There are many things that are mundane, and we wish we never had to do them, including doing the laundry, making beds, and preparing dinner. Just like these mundane tasks at home, there are specific boring jobs to be done at the office as well. Such tasks include all sorts of paperwork and reports you are supposed to write, which you are sure nobody will read. Although these tasks seem unnecessary at some point, they are still considered to be done.
Dealing with mundane tasks
It is intriguing to think that while doing specific work, we do not feel bored and even want to do them even for a longer time. Take, for instance, playing a video game. Just because you must be enjoying winning and getting gems or coins in the game, you would feel as if you are addicted to it, if only for a short while. Many psychologists know this condition as a state of ‘flow.’ It is a state where we are completely immersed in an activity and unaware of all the other stimuli. Sometimes even time passes without your awareness.
Would it be better if we could turn all the mundane official tasks into something that can make us enter into a state of flow? How cool would it be to take the same principles of the flow we had during gaming and apply them to our mundane tasks? Can those tasks be more enjoyable? It can be possible, but the employees’ major issue remains. Many people need to be more passionate about their job and consider them meaningful.
Ways to Make Mundane Tasks Into Meaningful Work
There still can be some strategic ways to engage ourselves in mundane tasks and captivate us in a state of flow. There are specific possible solutions where you can improve your attitude and overall well-being to deal with mundane tasks.
- Acceptance
The first step to making a difference in making mundane tasks meaningful is accepting the thing you cannot avoid. Even if you sweep those tasks under the rug for the time being and pretend they do not exist, you will eventually have to get to them. Therefore, it is essential to understand that you can only avoid that task for a short time. There may be adverse effects of avoiding them for a long. You should break up your work into smaller segments and approach it accordingly. Challenge yourselves to achieve a particular goal within a deadline; you may invoke a sense of achievement when you reach it. It will be much like having levels in a game.
- Speed
Mundane tasks are time-consuming, which is also one reason why you will not feel eager enough to complete them. In the present faced-paced world where you get annoyed easily if the game takes time to upload, it is difficult to control your ardent nature while doing a mundane task. Hence, please look for ways to speed up the process. It is still a probability that you will need more time to speed up the cooking process. Still, you can improve your preparation time by using the right tools. If it still needs to work, explore new ways to engage yourself by making minor changes in the tasks.
- Distraction
One of the best ways to deal with mundane tasks is through chunking. Chunking is nothing but doing two tasks simultaneously where neither one affects the other. Many try exercising while watching television or cooking food while listening to a podcast. The goal is to distract your mind from the mundane task and do something better that can result in your personal development skill. It is like killing two birds with one stone.
Wrap Up
As discussed earlier, mundane tasks are tedious, and you will never feel enthusiastic while doing them. But there are a lot of such tasks that need to be done, even if they are time-consuming. Therefore, it is better to change your strategy and approach those tasks in a different way. Look for a creative approach and find an opportunity to engage in a learning activity beforehand. You will be surprised to see how mundane tasks can become meaningful work just by making a few changes.
