How to Enjoy Doing the Parts of Your Business that You Don’t Like

Most of us don’t like doing boring things. And if you do, I’d be willing to bet that you just like when you get to cross them off the list. Motivating yourself to get personal things done that are boring or that you don’t like doing is one thing. But avoiding doing boring tasks in your business leaves gaps that will, unfortunately, catch up with you. So, how can we make the tasks that we don’t like more enjoyable?  

Use the Pleasure Principle to Your Advantage

In a simplistic, condensed summary, Sigmund Freud’s pleasure principle observes that it is our instinct to avoid pain and seek pleasure. We want to do things that are pleasurable, even if it gives us unwanted consequences like scrolling social media instead of working on a project. Similarly, some of us have difficulty motivating ourselves to work out because we associate pain and difficulty instead of pleasure. One way to get things done with more satisfaction is to assign something fun to a dreaded task. For example, make a game of marketing by saying I’m going to come up with 10 social posts in 1 hour and then I can have my afternoon guilty pleasure (coffee, web surfing, etc.). Focusing on the learnings and feelings of achievement after a project is complete (pleasure) rather than the drudgery of research or writing  (pain) can be enough to get you started. 

Shift Your Thoughts

Instead of thinking that you aren’t good at something or you hate something, think about how you’re learning and growing and that you may enjoy parts of it. Instead of thinking you’re not good at selling, for example, shift your thoughts to, “I just think I’m not good at selling.” Or, if you don’t like social media, change your thoughts to focus on connection and being helpful. Of course, your brain won’t believe the exact opposite of a thought you’re trying to change, but it can be open to the possibility of being the opposite.

Use Labels to Your Advantage

Using labels correctly can be advantageous. For example, if you need to write the copy for your website, but don’t enjoy writing, use the title, “I am a good communicator.” The label may provoke creativity or a mind-frame that can help get your words down. Think: how would a copywriter show up? Then get to work. 

Use a Timer

Using a timer helps break down large projects into tasks that your brain can handle. I use the Focus To-Do: Pomodoro Timer and To-Do List extension for Chrome. It gives me 25 minutes of focus time with a 5-minute break. So, when I resist doing some tasks in my business, I know I only have to work for 25 minutes. That’s enough to help me start, and I usually go in 25-minute blocks until I complete my task. 

Use Audiobooks and YouTube

Learning can be boring if you’re not interested in the subject, and there’s a lot to learn about business. Watch YouTube videos or audiobooks if you don’t like reading, and YouTube can help with visuals. Hearing others talk about something they’re passionate about can help you find some pieces of enjoyment in it - and they may give you tips that help make the task less painful.

Get Over Perfectionism 

Sometimes, we don’t enjoy things because we aren’t as good as we think we should be or as good as the person we compare ourselves to. This is a great way to hate something and find it boring because you’ll never live up to your own expectation. Instead, try expecting that you won’t be that great at it, like writing the dreaded About Us page, and just enjoy capturing your company history and the excellent ways you solve your customer’s problems. 

Realize that You Don’t have to be an Expert 

There are plenty of resources on the internet that tell you what to do/not do, how to do it/not do it, and it’s easy to think that if you aren’t doing it their way, you might as well not do it. That’s not true. Just because you aren’t a marketer doesn’t mean you can learn some basics and get your message out there. Of course, some tasks should be done precisely as the professional tells you, like your taxes, but other aspects of the business can be “good enough” when you’re small and just starting.

If you still hate parts of your business, especially if it takes you away from working on critical aspects of the company, try hiring a freelancer.  Upwork, Fiver, and LinkedIn are good places to find help. And if it’s ongoing work or a bundle of related tasks, it may be time to make a hire.