How To Enjoy Tasks You Normally Dread

I think it’s fair to say that all of us enjoy some tasks way less than others. How can you enjoy tasks you normally dread or even increase your joy or at least make yourself okay with things you need to do but normally dread?

Transcript

Hi, Dr. Stephie here. I think it’s fair to say that all of us enjoy some tasks way less than others.

How can you bring up that joy or at least make yourself okay with things you need to do but normally dread? It’s all a matter of how you think about it and how you frame it. 

Dr. Stephie

For example, instead of saying “house chores,” you might tell yourself, ”I’m the steward of my home.” That sounds so much better, doesn’t it?

Or, perhaps you don’t like accounting. Maybe you can say to yourself, I could muster to do it for 30 minutes and get done what I need to do. Instead of calling it “30 minutes accounting,” call it ”happy dollar half-hour”. It has a different ring to it, right?

One more example: Cleaning up your office. What if you renamed your office into a resort, and you called it ”resort maintenance” or ”resort cleanup”, something of that nature.

Renaming and reframing are about creativity. 

Come up with something that makes that task much more palatable and enticing to you, and then get it done.

I’m Curious

Which task is constantly getting neglected because you don’t like it? Give that task a different name and experience a boost in your willingness to act.