5 Tips on Making Boring Tasks More Engaging

Are you doing a task that’s taking forever to complete because you don’t find it exciting?

Whether you have a dream job or doing something you aren’t passionate about, boredom often creeps in. When it does, performance can nosedive.

Luckily, there are ways to make any mundane job more interesting. Here are handy tips to help you turn even the most mind-numbing tasks into fun.

 

1. Combine the Repetitive Task

If your yawn-inducing task requires less focus, you can try combining it with an enjoyable activity.

When you need to do a job that doesn’t require too much concentration, like cleaning your desk or packaging products, you can listen to your favorite podcast or tune in to a Spotify station. The idea is to combine a manual task with one that engages the brain.

Another effective practice is to batch boring tasks and do them at approximately the same time every day. That way, you can look forward to eliminating boring tasks in one fell swoop and be done with them for the rest of the week.

By combining a boring task with one of your favorite activities, you might start looking forward to working on the task next time!

 

2. Reward Yourself Once You Complete the Task

Rewards are powerful even when it comes to boring tasks. So, after updating the world’s most boring spreadsheet, you may want to savor a piece of dark chocolate, for example.

Other interesting rewards you may want to try include:

• • Taking a walk in a natural scenery
  • Visiting a new area
  • Playing a quick game on the phone
  • Checking Instagram
  • Enjoy a cup of coffee with your favorite snack
  • Sitting on the couch peacefully for five minutes

Once you set a reward for each mundane task, your brain will start associating any work with fun rewards. Soon, you’ll begin to feel motivated rather than bored.

As a result, you’ll be able to power through any task even when you aren’t in the mood.

 

3. Enlist the Help of an Accountability Partner

Sometimes, it’s challenging to find your motivation to help you complete tasks you don’t enjoy. So, you may as well find a buddy to keep you on track.

Your accountability partner can be an office colleague or fellow entrepreneur not necessarily within your industry, but one who also needs some motivation to power through some tasks. If you don’t have someone in mind, consider social media to get an accountability partner.

Come up with a plan to check off each other’s to-do lists. As each week comes to a close, conduct some check-ins to discuss what you accomplished and what you couldn’t.

Checking in with someone gives you the impetus to complete your tasks. After all, you wouldn’t want to tell your buddy you didn’t complete your to-do list once again!

Some friends set up disciplinary actions whenever they can’t beat deadlines. If you don’t complete your tasks, for instance, you may be obliged to buy coffee for your friend (and vice versa).

Imagine going through the to-do list to learn that everything you’ve always procrastinated is eventually crossed out. After a busy week, your paperwork is up to date, your desk is clean, and you no longer have 1,000 unread emails. Yes, that can be you if you seek the help of a buddy today.

 

4. Use Technology to Perform Repetitive Tasks

People have come up with many different tools that simplify and automate various tasks to raise productivity and efficiency. 

For example, instead of personally calling everyone in your team to arrange the best time for a meeting, it’s much easier to share an online calendar to see when everyone is available.

And if you send out a lot of repetitive emails, why not create a set of templates, so you don’t have to write out the same information repeatedly?

Tasks like inventory management are tedious but need to be completed, anyways.

 So, instead of using a pen and paper or sheets to track your products, you can opt for quick, and even fun solutions, such as QR scanners or barcode. You’ll be able to complete inventory management in no time. 

Other popular solutions include data entry and analysis or reporting. 

Tech is excellent for tasks where you need to perform the same action again and again. Of course, the type of tech you’ll choose for your business will depend on its needs and budget. 

Such tech makes a boring task more fun and faster for you to complete. But if you’re a business owner, it also means significant savings if you have to pay someone to do it manually.

 

5. Break It Up

What happens when you’ve got to complete a huge task that you hate? Procrastination sets in.

Lucky for you, there’s a better way to handle the big task – breaking it into smaller, manageable tasks.

For example, if you need to write ten pages of a company report that’s due in two weeks, you can commit to completing only one to two pages a day.

The best approach is to break the task into bits that suit your attention span. For example, if you can concentrate for 45 minutes, break up the task to complete it within 45 minutes.

To effectively complete a task within your attention span, set a timer, and start working. When it rings, stop the work and rest or carry on with something else. This technique is excellent for three main reasons:

• • It helps you beat procrastination as you can do any task for just 20 minutes
  • It creates focus, meaning the outcome of your work will be impressive
  • Boredom becomes a thing of the past

 

Final Word

Boring tasks can deplete your entire energy and make your life miserable, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Implement the above tips to make those activities fun each time to work on them.