How do you get yourself motivated when doing the boring jobs?

The best thing that keeps me motivated is the things I have taped to my wall next to the computer, on my desk, and in other areas that are frequently visible. I like to keep pictures and quotes around that remind of why I'm doing what I'm doing.

If we have no purpose for an ultimate goal (or set of goals), then it is very difficult to find the drive and motivation needed to get things done. I like to keep my goal cards very accessible, and when I start feeling bored or tired, I just take a read through my goals.

Something that I've applied when writing my goal cards is to write them in present tense at a future date. For example, "I am so thankful that today on January 1st, 2010, my business is consistently earning five figures per month and I am able to pay off all of my college debt." Something like that haha

Anyways, I hope this helps. I've got a whole bunch of mindset stuff (most of which I taught myself when I was a college athlete) but I'll get into that later and in future posts.

Another exercise that I have done that is similar to the one you have above, is:

I wrote out in 3rd person things that I like about myself and reasons why I feel I deserve success. I put them in chronological order, of course. Also -- this excercise really helps as I am in the process of quitting smoking as well.

I keep going by pulling my guitar out for a few hours....and letting go

The only motivation I need is the weekly food bill I get from feeding 6 kids! . My main problem is staying on task. I carry around a boring to do listWhen I think of something that needs to be done the next day I put it on the list. For some reason I find it quite satisfying crossing stuff off my list.

I`m using simple method.
Whenever doing boring jobs I`m listening some good music.

By that I mean while doing repetitive work or so.
Copywriting is never boring to me. :-)

I have a playlist on my ipod with some really upbeat tunes that keep me motivated, including ''summer of 69'' by brian adams, not everyone's taste I know but it helps me

I also have pictures of the future car I would like to own, my ideal house/mansion knowing that only succes in my business will bring the rewards.

I know how hard it can be to get motivated some days espeically in the morning, a nice cup of coffee always helps me

Best of luck!

Steve.

Reminders are good for the motivation, but an "I can do that" strategy really helps me. For example, I try to put the boring job in chunks. If you're registering 50 niche blogs, try saying I will get 6 done in 60 minutes and then I'll give myself a 15 minute treat of doing something fun. You may not get all 50 done today, but each 6 will be a success and tomorrow, you'll know that you'll complete the job. That's the other recommendation, work hard and work smart, but don't work yourself to death. Take breaks and at a certain time in the day, stop and "go home" even if you are home. The internet will be there in the morning and you'll be ready to handle the boring stuff. Good luck!

Sometimes it is such a challenge to make your way through duties that you know must be done in order to succeed.

Keep a "To Do" list next to your work area at all times.

That should help keep you on track because you would have listed everything that MUST get done during the day.

Also, it keeps you on track because you can jot down other things that you think of throughout the day, rather than being tempted to actually begin those jobs. Or, for example, if you think of something around the house that needs to be done or an errand you need to run, jot it down on the list so you don't forget about it, but don't stop what you are working on to actually take care of it.

Setting a timer is another good way to keep yourself on task. Give yourself 30 minutes or an hour and work on nothing but the project in front of you for that time. Don't let yourself flip over to check email, Facebook or the Warrior Forum during that time.

You'll be surprised how much work you can get done when you force yourself to concentrate.

As for making it fun (or at least making it less boring), how about playing some peppy music while you are working?

I'm wired the exact same way.

If I can't get to a coffee shop, I arm myself with coffee and a favorite CD. I always listen to music while I work - I enjoy it and it keeps me focused.

I break the work into small chunks and finish off within the set time lines.

This keeps me motivated and when the job is finished I fell an immense sense of achievement and satisfaction.

One of the best ways to make a boring job, not boring is to make it fun. Make a game out of it. If the task is supposed to take 4 hours try to do it in 2.

Another way is to make it interesting by combining it with something you already enjoy doing. This is how I got through university, when ever I was given an assignment I would twist it until it was related to something I was already interested in. I wrote several essays on hypnosis, social influence, and stage magic while my peers were choosing boring topics and suffering because of it.

Great post.

My method of beating boring tasks is simple. Outsource. You can get someone who is great in the Philippines for $3us per hour! So for any data entry, copy and paste, research, articles simply outsource and do the stuff that is going to make a bigger difference in your business!

You can outsource almost anything with a good camtasia video of your screen explaining the task.

Hope this helps.

before enlightenment chop wood, carry water...... after enlightenment chop wood, carry water..... I love that saying..... always reminds me that doing repetitive work is part of being human. Anything your doing is amazing if you are totally engaged and present. Keep coming back to what you are doing and be present. Enjoy.

I just ask myself two very simple questions

Where will I be in five years if I don't do this?

and

Where will I be in five years if I do do this?

I keep reminding myself that the hard and boring working I do now will lead to my financial freedom and get me away from a job which I am growing to hate.

Well, this what I am worried for.

I wanna quit my job cause I feel tired but I don't know what I can do if I quit my job.

Now this job is killing me, I don't know how toget myself motivated.

I sometimes go to an internet cafe.

We have lots of expensive ones in our area, but I find regardless of the price the fact that I am paying for my time online makes me get the job over and done with a lot quicker!

As others have said the distractions seem to help- although the online work is boring, it doesn't seem so bad when there are things going on around you.

I think of all the negatives that will happen if "I don't do this boring job." and then I think of all the positives "What can I get out of this job?" in the sense of more money etc.

At work my boss left me a message on paper says that she will reduce my salary by 10% because I work poorly, even though I gave my best.

I brought this message home, stuck it in a visible place and see it whenever I don`t have the motivation...

You have no idea how much this motivates me

Staying motivated is one of the hardest things to do - especially when you are doing the really boring tasks like submitting to directories and so on.

I do what other people are doing and have images and quotes taped to the wall that I can keep looking at to remind me of why I am doing these things - I find this helps a lot!

Financial problems makes me motivated to move further though when i do some boring job.

Over the years I've read some amazing books by some very amazing people. I look at my life at times and take notice of the habits I've picked up because of the positive influence they had on me.

I implemented a habit years ago when I was young but I didn't know the power of it until I read Brian Tracy and later John Maxwell.

The habit is to find some down time to think. I've always done this from the time I was a kid. When I was very young I would go to the woods and wonder around and stand in the stillness.

But the thinking wasn't organized the way it is today.

Well....most of the time.

Your place to think never has to be ordinary.

Lynn Lane

Set an online stopwatch here: Online Stopwatch. And make sure to take a break when the time is over.

The fact that I sleep in a living room and work 25 hours a week at a minimum wage job.

My big problem is I feel so flooded with information and ideas that I feel like I have no idea where to even start.

You might want to start with a little time time management.. Something that breaks up the tasks into digestible pieces.. it might not be a matter of being motivated but framing it in a way that it makes it easy to get the job done without really thinking about it.

I listen to music or audiobooks.

I just tell my self,"this too shall pass!!!

I'm considering getting an accountability partner.

That should do the trick.

It's just knowing the final results you expect. And nothing that is good comes easy.

I have found a motivation board on the wall near my computer helps me. On this board I have pictures and notes of the things I'm aspiring towards. Whenever I'm having a slack moment or need some inspiration, I'll glance towards my motivation board and it helps put me back into swing again :-)

Music is a great motivator too.

In order to get motivated to do a boring and repetitive task. The best thing is find a way to automate it. If you can't automate it, then, find a person to do that for you, if it's not truly required, then do that thing first after you wake up. It's great if you get motivated with pictures or music but I think that fades away with time. Especially, if you're not trying new pictures or new music.

If you want to be motivated with a job that you are not really into it you must be happy about the overall goal that you can achieve. Because that than it is probablly much easier than you think!

I know its tough, I am going through that right now.

What I do is play music with no lyrics, keeping the cell phone out of the room, and have mu to do list of boring tasks....then just take it by storm.

Of course, a nice big cup of coffee helps too but sometimes you just have to grind.

Anyone who worked outside of their house for any length of time might find it difficult to work at home because of conditioning. Afters years of going to work, you're probably conditioned that work is not done at home.

When you're at home, it's play time, social time, family time, chores time, hobby time, etc - not real work time. Therefore, if it's new to you, you slip into hobby time. At least I did and still do.

Best thing for me - I rented a small one room office for $150/mo. No reception area. No frills. Just a small 12x12 room, my desk, chair and computer. I accomplish 3-4 times the work.

Yes, it's psychological. But it's way better, for me.


Dave

There is the planning and things that require brainpower, and then there is the type of work that is repetitive and doesn't require you to think much. When you can afford to, outsource that stuff, and until then, just occupy your mind with something else while you are doing it, like listening to an audiobook or something, so you are still making use of your time.

Try focusing on the benefits you will be getting from completing the task that you are dreading, also I find listening to the radio (if the task allows it) helps the task go by much faster.

Believe it or not, I find staying in the immediate task (tough as it is to do) is the best...I think of it as meditation and exercise in not thinking about the future rewards (which causes more impatience and anxiety), the past regrets (causes all kinds of grief)...just the moment...and trust me, the time flies by and you get a lot out of it. Its not easy, but it can be satisfying and advance your inner self kind of thing.

Get a map! Plan your work. Work your plan. Set goals reasonable goals. Get a timer and work uninterrupted for a period of time, take a breather, then set it again. If it's work you do not like doing send it out to someone that is good at it.

Listening to my favorite songs helps me get through it.

No matter what task I have, listening to music helps me a lot. But of course, the kind of music I'm listening to also depends on my mood.