There are many things that we like doing, and generally they’re done without a thought. There are also many things that we avoid, put off or ‘will do later’.
Whatever it is, the way you can get over your negative feeling towards it, is with gentle, managed, pragmatic action. These can be things like, getting your website updated, doing market research or setting up support for an application. Or, it could be hanging out your socks.
First, you don’t have to be inspired to do it when you’re not doing it. Thinking about it, or mulling it over while you’re not doing is worthless. In fact it’s only negative. You’re dreading something you’re not doing, draining your emotional energy for no gain.
You only need inspiration when you need it, so don’t fret about not doing it, when you’re not doing it. Allowing yourself this mental relief will build your reserves for when you do take the initiative to get it done.
Second, it’s not forever. One of the things we do is we work ourselves up in our head about some of the most mundane tasks. The answer here is sun setting. (I’m actually not 100% sure that is the correct term, I’ll have to tag Andre Carothes in this to confirm the term, credit to Andre for enlightening me to this approach).
Here you simply set a time limit on what you’re dreading. This is particularly effective when you’re trying to establish a new habit. Let’s say you’re wanting to pay more attention to the work done by someone in your I.T support team. Simply suggest that this month, you catch up once a week for 30mins to go over what's been done and what needs doing. Then at the end of the month you’ll review the 30min checkpoint meetings for their productivity.
Thirdly, set time aside. If you never block out the time, even mentally, you’ll never get it done. Committing to get it done helps to break the ice. When you say it to yourself in your head, say “I’ll set up those meetings to review our go-to market plan at 10am tomorrow”. Be specific and use internal language that is positive and assertive.
Reward yourself. Give yourself a treat. Condition yourself. By knowing that you’re going to go and get a coffee from your favourite coffee shop, watch some highlights from the weekend or do a bit of online shopping after getting it done, it makes it a whole lot easier to start in the first place.
Breaking it down into smaller chunks makes it easier to digest. It makes it easier to motivate yourself to take that small step than it is to take a big step. Set a specific timeframe for the activity. Block timeout in a positive way and do something you like doing afterwards.
Need help getting it done? See if we can help.