Dismissing Disinterest

In my last blog post I discussed how a lack of interest can cause procrastination. So what can we do about it? Well, we could kick ourselves in the butt and just start doing, but that sort of attitude and behaviour can backlash. It can create a rebellious-teenager response within us. We don't want to do what we're told. We stop all forward progress and create a negative attitude loop. Instead of forcing ourselves to do something we don't want to, it's smarter to:

• Stop doing it.
• Get someone else to do itn
• Modify it until you are interestedn

nYes, number one is possible. A lot of times there is no one way to reach a goal. By choosing to not do things we don't like we force ourselves to think creatively and come up with ways that spark our interest. So today, pick one task that you don't like doing. Pen and paper in hand, examine alternatives and see if you can simply stop doing it. If not look for ways to have someone else do it and if not, turn it around until you discover a way of enjoying it. Then tell someone about the decision – you can even tell me if you want! For example, I used to hate doing dishes. I found it a waste of time and energy. I'd drag myself to the sink and grumble the entire way through the process. Then I spun the idea around until I found another way of looking at it. I wrote down reasons for enjoying dishes until I hit upon something that made me smile. And now doing dishes is a pleasure, a form of meditation where my hands are busy and my mind can float off into nowhere. Instead of dreading washing dishes, I now look forward to it. And if it's something that you just have to do no matter what and can't find a way to enjoy it? Give yourself a small reward of some sort afterwards, something that takes out a bit of the sting of the task.