Making it through the menial tasks

September 23, 2015

by t_signorello

Life is full of menial duties. Someone has to take out the garbage or it will never get done. Few of us enjoy these jobs, but we do them because otherwise they become a much bigger job. Five bags of garbage are harder to take out than one.

When you are transitioning from working for someone else to working for yourself, one of the transitions that occurs is that the amount of menial tasks you have to do gets bigger. Everything is up to you, including changing the coffee filter. This can be a frustrating transition during an already stressful time. Luckily, there are some ways you can make those mundane daily tasks just a little easier.

1. Establish a clear routine and stick to it. A simple routine can help improve your productivity. Set aside clear times for ‘productive work’ (the work you want to do) and ‘daily tasks’ (such as office cleaning, analytic monitoring, invoicing, etc.). Break these times up throughout the day so that you aren’t constantly doing one or the other. Instead do one thing for a set period of time, take a break from it to accomplish another task and then go back to what you were doing before. You’ll find you accomplish both more ‘productive work’ and more of your ‘daily tasks’ each day.
2. Make the boring tasks fun: Simple, repetitive tasks can be very draining, but if you make them fun, they might just turn into unexpected stress relief. Since these tasks often don’t require your full attention, try adding some music or listening to podcasts or books on tape. This will give your brain something to focus on while you accomplish the task and it will go faster than you think!
3. Don’t let daily things pile up: Running a business is already hard and letting the day-to-day tasks pile up is just going to add to your stress level. If you let them add up, eventually they will overwhelm you – and you will be forced to spend more time completing everything all at once instead of breaking it down into manageable chunks each day. Avoid the stress and don’t let things pile up.

Working for yourself isn’t always a picnic. There are boring parts and hard parts of the job, but those parts are far outweighed by all the good things that come from being your own boss. Try these tips to make life a little easier so you can enjoy the good things today!