3 Simple Processes to Do Things You Don’t Want To Do

No matter how easy a project is or how hard it can be, sometimes – just sometimes – you might feel like you don’t want to do anything at work. There's a time when you find your everyday routine or tasks are boring, pointless, draining, or annoying that you don’t even want to stare at it. Yet, they are something that needs to be done. So, what you should do when you don’t feel like doing it while it is something that should be done?

Taking a moment to recognise what’s wrong with you might not be of much help. Therefore, try these three tips or apply one that works best for you. Happy trying and stay motivated!

See also: Do Motivational Posters at Work Really Make an Impact?

Get motivated - do dishes or anything related

Research on Washing Dishes to Wash the Dishes showed that washing dishes can be a significant stress reliever if you do it mindfully. For instance, while you wash dishes, you should remain completely focused on the task, remaining completely aware of the fact that you are washing the dishes. By doing dishes mindfully, it has been shown that your feeling of inspiration increased by 25 percent and lowered your nervousness levels by 27 percent.

In addition, anything related to dishes like doing laundry, cleaning up the house while turning up the music or re-arranging your work desk probably give the same impact to your body and feeling. Trying this will not only increase your motivation and feeling but you will find your house or workspace cleaner.

Do the task – gain momentum to move forward

Sometimes, motivation is going somewhere and we should follow it. How? By involving yourself in an action-based method that pairing unpleasable activities (the things you don’t want to do) with pleasurable activity (things you love doing or place you like to visit). Combining these two can give yourself permission to both being productive while reducing stress you have. As an example, you can take your project to the nearest beach or coffee shop or park. It has been said by various researchers that working outside can actually make us more productive while maintaining our mindfulness.

Besides, you can also layer your tasks by listening to music or podcasts or doing physical activity during the process to help you stay motivated. One more thing, you can do the if-then plan that is famously adapted which also makes individuals more motivated to do things willingly. For instance, if I get this done in not more than 2 hours, then I will make my manager happy and it can reduce my anxiety for the one-on-one meeting.

Don’t wait – just do

When you tell yourself that you can’t do something, it is not because you don’t have the ability to do it but because you don’t feel like doing it. Oliver Burkeman in his book titled “Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking” emphasised that physically, nothing stops you from doing everything. It is just you who don’t feel like it. Therefore, instead of waiting to get your feeling ready – which rarely happens – you should just do your thing, Burkeman wrote, don’t wait until you ‘feel like doing it’.

Many successful people don’t wait for “readiness”. They involve themselves in a work routine that forced them to get things done, regardless of how uninspired or unmotivated they feel. Chuck Close also once said that “inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.”

Next read: 6 Practical Ways to Escape Boredom at Work While Being Productive