(Originally published in Harvard Business Review, August 9, 2023).
Every job is a little bit boring sometimes. No matter how much you love your work, or how much meaning it brings you, there are likely a few items on your to-do list that feel, well … tedious.
Research points to two reasons we can get bored while performing a task.
- The task doesn’t require too much of our attention, which means we have more cognitive resources available than needed to do the task.
- The task doesn’t align with our goals, so we may not see any meaning in what we’re doing.
But work doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, there’s nothing stopping us from making boring tasks feel fun, according to Greg McKeown, critically acclaimed author of Essentialism and Effortless. I spoke to McKeown about the way we work, and how to make our boring tasks feel more effortless and enjoyable.
McKeown believes there are things we can do to bring joy to just about any activity, especially the ones that feel laborious. His proof of concept is perhaps best demonstrated through his kids. “My family has rituals around eating together,” he said. “But after dinner, my children are like ninjas. Not only do they disappear, but they do it silently. They’ve got very good excuses once I try to get them back to the kitchen to help clean up.”
McKeown thought about how he could make this chore feel fun. The solution came in the form of Disney music. He started playing classics like Under the Sea and Be Our Guest during clean-up time. Now, his family genuinely enjoys the ritual because it involves dancing and singing. A once-tedious task has transformed into an energizing bonding experience.
Whatever your task might be, and however hard or boring you might find it, know that a little creativity can transform even the most mundane responsibilities into moments of joy. All you have to do is take your most boring work and pair it with something more stimulating.
Here’s how get started.
Making Boring Work Fun
Think about a task that you have to do regularly as a part of your job (or home life), and that you find incredibly boring. Perhaps it’s answering emails, making weekly cold calls to hit your sales target, or ploughing through a huge project that feels like it will never end.
Next, think about something you really enjoy that you could pair with this activity. Here are a few examples:
- Listen to your favorite music while replying to emails.
- Making too many phone calls today? Can you make it more enjoyable by working from your favorite café or an outdoor space with a nice view?
- When working on a tough report, could you reward yourself with regular mini breaks every hour to walk around the block and finish your favorite podcast?
- If you have tedious data entry to do, turn it into a race against the clock to beat your own record or compete with co-workers. The loser buys everyone coffee!
- If you have boring research to do, give yourself permission to go down interesting rabbit holes every 20 to 30 minutes.
- Convert your weekly status update meetings into a walking meeting so everyone can get some fresh air while also working.
- If you have long drives to meetings, catch up with friends or family over a call.
- Need to send out 300 physical invites for the year-end event? Pair the activity with a movie you’ve been meaning to watch.
Start to consistently pair the boring work with something that makes it more enjoyable. If you do this often enough, you may actually start to look forward to the activity that once felt as if it was sucking the life out of you.
Don’t burn out on boring tasks. Use these tips to make small adjustments to your to-do list, and bring more joy into your everyday. Your quality of life, at work and at home, may improve more than you can imagine.
