How to Actually Finish Those Boring, Tedious Tasks on Your List
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
You, me and everyone I know, we all have boring shit on our to-do lists that has to be done.
And do you know who likes doing the boring shit? No one.
No one likes doing the boring shit.
And, yet, we often have a lot of boring shit that needs doing.
And we all have to-do lists that have more to do than we can ever hope to accomplish.
And that’s OK.
But it makes it even hard to prioritize the boring shit.
And that boring shit isn’t going to magically disappear.
As a person with ADHD, the boring shit is the absolute hardest stuff for me to get done.
And I cannot count the number of people who have asked me “Ugh, how can I make myself do the boring shit?”
So, I thought it’s high time I give you some strategies that can help you get the boring shit done.
But first, let me let you in on a little secret.
So much of the stuff that really works to help you get things done isn’t about “becoming a better, more disciplined person” it’s just mental trickery.
That’s it.
We’ve got to trick ourselves into doing the thing.
Heck, we’ve got to trick ourselves into wanting to do the thing in the first place.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
And “wanting to do the boring thing” is no more of a morally correct stance than “tricking yourself into doing the boring thing”.
So, what are these strategies?:
1) Make it less boring
Boring stuff doesn’t lend itself well to dopamine.
But there are things you can do to increase dopamine.
See if you can make it into a game
Add some background entertainment. (Watch tv while you’re folding laundry, listen to a podcast while you’re doing dishes, etc.)
Turn it into a race. How fast can you (accurately) get through the boring shit?
Give yourself a prize. Prizes are fun.
2) Make it easy to get started
Turn it into low-hanging fruit.
Ask yourself “What’s the teensy, tiniest, step I could take to get started with this thing?” Do that.
Stuff that takes no time flat is less boring.
3) Contain it
Set a timer and tell yourself you only have to do the boring shit for 10 minutes, or 5 minutes, or 1 minute.
You’ll probably keep going after the timer goes off. But if not, you did some of the boring shit. Good for you.
Set a weekly time (30 minutes?) and put it on you calendar. Do the boring shit for the time you schedule, and then tell yourself you don’t have to do any more of it until next week.
4) Outsource/Delegate It
Does the boring shit need to be done by you?
No?
Then find someone else to do it.
Delegate it to a direct report.
Delegate it to your kids.
Pay someone to do it (if that’s in your budget).
There’s an important distinction between wanting to do something, or wanting it to be done. If it’s the latter, then outsourcing/delegating maybe your best option.
5) Automate it
You don’t have to be super tech savvy to add automation to your life
6) Do it with a friend (or a stranger)
Do you have some boring shit you need to do IRL?
Invite a friend and do your boring shit together, while enjoying each other’s company
Body Double!; ask someone in your household to sit next to you while you do the boring thing. (They can be doing whatever they want as they’re sitting there)
Or maybe you have some boring shit you need to do virtually, from your computer.
Use FocusMate to get a virtual body double (it’s free for up to 3 sessions a week, I believe.)
Or get on a Zoom with a friend/colleague or two, share what you’re doing, then go on mute while you do it.
7) Get some accountability
Tell someone else you’re going to do it and that you’re going to confirm when you did it.
Use an accountability app, like Stikk.
8) Use any tool in your arsenal
Do you have strategies that have worked reliably for you in the past?
Use those!
Personally, I have meds for my ADHD. I don’t take them every day (because my doctor said that was OK and because I’ve built a lifetime, and a business, on how to get things done, I have lots of strategies that work for me in addition to medication.)
BUT, when I’ve got some really boring, really tedious shit to do, and I’m feeling a lot of resistance, I know I have my meds available to me as a tool.
(Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice. If you also have meds, talk to your doctor about when and how to take your meds! This is just my experience.)