How To Make Boring Tasks Exciting
Sounds exciting, Right?
You come across situations at work when the tasks or activities do drain you down. At a level when it no longer sounds or feels exciting. It feels that you could be anything else other than here and doing anything but this.
Well, you are not alone. In a survey conducted by Udemy Study in 2016, it was found that 43 % of the employees accepted being bored at work.
That right.
Whether it is mundane work like data entry, commuting from home to office, or typing a letter, all of them can be made more exciting.
It’s essential to first understand the techniques to treat boredom. Once we know the science behind it, this is easy to overcome.
Here are some of the tools to help you make your task/work more exciting.
1) Batching of Repetitive Work
Suppose there are specific tasks in your daily planner. Which are similar in nature, a good approach is to batch them together. For example, If you have to conduct meetings with various sales heads or do sales calls with your customers at different time intervals during the day, then follow the practice of batching.
2) Divide the Large complex task into Small Size
Sometimes a large complex task can make you feel overwhelmed. Therefore, instead of starting with it, there is a tendency to postpone it. For example, When you plan to write a book and begin to work on it, focus on “What” needs to be done instead of “How” You can first think about the genre of the book, how many chapters and words will be written and evaluation other books written in the same genre and so forth.
3) Take Scheduled Breaks
It’s essential to rest and renew yourself. Therefore once you complete one batch of activities, take a 5–10 minute break before starting the next batch of activities.
4) On-Board An Accountability Partner
Having an accountability partner certainly helps. It helps you share your concerns and keep in check the progress you are making. Sometimes, the accountability partner shows you certain blind spots, which probably you would not have noticed. An Accountability partner can be someone who may be from your team, office, or maybe your close friend as well.
5) Switch off Distractions
It’s important not to get distracted when focusing on your work. For example, it’s not important to check every email respond to every notification on your mobile. Research says that it takes around 21 minutes to re-focus back on the work, once the mind is distracted. At the same time, watching your TV or mobile should be restricted.
6) Introduce New Challenges in your Work
When some new activity is done, the brain releases certain chemicals, which make you feel good. E.g., when you are learning a new skill or starting a new hobby, you feel excited about it.
7) De-Clutter your Work Area
De-cluttering your work area helps a lot. Keeping your workspace neat and clean enables you to be in a positive space. A neat and clean place motivates you and allows you to focus in a better way.
8) Reward Yourself
Small daily wins lead to significant achievements. Make sure that you appreciate yourself and reward yourself when you achieve something. It can be as simple as listening to your favorite music, watching a movie, playing with your child, or learning a new skill.