Working Through The Tedium
We all have our likes and dislikes; our strengths and weaknesses. No matter how much each of us might love the work we do, there will always be some aspects that will be less enjoyable than others. The parts of my job that I hate the most are the ones that I consider to be tedious. I’d rather tackle something that is difficult, or requires creativity, than do something that is mindlessly easy but boring. Nevertheless, the things that I find most tedious about my work still have to get done. Without them, the difficult or creative tasks are useless.
I’m in the middle of creating a new site for my latest idea. I’ve been having fun working on the design and planning it all out, but now it’s time for the tedious part. There are some things that involve nothing more stimulating than cut-and-paste. Lots and lots of cut-and-paste. It’s mind-numbingly simple, and so tedious it makes me want to scream.
I know, though, that if I can just slog through it for a few hours, I’ll be done with it and I can move on to more exciting work. But just the thought of the tedium keeps me from starting that part of it. And of course, if I don’t start it, I can’t end it.
There’s no doubt that I’ll get it done. But I’ll procrastinate a little longer than I’d like. So I’m here to ask all of you for inspiration.
What do you do to work through the tedium? How do you motivate yourself to do the mind-numbing bits of work that you hate?
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Posted on October 29th, 2007 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Business Development
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The journey of a thousand steps begin with the first step..
You ask an age old question. Keep in mind you cannot effectively make anybody do any thing, this includes yourself! Before we humans attempt any voluntary action we weight the cost and gain. The cost is what we will have to expend (both tangible and intangible) and the gain is what we will realize (tangible and perceived) when the action is completed. We will not complete a task for which the gain will be less than the cost.
To motivate yourself for things which you find a negative gain/cost ratio you must attempt to change your paradigm - increase your perceived gain for the tasks completion. Reward yourself with something that is important to you understanding of course you must have the discipline to not “pay” the additional gain until you actually deserve it!