Turning boring tasks into interesting and useful ones, or how easy is it to do routine work?
Author: Marina Khrustaleva,University of practical psychology
If this task is important to you, and you want to make the most of the article, then get yourself a notepad and a pen. At one time, I came up with a formula for myself that I use to do Boring things:
Boring business - something that you must do, even if you don't want to.
The result effect is the result of your work, and how it will affect your life in terms of your future: development (from willpower to skill polishing), projects, salary, comfort, improving family relationships, etc.
My development is that you will get an additional bonus, in addition to the result.
Pleasure is something that will make life brighter even if you are doing the most boring thing in the world.
Let's analyze the formula in more detail. For each item, you will be offered instructions, working out which and including it in life, you will get useful habits and ways to solve cases in the best way.
Let's start with the most important thing:
And now the details.
Boring business
Each of us can give a few examples of boring or routine tasks. Therefore, we immediately start the workshop.
Write a list of necessary boring tasks that you want to make interesting and useful.
At the beginning of applying the formula, take one case and try to apply the formula to it, when you can - feel free to take up the rest.
The effect of the result
Our time is precious. When we do something at a particular moment, we give up other options for using this time.
Even if it is an unconscious choice, we still make it. Pull up several times on the bar instead of watching a five-minute video on youtube. Computer game instead of healthy sleep. Communication during lunch with loved ones instead of "sticking" in the phone. What do you choose to do?
Ask yourself: Why do you do this or that thing? Why do you study boring grammar in English, fill out reports at work, go to the country? How does this move you towards the life you want and the goals you want? List 5-10 points of what you get from doing this.
What should I do if the answers to the questions don't seem to promote you? Use The Questionnaire. Answer in writing.
1. Do I really need to do this? What does this give me? What happens if I don't do it? What happens if I do?
Let's analyze the option with home cooking. I don't want to spend a lot of time cooking. And you really need to do this so that the whole family eats home-made, healthy, delicious food. This gives me a good relationship with my family, health for them and me, improves my cooking and creative skills. Plus, my husband loves it when I cook for him and wait for him to have dinner ready. If I don't cook, then my family will eat unhealthy semi-finished products and porridges, instant noodles, or in a cafe. That can hit both health and the family budget. If I do this, I will be able to gather the whole family for lunch/dinner, we will see each other more and communicate.
2. Can I delegate this task to someone? there
Are options to delegate to a personal chef in the future. This option is currently unavailable. But I can delegate some of the cooking to my husband. I will discuss this issue with him.
3. If I can't delegate, can I somehow simplify/optimize the task?
Yes, I can simplify cooking with home appliances: I can use a blender, a microwave with a grill, a multi-cooker, a list of quick dishes that do not require long standing at the stove.
My development
What can be developed by putting things in order at home? You can wash the floors while squatting or squatting-this swings your legs and makes you more resilient, and you can sing songs while training your voice. While you are waiting in line, you can remember the English words you learned in the morning or repeat the dialogue. While doing something for your studies, look for something that will give you the development and promotion of yourself. Even if it's just typing with ten fingers for an abstract.
Choose at least 5-10 skills for your boring tasks that you can develop in parallel.
This way you will not only develop yourself, but also increase your time by combining business with pleasure
Pleasure
You can wait for holidays, happy events, gifts and surprises from life and from your friends and family, or you can create this joy yourself. Routine and boring things are no exception.
Take the task that you are bored and do not want to do. Solve the problem: write down 3-5 points-elements from which you will get real pleasure. Let it be not the whole thing, but some element that will give you the necessary joy!
For example, you have signed up for an English course. The novelty effect has passed and now you need to work every day to ensure that your English is at the level you need. You have to do boring grammar… What kind of fun is there? If you dig around, you can quite find it. Make yourself a delicious tea or coffee, take a comfortable and beautiful pen. And take up your notebook. Rewrite the necessary words or rules carefully, getting pleasure from it. Pronounce words or rules so that you want to do it (remember how you played with sounds and words as a child) and strengthen your work with the anticipation of how you will begin to speak easily and beautifully, write and read books in English!
I'll tell you how I used this formula for the task of filling out reports in 1C. At work, I had to make reports that were removed to the table and not checked by anyone. But it was in the company's standards and there was a chance of verification. So every month I spent about 3 hours of working time to make a report. It was a rather tedious task and, as it seemed to me, a useless task that I put off until the last moment. I haven't used the formula yet. First, I remembered the pros: I have the order in the documents and in case of something - I can raise any request and the necessary information on it. This characterizes me as a responsible specialist and in the future may affect, for example, my reputation as a good employee, which in the future may give an increase in salary. I optimized the reporting by creating a document with standard phrases, which I copied if necessary and did preliminary actions with the documents after processing the request. Then in a simple and tedious action, I found advantages. I honed the blind set of numbers above the letters (before that I always used only the numeric keyboard), and also improved the blind set of letters in parallel. I trained in memorizing the names and surnames of clients in organizations. Given that there were a lot of them and it was desirable for me to remember them. I didn't spend any time or effort on it, but just paid more attention to the application cards. My pleasure was-a light hovering of fingers on the keyboard and background music in headphones, I enjoyed typing on the keyboard, the fact that I work quickly and efficiently. As a result, I reduced the reporting time to two hours and did it without any internal resistance.
So, now you know, and if you did all the mini-exercises, then you can easily turn boring things into joyful and useful ones. Deal with all the things that cause you boredom and unwillingness to do something. Gradually you will notice that in your life all things are joyful, useful and necessary!