6 Tips For Getting Yourself To Do Something You Don't Want To Do

How many times each day do you try to work yourself up to tackle some undesirable task? If you're like me - several.

For example, right now I'm trying to figure out how to send a monthly newsletter. I felt overwhelmed by the various sub-tasks involved, but by using the techniques below, I'm inching toward the finish line of hitting "send" for that first newsletter. Here are some strategies that I've used:

1. Put yourself in jail. If you're working on something that's going to take a long time, and you have the urge to try to rush, or to feel impatient, pretend you're in jail. If you're in jail, you have all the time in the world. You have no reason to hurry, no reason to cut corners or to try to do too many things at once. You can slow down, concentrate. You can take the time to get every single detail right.

2. Ask for help. This is one of my most useful Secrets of Adulthood. Why is this so hard? I have no idea. But whenever I ask for help, I'm amazed at how much it...helps.

3. Remember: most decisions don't require extensive research. This is another important Secret of Adulthood. I often get paralyzed by my inability to make a decision, but by reminding myself that often, one choice just isn't that much different from another choice, I can move on.

4. Take a baby step. If you feel yourself dismayed at the prospect of the chain of awful tasks that you have to accomplish, just take one step today. Tomorrow, take the next step. The forward motion is encouraging, and before long, you'll probably find yourself speeding toward completion.

5. Do it first thing in the morning. The night before, vow to yourself to do the dreaded task. And the next day, at the first possible moment - as soon as you walk into work, or when the office opens, or whenever - just do it. Don't allow yourself to reflect or procrastinate. This is particularly true of exercise. If you think you'll be tempted to skip, try to work out in the morning.

6. Protect yourself from interruption. How often have you finally steeled yourself to start some difficult project, only to be interrupted the minute you get going? This makes a hard task much harder. Carve out some time to work. Yesterday, I wanted to put a newsletter sign-up box on my blog. I figured this would be frustrating and time-consuming, so I waited to make the attempt when I knew I had two hours when I could work uninterrupted.

NB: Pay attention to the amount of time you spend working on tasks you dislike. No one enjoys invasive medical tests or preparing tax returns, but if you feel like your life consists of nothing but going from one dreaded chore to the next, you should take note. Maybe you need to think about switching jobs, or delegating a particular chore to someone else, or paying someone to take care of a task that's making you miserable.

I'm very good at making myself do things I don't want to do, and while this is an enormous help in many situations, it has also allowed me to go down some dead ends in my career. The fact is, you're unlikely to be happy or successful when every aspect of your life or job feels like a big drag. Don't accuse yourself of being lazy or being a procrastinator, but ask - what's making this so difficult? The fact that you're finding it hard to make yourself do something is a sign that maybe you should be doing something else.

On the upside: novelty and challenge, as uncomfortable as they can be, DO bring happiness. The chore that feels onerous today may give you a huge boost of satisfaction tomorrow, when it's behind you. Keep that in mind.

What are some other strategies that you've found useful in trying to get yourself to jump some hurdle?

Comments

[PollyTics]

* When I have to do something that I positively do NOT want to do, I usually always start the "affair" with a good cup of coffee with milk and sugar (which I never have).
* Then I make sure I have had a small meal or snack to fill up the tummy.
* Next is when I usually want to go pet the kitties, but instead I go and look at what it is I have to do with a new set of "eyes". This normally has been set up the night before so that when I walk into the office, the item, chore, picture or whatever it may be and it is sitting right there in front of me.
* Then I turn on whatever music is fitting and then
* I FINALLY actually do the task.

So, to be specific:
1. Coffee
2. Food
3. No petting of the kitties!
4. Take a fresh look at whatever project it is - Walk into a well lit room with the item leaning against the computer
5. Music
6. ACTION!
7. Then the petting of the kitties begins...

And then I do it all over again!

[MenopausalMick]

I'm a huge procrastinator, especially if the task appears overwhelming. Once I get started on something, I often find it isn't as daunting as I thought it would be but that first step in the face of chaos is sooooo hard to take.

I'm an artist and the glazes and clay and tile and pastels and paper and all the tools of the various mediums I use are a huge huge mess. I KNOW what I need is organized shelving so I can put things back in a designated space when I'm finished. That's the ideal...but do I do it? Of course not. I work like a madwoman until I'm finished and then I drop everything and leave the studio. A few projects later, everything is a huge mess and then I don't even want to go into the studio to work because I have to dig thru tons of things to find the particular color or tile or "what have you" that I need OR I have to clean up the mess and get organized again.

It's weird. My home is perfectly organized and usually mostly clean but my studio looks like I'm going to be one of those people they do documentaries on. I think they call them "hoarders". I look at the mess and I really can't deal with it.

Menopausal Mick

[wmbear]

WHY...

Would I want to do that? I do enough things I don't want to do already without adding to the load....

[stevietheman]

I think that taking baby steps is very important... always having a sense of forward motion on a project is very key to getting it done, even if you are technically behind in your (or someone else's) schedule for getting it done. Also, there's the aspect of breaking up a large project into many smaller steps -- the feeling of immenseness dissipates if you only have to concentrate on a small chunk at a time.

I also think that general anxiety is a barrier to starting work. People should do more to decrease their anxieties via getting good sleep, exercising more, eating right, and having plenty of sex. :)

[jeannie35]

I've been in delay mode for days now. I am a junior in college and I have a research paper to finish. My deadline was Monday. I will pay for this. I have the time. I am capable. I just can't start writing. I knew this would be a problem when I started college. I need parameters. I will try to get to writing now. It helps to know others have problems with duties they don't particular want to do. Thanks for the tips. I hope they help me.

[samuelpablo]

I can help you right now. Turn off the HuffPo and start writing your paper!!!

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

HA!!

[redveg]

You're absolutely right! I'm in the same boat as Jeannie35, and it's killing me. I need to get off the tubes and work, but I find myself totally obsessed with the situation with the Democratic primaries.

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

Thanks for the post. Good ideas. When I have something I dread doing, it's back to the basics: The carrot and the stick. The stick is the thing I don't want to do and the carrot is something I really like to do, see, buy, visit, whatever. Contingent upon the successful completion of the stick, out comes the carrot!!

[mandycat]

These are pretty good tips but I have to question the one about "protecting yourself from interruptions." That's a dead giveaway that the author does not work in the typical corporate setting. (Another is the suggestion about reducing work stress that begins with "Go into your office, close the door and ...." as though 99% of us don't work in cubicles.)

For most of us, there is no escape from interruptions. If you don't answer your phone, you get an email. If you don't respond to the email immediately, an Instant Message pops up on your screen. If you don't IM back, the request is escalated to your manager, who wants to know why you aren't more responsive.

My team mates and I are all college educated professionals, some of us with graduate degrees, but as far as being able to concentrate and shield ourselves from constant interruption we might as well be taking hamburger orders at the drive through window.