Cleaning your house, making a dreaded phone call, and responding to all those emails are just some dreaded things you may have to do during your work week. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid these items on our to-do list for ever, because these dreaded tasks are essential. Once you decide to finally tackle them, these tasks tend to ruin your day. 

The following some excerpts from Moreno Zugaro’s Medium article, on ways to find motivation in the things you hate doing.

1. Mindset First: It’s Part of the Job

“Whatever you have to do, however annoying, dull, or hard it is — if you have to do it, it matters in some way. Otherwise, you could just not do it and things wouldn’t change. Focus on the outcome of the task and figure out how it fits into the big, strategic picture. Once you recognize what it is useful for, you understand that it is part of your job and it has to be done so you can get where you want in life.”

2. Instant Rewards > Future Rewards

“If you have to do something that won’t pay off until a distant point in the future, look for instant rewards. This can be as easy as allowing yourself some off-time on social media after you’ve cold-called a number of clients or treating yourself to a nice meal once you’ve redesigned your website. It’s much easier to do something you despise when you know that you will be rewarded instantly once you’re done with it.”

3. Doing Something Is Better Than Nothing

“This is also one of the best tactics to fight procrastination. Getting yourself to put in only 15 minutes of work is way easier than forcing yourself to put in a whole day. And in most cases, you won’t stop after 15 minutes, but keep going. The difficult part is getting started, not keeping the momentum. One great way to apply this is the Pomodoro technique — it combines short bursts of highly focused work with small breaks in between. Perfect for anything you’ve been putting off. 

If you’re facing a behemoth task, do the following: Break it down into smaller subtasks and commit to putting in a little bit of work — make the initial resistance as small as possible. Step by step, hour by hour, you will dig through the mountain of work, until it isn’t anymore.”

4. Focus on What’s In It For You

Believe it or not, “…Whatever you have to do, there is always something in it for you. Sometimes you just have to look a little closer.

That annoying customer you have to deal with? An opportunity to build your patience, learn to handle special requests, and learn about what type of customer you want or don’t want. Day crammed with appointments? An opportunity to increase your stress tolerance, have short, productive meetings, and learn about scheduling your day better.”

5. Change Your Perspective

“The problem is that when you face an unpleasant task that you have to do, this feeling [of fulfillment] is taken from you. You feel like you have to do it if you like it or not, and as a consequence, your motivation plummets. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. … But here is the cool thing: You can use this mechanism to your advantage. How? By replacing the I have to with I choose to + a reason why. … Retake the power of decision and watch your motivation skyrocket.”

6. Get an Accountability Partner

“The principle of an accountability partner is easy. You have something that you need to do, and now you get yourself someone who holds you accountable. This person can be anyone, although I’d pick someone, you’re close with — you’re much more likely to hold up to your promise. … It doesn’t sound like much, but the added social pressure of promising something to someone close to you and telling them to hold your accountable works wonders. Breaking a promise, you’ve given yourself is one thing — most people are experts when it comes to that (New Year’s Resolutions, anyone?). But losing your face in front of someone else, especially when it’s someone close to you? That’s another story.”