Scott H. Young has it right – being productive will be much easier when you are enjoying the task on hand. You enter flow easily without procrastination. Unfortunately, world is not perfect – you may not be interested on all of the tasks. For this, Scott provides some ideas to enjoy the tasks you hate. On the other word, making a boring job more enjoyable. One of them is making your job a game:
… Another great way I find to quickly move things to a higher level of experience is to make it a game. Make your activity a game in doing the best possible job. Don’t just do your work, do it to a whole new level of excellence where you deliver a performance far over the necessity. Give yourself intermediate rewards for any advancements and pretend you are advancing in your work game.
Games are actually only a few degrees different from boring and repetitive tasks. There are a few elements that make games fun which you can add to any activity you pursue. By taking control of this process you can make every mundane task an exciting challenge. There are a few key elements you should look at:
Rewards – Games function by rewards. Give yourself rewards for your progress. Most importantly, pace the rewards so that you have a bunch of little rewards leading up to a big reward. This reward schedule when done in short terms can allow you to push through even painful tasks. These rewards can be tiny and small, but meaningful. Your fifteen minute reward might be just to stand up and stretch your arms and legs. Your two hour reward might be a five minute internet break…
The Secret to Productivity – [Scott H Young]
