This morning I had an interesting conversation about getting things done you don’t like to do. The conversation made me realize something interesting:

It’s not the actually task, but your thoughts about the task that are the problem

When you are 100% present, nothing is boring. Take cleaning as an example. When you start cleaning and you are completely present when you wash the floor or wipe the table, then it’s actually not boring. It’s boring before you start cleaning, because it’s when you think about cleaning, not while you’re at it. It’s the same with all the tasks that we postpone; when we get started they are actually ok. Think about how many times you have said: ‘”I hate during this”. A more accurate sentence would be: “I hate thinking about doing this”. The problem is that we think about it instead of just doing it while being present.

So the best strategy to getting things done we don’t like to do is to eliminate the destructive thoughts. Eliminate the thinking and just start on the task immediately. The challenge is then to actually start. My best strategy is to tell myself I only have to do a tiny bit of the task to motivate myself to start. For example “just do 5 minutes” or “just do the vacuuming” or “It only takes 10 minutes”. These tiny steps makes me start, and when I’m at it, I usually continue.

Next time you think something is boring, try doing it.

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