take this monkey because I knew that my team would need my help bringing them water to stay hydrated so they could win the game. The outcome of me taking on this was that every single one of my teammates thanked me for stepping up and they ended up winning. I learned that even though it is not your "monkey" taking one for the team isn't all that bad and I walked away feeling accomplished. Something I might do differently next time this monkey tries to climb on my back is divide the task between a couple different teammates so someone doesn't envy another. Would I ever take the same monkey that wasn't mine again? The answer really boils down whether or not I want to create a pattern that I will always take on this monkey regardless of whether or not the other person shows up. If I ever came across this specific teammate whose original duty was to do this I would say something along the lines of "I know you weren't able to make it to the last game and I fulfilled your duties but next time it would nice to ask instead of assume that anyone would just do it" Some of the reason why I would not take the monkey even if I already accepted it is because I realized that doing so would create a habit for the original owner and I wouldn't want this monkey every game he didn't come to.