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Doing Stuff I Don’t Want To Do

So today I have to do stuff I don’t want to do. Yes, I know it is a shocker that escaping mediocrity one adventure at a time involves the mundane business tasks of bill paying, bookkeeping and general administrative tasks that keep me on top of my business operations. And so that I make sure this stuff gets done, I always designate Monday as my Admin Day.

I meet with my staff, pull out the paperwork I need to tend to and generally handle the behind-the-scenes affairs of my business. No coaching calls, no interviews, no distractions.  And for the most part, that works well.

Except when it comes to my bookkeeping. Which I have an incredibly strong aversion to. In fact, I think it is safe to saystuff I don't want to do that I would rather scrub toilets than tend to it.

Ah, but if I want my business to support my adventures, I need it to function. So, tend to it I must.

Fortunately. several years ago my mentor Martha Beck taught me an amazing strategy for dealing with things I don’t want to do. Today I will share it with you – just in case there is something on your list you are procrastinating about. :-)

Using myself as an example, here are the three questions I ask myself when looking at this most unwelcome task:

1) Can I bag it?
So often I think we have things on our lists that really don’t have to be done – at all. For some reason, we like the feeling of a super-human to-do list, though. So, think about whether or not your task MUST be done or you would just like it to be done. Sadly for me, my bookkeeping must be done, so on to the second question.

2) Can I barter it?
If it must be done, does it have to be done by me? I know two neighbors who trade baking and gardening. Each gets to do something they LOVE and still get both tasks done. In my case, if I were so inclined I could probably trade some coaching for help with my bookkeeping. Because I really don’t want to do that, I AM willing to trade some cash for the help of a professional. In the end, though, there are still some pieces that only I can do. So that brings us to the third question.

3) Can I better it?
Since the task must be done, and it must be done by me, how can I make it as pleasant as possible? Here’s what I do: I keep a special box for my billing paying supplies – a pen I like, envelopes, stamps, etc. so I don’t have to go scrambling for these things. I sit in my very favorite place (today that will be in the rocking chair on my front porch). I play music that I love. I get a fab snack. And I get a reward when I am done ( I learned this from The Young Turk and Pepper The Dog).

I know these questions over-simplify things a bit, but they really help me get a move on the stuff I don’t want to do.

Of course, I’m curious to know how you get the stuff done you don’t want to do, so please share. :-)

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ingorrr/ / CC BY 2.0

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  2. Expect the Unexpected
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  4. So What Stops You?
  5. Playing to Win vs. Playing Not to Lose

Tags: adventure, business

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 9:32 am and is filed under Uncommon Business, Uncommon Lessons, Uncommon Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • I read this post whilst in the middle of a job I really have to build myself up to - spring (or autumn) cleaning... it's so time consuming and take me away from all the professional things that are pressing but as I work from home part of the maintenance of my business is to maintain my house so it remains both efficient and a good place to work in... the beauty of your third point is illustrated in the fact that this season I am cleaning with a vengeance...accompanied by good music...dejunking and decorating, reordering and restructuring as I go and the result is magic...the house/office/me feels lighter and clearer and consequently my mind feels lighter and clearer...a truly cathartic and valuable process, the benefits of which will be so long lasting...so yes.."Can I better it?" is definitely the way forward...
  • I like the idea of having a strategy (bag-barter-better) that can be used when overwhelmed, way busy, or stressed. My usual way of coping with getting doing things, I don't want to do, is to make a list at the beginning of the week on a sheet of note paper with blank columns headed by the names of each day. I then write in what I have to do on the first two or three days of the week, in order of importance. I sprinkle the things I don't really want to do among those days.

    As the week goes on, I cross off each completed task and move the things I didn't do to the next day. By Thursday, if the I have too many "things I don't want to do" left, I enlist the help of my housekeeper (she works in my bed and breakfast) or a friend. For emergencies, those unexpected things that come up, I drop every thing, take care of the emergency, and catch up by Friday. I reward myself during the week when I feel I've accomplished a lot: a massage, a Netflick movie, or a decadent treat. Always works for me, everything gets done, and I even have time to write on my four blogs: My favorite one is: www.businesswomensforum.blogspot.com.
  • Love these steps, Sarah. Thanks for sharing!

    I learned big-time how effective it is to outsource stuff that I don't need to do to people who are faster, more qualified, and *enjoy it*. However, for the jobs I am the *only person on the planet who can do*, I employ the "I can tolerate anything for 30 minutes" Rule. I pull out my handy electronic timer (on my PDA or self-standing Kitchen version), set it for 30 minutes and begin. Funny thing. No matter how much I hate this work, when that timer goes off I'm usually either done OR on a roll~I want to keep going! It's like a miracle! :o) Try it...

    Many blessings,
    Nancy
    @AffirmingSpirit
  • I posted this comment on your Facebook link:

    Barter, barter, barter the heck out of bookkeeping! Same with laundry. No reason, on earth, YOU have to do it. There isn't one single piece of the bookkeeping, except signing the checks, that you have to do. Get rid of it!

    I outsource everything (including laundry). If it doesn't fit in my core area of expertise (including laundry), I outsource it.

    Like many of the comments here, I also love number three. I never allow myself a glass of wine at the end of the day until I've accomplished everything on my to-do list for the day. I've been known to down a glass of wine at 11:30 at night, just to have the reward. It's amazing what a motivator that is!
  • What a great writing!

    Regarding 'Can I Barter It'....

    I recommend checking our company out for some options for finding people to barter with - from Virtual Assistants to get the job done, to accountants, public relations firms, media outlets, and the list could go on. Barter can be done with the help of barter brokers, the team at TransMedia. Visit us at http://www.TransMediaBarter.com

    Your tips came on a great day - thanks for keeping it simple and practical, and extremely useful! Andrew
  • Sarah....love 3 too - shall keep a pack of M&M's nearby for the next time I come to a task I just do not like doing. Mediocrity and Procrastination has been a theme in the last 2 Wisdom Notes and as I look at it I see it’s reflective of where I was. Nearly 4 weeks ago I achieved a big goal (triathlon). Training for a triathlon requires a detailed plan that gets you into shape mentally & physically and requires that you break down many, many tasks...all the way too squeezing the fat out of cottage cheese....a tedious task but with a purpose behind it optimal performance at the event.

    Once I completed the 'goal' I was rudderless - shucks what's next...and of course then all those tasks that I know I should do to keep me mentally and physically sharp...well I put them off because I need a goal. So like doing book keeping I start with the end in mind and plan carefully and then follow up because it is all part of my bigger goal. And book keeping is one of those things that show us where we are with our business goals....if things are adrift in book keeping we know we have to make shifts in our performance....long winded way of saying without the end goal in mind many tasks are a chore:-) With an end goal in mind we do those tasks because we are passionate about the overall purpose.

    Thanks for the treat tip!!!

    Colin
  • I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

    Someone once said that the difference between a typical search marketing professional and a great search marketing professional is execution. Simply put, many can talk but few actually 'DO'. I think this can be applied to every industry and every situation.

    Finding ways to work around the things you just can't seem to wrap your head around ::coughkeepavoidingcough:: makes you stand out in a world of those too busy to be busy.

    Keep on rockin Sarah.
  • JoyFull_deb
    Sarah ~~
    As I was reading this post, at my desk, I am also staring at a large pile of "things to file away" and bills to pay and various notes scribbled with resources,etc., that I want to share with others. Problem is, that pile has been sitting on my desk now for 2 weeks or more :-(
    Yeppers....I think you get the idea. I loathe filing and bill paying....that is, until NOW. I absolutely love, love, love your 3rd suggestion, as do many others, it seems. So, I'm going to change up my un-strategy and try the bill paying box w/ my fav pen....change my location and have some "treatie treats" for myself along the way. WOOT !! Thanks so much for sharing YOUR escape from the mundane task of paying bills and for me, also, filing. ~ deb
  • I often switch from doing something I love to something I hate. If I have to do something and I can't avoid it, trade something for it, or better it; I complete it in small chunks throughout the day. For instance, if I have to write a proposal that is killing me, I will watch a great TV show and work on it during the commercials. Once I start getting into the proposal the show usually gets postponed until I finish, but the on again and off again helps to keep it interesting!
  • Joan Raskiewicz
    Usually I try to do the things I don't like doing first thing in the mornings. I'm always fresher in the mornings, so nothing looks as daunting to me as they do in the afternoons. My tasks and duties vary from day to day, from moment to moment even. So if something comes in my email that I just sigh when I see it, then I don't do it right away (unless it's a huge priority tasks) I will wait and let do it the next morning.
  • Question number three totally makes it all better. :) Sometimes though, you can use any of those three questions not for something you dislike, but to make a good thing that much better. Nothing is perfect, even if there is something you like to do, it can be better/funner/whatever.

    I found myself putting off stuff a lot more when i was unemployed....oh, I can just do it later, etc. Now with a full time job like I had before, you really have to budget your time, and those three questions/ideas really can get you through something that you don't want to do, for sure.

    Incidentally, I hate bookkeeping stuff too....I can't stand it at all, luckily Katie is good at it, so she does it. She's much better with numbers than I am.
  • Sarah Robinson
    You know - it's funny you should say that Mark. Just a little while ago, I was really feeling great and on my way somewhere and I thought "what could make this even BETTER?" So I stopped and got a Coke - which is a big treat for me. And you are SO lucky to be related to someone who is a) good with numbers and b) willing to do your books for you. :-)
  • As Brian Tracy would say, "Eat the Frog" - do the thing you dread to do first thing in the morning and enjoy the rest of your day. NOTE: found this blog through a Tweet
  • Sarah Robinson
    I LOVE that book! And the way the Young Turk and I say it is "Save the best for last". :-)
  • The music is key for me. I can perform the most mundane and brain-draining of tasks, so long as I have a nice repertoire of music to rawk out to whilst doing so. Preferably, something that keeps my toe tapping and me physically awake long enough to finish.

    - Daiv
    http://Twitter.com/DaivRawks
  • Sarah Robinson
    The way I look at it - the more brain-draining the task, the more rockin the music has to be so that I can stay awake. Glad to know I'm not the only one who has that challenge. :-)
  • Sometimes it's just nice to be reminded that we're one of millions...with the same little bumps in the road. Thx! :)
  • Sarah Robinson
    Indeed. Knowing that we are not alone can make all the difference.
  • Ros
    I'm soo loving tip #3 and adopting this as a way to manage my aversion to paper work. The music was a great idea, but the snack was the clincher. Hee!
  • Sarah Robinson
    yep - a fab snack can make the difference between a thing getting done and a thing NOT getting done. :-)
  • Great points and ones that I struggle with on a daily basis. When everthing is firing on all cylinders, you can find someone to barter with. Unfortunately, I have found that the return costs can be too high to engage in bartering in some instances.
    Great questions and interesting ways to approach and deal with them.
    3) Can I better it? Excellent suggestions and ones that I must enforce to ensure that I will enjoy these unpleasant tasks :)
  • Sarah Robinson
    Yes - the bartering things must be handled with care, and in the end sometimes we barter with cash. The "better it" question is my fave."-)
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