Tackling Tasks You Dread Doing

We all have a task we really don’t enjoy doing. It’s a task that fills us with a wide range of not-so-fuzzy feelings: dread, annoyance, anxiousness, boredom, frustration and so on. Sometimes it’s very difficult to feel any kind of motivation to tackle these jobs on our to-do lists. Everyone has that I-really-wish-I-was-doing-something-else chore, and it varies from person to person. What I hate doing, you might actually enjoy doing and vise versa.

Maybe it’s not so much a chore as it is a project. You know you need to work on it but can’t quite bring yourself to set aside the time. My mother-in-law asked me to knit a scarf made from her kids’ t-shirts. Since undertaking the project I have somehow managed to get all of the yarn tangled twice. If you’ve ever had to untangle a mass of anything, you know how frustrating and tedious this is! That project has sat on the table for months because every time I think of it, I feel the frustration and dread of untangling all of that yarn.

So how can we overcome feelings like this and get the job done? Here are some ways that have helped me:

The 10-Minute Rule

Make an agreement with yourself to spend at least 10 minutes working on a chore/project. You could even drop it down to 5 minutes if it’s something you really, really don’t want to do. Or, if you feel like you want to, give it 20 minutes. However many minutes it is, make a pact with yourself to work all the way through that time. It gets you actually working on the task, and you don’t feel like it’s a huge commitment. When I use this rule I find myself thinking “Well, this isn’t so bad.” I actually end up working on the project for more than 10 minutes. I did this with the mass of tangled yarn. I ended up working on it for a half an hour and challenged myself to get at least one color untangled and wrapped into a ball. If you get to the end of the 10 minutes, and you think you could spend a little more time working, do it! If you’re ready to be done after the time is up, that’s o.k. too. At least you sat down and spent some time working on it instead of completely ignoring it.

Alternate Enjoyable Tasks With Less Enjoyable Ones

Look at your to-do list. Which tasks do you enjoy or tolerate more? Try fitting these in between the less enjoyable chores. If you despise cleaning but like to exercise, schedule an exercise session after a cleaning session. You’ll feel motivated to finish cleaning so you can move onto the more enjoyable activity of exercising. You could also schedule all of the less fun activities in the morning, so they’re done and out of the way. Now you have the rest of the day to work on your favorite things!

Break It Up

This kind of ties into the 10-Minute Rule. At one point, our apartment was horribly cluttered. You couldn’t walk anywhere without tripping on something. You couldn’t use counter space without having to push a mountain of stuff aside. It was maddening! I wanted to de-clutter our space right now, but the thought of doing it was incredibly overwhelming. I was imagining a whole day devoted to cleaning. Finally, I realized I was never going to get anything done if I continued to focus on cleaning the whole apartment in a day (or even a few days). The idea of it was so overwhelming that I was too anxious to even try it. It’s a small apartment, but trust me, there’s a lot of stuff in here. I decided to break up the workload, and it has definitely paid off. I focused on the areas that were driving me crazy the most. These were “high-traffic” areas that we needed to use every day. I would clean one surface a day. One day it was the counter, the next day it was the living room table, and so on. Slowly (but surely!) the apartment started to look a lot nicer. If you are overwhelmed by a job, try breaking it up into smaller, workable, pieces. Who says you need to get it all done in one go? You may be surprised at how much you accomplish when you take the pressure off of yourself.

Whistle While You Work

Make certain jobs more fun! Listen to some music, an audio book, or your favorite t.v. show (unless you’re too distracted by watching, of course!). Find a podcast or radio show about a subject you enjoy and listen to that. When I do this, it really helps to lighten that mental burden of “Oh, I have to do this again.” When you have something you enjoy listening to in the background, it turns into “I get to do this again!” It’s like a mental “Me-time.”

These are just a few ideas that have helped me to get over the mental and emotional obstacles of certain tasks. Try them out and let me know what you think! Have any ideas you can add to this list? Let me know in the comments!

Six Ways To Make Your Goals More Accessible

The definition of accessible: easy to approach, reach, enter, speak with, or use.

If you really want to make changes in your life, you need to make your goals more accessible. You need to keep them within arm’s reach and integrate them into your life. Here are some ways you can do that!

Six Ways to Make Your Goals More Accessible:

1. Visualize, visualize, visualize. And then visualize some more! Make your goals mentally  accessible.

Regularly visualize yourself as if you have already achieved what you want. Visualize in the present. For example, say you want to finally attack all of the clutter in your home. Visualize your home without all of the mess as if it’s already clutter-free. Do this every day. You can do it before you fall asleep. See yourself clearing the junk out. Imagine how you’ll feel after clearing a space and let that emotion flow through you as if the space has already been cleared. Visualization deserves its own post, so I’ll definitely be blogging about it in the future.

2. Find people, blogs, and sites that pertain to your goals.

Want to learn how to sew? Look for classes in your area. Find YouTube videos and sites for beginners. I was able to learn how to knit a scarf from the Internet alone. Don’t overlook the own people in your life, though! Does a family member or friend have a particular skill you’d like to learn? Ask them if they could teach you. Fill your life with knowledgeable, positive influences.

3. Be a sponge! Soak up all of the information you can.

Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to acting on a goal is feeling overwhelmed at your lack of knowledge of the subject. Remember, you have to start somewhere! Read and listen to as much information you can. Check out books from your library, download e-books, and buy books from a thrift store (learning something new doesn’t have to break the bank!). Listen to CDs in the car. Do all that you can to make sure the information is there for you at a moment’s notice.

4. Join a support group, whether it’s in your area or online.

Don’t underestimate the power of a support group. I’ve realized that I tend to try to be a loner in a lot of areas of my life. Though I’m still working on it, I have accepted the fact that I cannot possibly do everything myself. Everyone needs help one way or another, especially if it involves doing something you know nothing or very little about. Support groups not only circulate information, but also encouragement. Encouragement is highly valuable when you feel like turning back.

5. Find people who have succeeded, listen, and take notes.

These are people who have started from the beginning, exactly where you are now. They’ve made the journey from A to B. Listen to many different people’s experiences and find common threads. What motivated them? Where did they look for support? What setbacks did they have and how did they overcome them?

6. Keep reminders of your goals wherever you go.

This can be whatever you find inspires and motivates you. Did you come across an inspirational quote that spoke to you? Write it down and put it in a place where you can easily read it every day. If you work from your computer, tape a reminder of your goal to it. You’ll see it every time you use your computer. Stick reminders on your fridge. I have some magnets about eating whole foods on mine. I also printed out some nutrition information and stuck it on there. Every time I go to open the fridge, I see it and am reminded of my goal.

Here's a cute little metaphor for you! Making your goals more accessible is like growing and maintaining an orchard. First you have to grow the trees. This is the information you learn about your goal and the connections between you and others (whether they're people in your area or people online). Next, you want to make sure there's fruit on the trees, so when you walk through the orchard, you can easily reach up and grab what you need. The fruit signifies the tools you keep within arm's reach for yourself. This is everything from books to inspirational quotes (or actual fruit if you're trying to eat healthy!).

Can you think of more ways to make your goals accessible? Leave a comment, because I'd love to hear more ideas!