This morning I woke up and I just really couldn’t be bothered doing anything. This rarely happens to me because I actually quite enjoy work but occasionally my grumpiness sets in and it’s like trying to get a toddler to put their shoes on or get in the car. Don’t wanna. Unfortunately if you’re reading this, you probably aren’t a toddler (and if you are – well done! Tell your parents to call Oprah. She’s going to want to hear about you) which means you have to get on with it, even though you don’t feel like it. Here are 5 ways to get shit done when you really couldn’t be bothered.
Write a Can Do List
I stole this idea from my business wife Chrissy. By changing your To Do list to a Can Do list it changes the whole theme of your day. To Do is aggressive and sounds a bit negative. Can Do is lighter and feels more fun somehow. Write yourself a Can Do list and see if your attitude re-adjustment helps you get your mojo back.
Divide your day into units of time
When you sit down at your desk at the start of your day, 5pm (or whatever time you finish) can feel like it’s years away. Stop thinking about the end of the day and start thinking about the end of your unit of time. I like to divide my day in half-hour units (like Hugh Grant’s character from About A Boy). That way if you’re working on a task you really hate, you simply allocate it one half hour unit. You then work your butt off for that half hour and then you don’t have to look at again until tomorrow. It also makes you appreciate just how much work you can fit into a full day – an 8 hour work day will give you 16 units. How amazing is that?
Do it badly
You don’t always have to do things well. I know that’s weird coming from a Type A Perfectionist but if your clean washing ends up semi-folded in your cupboard, that’s much better than it living on the washing line for a month. A badly cleaned toilet is better than a not-clean-at-all toilet. Give yourself a free pass to do a shitty job every once in a while, particularly on days when you’re really not feeling it.
Mix up your day
If you always check your emails first thing in the morning, try checking them in the afternoon. If you always save the jobs you hate the most for the afternoon, try doing them in the morning. Monotony is the best friend of lethargy so don’t let the sameness of your day add to your bad attitude. Mix up your day as much as you can.
Put today in the Fuck It Bucket
Sometimes you just have shitty days and you need to admit it and move on. Every few months you can have a Fuck It Bucket day where you don’t do a damn thing. The important part of this is to embrace it though. Don’t try to work through a Fuck It Bucket day – that will only make it worse because you will have a wasted a day doing nothing. If you’re going to waste a day, you might as well enjoy it.
How’s your day today? Productive? Or do you need a bit of a kick in the pants because you can’t be bothered?
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