Train Your Brain to Conquer Boring Work
Case Study
William owned a roofing company for 12 years. He loved his team, he loved his clients, he loved serving his community.
Yet there were some tasks that William could not get himself to do.
Any “boring admin task” would get procrastinated on for weeks or even months at a time.
This meant important documents were missed, bills weren’t paid and over the years it costs him 100,000s of dollars.
By building one thinking skills, boring tasks were no longer an issue.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task happens easily.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that William had, came from a weak thinking skill of Perseverance.
Perseverance
Believe it or not, perseverance is one of the 28 thinking skills.
The opposite of perseverance is “blocking” where you feel like there’s a wall in your brain and simply can’t go through.
Since it’s a skill, by definition, it means you can learn it.
And I KNOW you’ve got perseverance in you.
Can we stop for a moment and have you think about a time you persevered? C’mon. I’m waiting.
Thought of one?
Good.
So you know you have it in you.
But I already hear you saying, “Yes, but when it’s boring I just can’t get myself to do the work.”
The Skill of Boring Work
Let me let you in on a secret.
Doing boring work is a skill in itself.
Yup.
Getting yourself to do the boring work is a skill. And if you don’t master it now, it’s gonna creep up into your life in some other way.
Here are 5 ways we helped William improve his perseverance and master the skill of doing boring work:
1. Developing a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is about always learning, growing and using mistakes as feedback.
Part of a growth mindset is focusing on the process, not just the outcome.
By using the process as a learning opportunity, all of a sudden it becomes more interesting and you’re able to push yourself to grow. Including the skill of doing the boring work
We spoke about growth mindset in length in episode 469. Check it out to get more practical ways to improve your growth mindset.
2. 10 Minute Timer
Often the hardest part about doing a task is getting started.
Put on a timer for 10 minutes and do as much of the work as you can.
When the timer rings you decide then you’ve got the stamina to continue or you simply stop.
Many times you’ll find yourself already in the rhythm and able to continue working.
Note this is a short-term strategy and doesn’t solve the problem long term.
3. Make it Fun
This is another short-term strategy with the goal of finding a way to get the work done.
See what you can do to make the boring work fun.
Is it putting on music?
Working in a cafe?
Working with another person?
This is great because instead of your brain finding excuses why not to do it, your brain looks for ways to YES do it and perseveres.
4. Mini Rewards
This is my absolute favorite way to develop the skill of doing boring work because you create the space to give yourself dopamine over and over again.
Instead of celebrating that you finished the whole, look for mini places of completion and celebrate each and every one of them.
For example, when I do long runs, I could be running for 3 hours and get bored very quickly.
Instead of focusing on the fact that I’ve got to run for 3 hours, I break it up.
Every time I run a mile; I celebrate. Or every time I run a lap; I celebrate.
This way instead of waiting 3 hours to get a bit of dopamine, I can get it in 10 minutes.
With William, one of the things he found really boring was filling out long forms.
So instead of waiting to celebrate once he finished the whole form, he’d celebrate once he’d finished a section. (And often there were 2-3 sections on a page, giving him a little time to celebrate before he even got to page 2)
Celebrations don’t need to be anything thing.
It could just be you saying, “Yay, I did it” or clapping on your back.
Whatever works for you. Some people, like to give themselves a small candy (think a mike’n’ike after every section)
5. Identify the Weak Thinking Skill
This one, is one that always gets a lot of pushback, so listen to it with an open mind. You may just be surprised.
Boring is often a sign of a weak thinking skill.
Yup, you read that right.
Boring is often a sign of a weak thinking skill.
Not that you can’t do it, it’s just that bit harder compared to other tasks.
You’ll want to ask yourself, “What part of this task does my brain not like?” and when you get to the core reason, solve that issue.
Your Challenge
Doing boring tasks is a skill within itself.
It requires you to use the thinking skill of perseverance to really push through.
Your challenge this week is to pick one of the 5 ways we spoke about to improve your perseverance and take action!
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to be more efficient and effective.
Most entrepreneurs want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you rewire your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Cognitive Functions Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
We're on for 1M downloads
By the end of 2025
Can you help us reach our goal?
Share this podcast with someone you love!
Train Your Brain to Conquer Boring Work
Case Study
William owned a roofing company for 12 years. He loved his team, he loved his clients, he loved serving his community.
Yet there were some tasks that William could not get himself to do.
Any “boring admin task” would get procrastinated on for weeks or even months at a time.
This meant important documents were missed, bills weren’t paid and over the years it costs him 100,000s of dollars.
By building one thinking skills, boring tasks were no longer an issue.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task happens easily.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that William had, came from a weak thinking skill of Perseverance.
Perseverance
Believe it or not, perseverance is one of the 28 thinking skills.
The opposite of perseverance is “blocking” where you feel like there’s a wall in your brain and simply can’t go through.
Since it’s a skill, by definition, it means you can learn it.
And I KNOW you’ve got perseverance in you.
Can we stop for a moment and have you think about a time you persevered? C’mon. I’m waiting.
Thought of one?
Good.
So you know you have it in you.
But I already hear you saying, “Yes, but when it’s boring I just can’t get myself to do the work.”
The Skill of Boring Work
Let me let you in on a secret.
Doing boring work is a skill in itself.
Yup.
Getting yourself to do the boring work is a skill. And if you don’t master it now, it’s gonna creep up into your life in some other way.
Here are 5 ways we helped William improve his perseverance and master the skill of doing boring work:
1. Developing a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is about always learning, growing and using mistakes as feedback.
Part of a growth mindset is focusing on the process, not just the outcome.
By using the process as a learning opportunity, all of a sudden it becomes more interesting and you’re able to push yourself to grow. Including the skill of doing the boring work
We spoke about growth mindset in length in episode 469. Check it out to get more practical ways to improve your growth mindset.
2. 10 Minute Timer
Often the hardest part about doing a task is getting started.
Put on a timer for 10 minutes and do as much of the work as you can.
When the timer rings you decide then you’ve got the stamina to continue or you simply stop.
Many times you’ll find yourself already in the rhythm and able to continue working.
Note this is a short-term strategy and doesn’t solve the problem long term.
3. Make it Fun
This is another short-term strategy with the goal of finding a way to get the work done.
See what you can do to make the boring work fun.
Is it putting on music?
Working in a cafe?
Working with another person?
This is great because instead of your brain finding excuses why not to do it, your brain looks for ways to YES do it and perseveres.
4. Mini Rewards
This is my absolute favorite way to develop the skill of doing boring work because you create the space to give yourself dopamine over and over again.
Instead of celebrating that you finished the whole, look for mini places of completion and celebrate each and every one of them.
For example, when I do long runs, I could be running for 3 hours and get bored very quickly.
Instead of focusing on the fact that I’ve got to run for 3 hours, I break it up.
Every time I run a mile; I celebrate. Or every time I run a lap; I celebrate.
This way instead of waiting 3 hours to get a bit of dopamine, I can get it in 10 minutes.
With William, one of the things he found really boring was filling out long forms.
So instead of waiting to celebrate once he finished the whole form, he’d celebrate once he’d finished a section. (And often there were 2-3 sections on a page, giving him a little time to celebrate before he even got to page 2)
Celebrations don’t need to be anything thing.
It could just be you saying, “Yay, I did it” or clapping on your back.
Whatever works for you. Some people, like to give themselves a small candy (think a mike’n’ike after every section)
5. Identify the Weak Thinking Skill
This one, is one that always gets a lot of pushback, so listen to it with an open mind. You may just be surprised.
Boring is often a sign of a weak thinking skill.
Yup, you read that right.
Boring is often a sign of a weak thinking skill.
Not that you can’t do it, it’s just that bit harder compared to other tasks.
You’ll want to ask yourself, “What part of this task does my brain not like?” and when you get to the core reason, solve that issue.
Your Challenge
Doing boring tasks is a skill within itself.
It requires you to use the thinking skill of perseverance to really push through.
Your challenge this week is to pick one of the 5 ways we spoke about to improve your perseverance and take action!
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to be more efficient and effective.
Most entrepreneurs want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you rewire your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Cognitive Functions Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
We're on for 1M downloads
By the end of 2025
Can you help us reach our goal?
Share this podcast with someone you love!
