Three hacks to overcome boredom and bring back motivation
We all struggle at times to find the motivation to complete tasks. Particularly ones that we find tedious and unchallenging. a.k.a boring.
Our supply of energy and motivation each day is not unlimited. Motivation, research shows, flows strongest where our interest goes. Our brains are primarily interested in two things:
Gaining knowledge, skills and conditions that benefit us, and
Conserving energy.
Our brains direct attention and supply energy to complete tasks we believe will expand our knowledge, develop skills or provide things that we want. Our brains also actively look to avoid tasks that don’t interest us, so we conserve energy.
We become interested in tasks because our brains promise to supply dopamine (feel good hormone) when we are doing them or once they are done. We can get this supply from ourselves through enjoyment of completing the task (intrinsic motivation) or when we receive things external to us that we value, such as praise or money (extrinsic motivation).
When we’re working, we find things most interesting when they are new and challenging and provide experience to help our career progression.
On the other hand, where we believe the work will be boring and add no or limited value to us, our brains incentivise us to look for ways to avoid it and conserve energy.
It’s why, when we are in roles with repetitive tasks that don’t change, we can become bored and disengaged if we don’t find something else to create interest and give us a dopamine hit when we complete them.
In these situations, we often convince ourselves we must do the work to get the pay cheque we need to survive.
But this alone isn’t enough over time to keep our interest alive because our brains will stop supplying the dopamine hit that sparks interest when there is no challenge to overcome.
Here are three hacks to overcome boredom and stay motivated to complete your tasks:
Link your tasks to what matters – how does the task help you achieve your goals or brings you closer to your desired identity?
Find ways make the task seem new again – what can you do to use new technology, different steps, other people to achieve the result?
Search for ways to do it with less energy – how can you look at the task differently to see how you can do it in less time and with less energy?
Using just one of these three tricks may be enough to boost interest and motivation. Or you may need to employ a combination of them to keep interest alive and motivation high to get the tasks you need to do done.
Having a mindset that you are in control of what interests you and learning how best to manage your motivation will help you achieve more.