Making Difficult Tasks Easier

Making Difficult Tasks Easier
On our way to becoming happier and more successful people, there are bound to be things we hate to do, but have to.
Things like sticking to a fitness routine, going for extra classes, helping to do certain favours, going through mountains of paperwork, painting your room or doing the accounts. All important for making us healthier, more informed, more well-connected, more efficient and so on, but all the same, not very pleasant for some of us.

So what do most of us do when confronted by these tasks? Well, we either procrastinate or simply avoid doing them. Then what happens? Or what doesn't happen, I should say. Positive change cannot occur. We cannot move forward. Our goals remain in limbo.

But some of us, when faced with seemingly difficult or unpleasant tasks, grit our teeth, pull up our pants, roll up our sleeves and do them anyway. These are the ones who become successful. These are the people who get what they want.

So how can we make difficult tasks easier or at least less painful to do?

Here are some tricks you could try:

First, call up a friend before and after the task. This gives you added support and a sense of accountability to that friend to keep your word.

Next, plan a big reward after the task. Whether it's a Grey's Anatomy DVD marathon, a weekend resort getaway, or having friends over for a big game night, this will give you something substantial to look forward to while you're completing your task.

Next, delegate. Sometimes a project can seem particularly arduous because you have so many other things you have to do concurrently. It could be something as simple as picking up the kids from school or it could be making blind calls to prospective clients just to see who might be interested in your service. Think about what you can possibly hand over to someone else; a helpful family member perhaps. You could even pay someone to help you such as a freelancer to do the accounts during income tax season. Prioritise and see which tasks are essential for your success and which ones you could "farm out" to someone else. If not on a regular basis, then maybe just for the time-being.

And work on the task along with music. Make a mixed CD or playlist of your favourite groovy and feelgood tunes and keep it handy for times when you need to work on something humdrum. Sing or move along with the songs and you'll be done with your task in no time!