Yes, you can … make yourself do those chores

In a political season, self-motivation takes on a grander tone than usual. We dream of accomplishing the rare, the fine, the monumental – maybe even the impossible, like world peace or just figuring out how to use whatever voting machine we’re lumbered with this year.

But most days – let’s admit it – successful self-motivation amounts to little more than oozing out of bed or walking past the open bag of chips. Victories, yes … but small. The big stuff, we whine about and squirm to avoid.

I find I have a lot more to whine and squirm over now that I’m an entrepreneur.  Oh, I do enjoy working for myself. But so much of what needs to be done is stuff I don’t know – or want to know - how to do.

See, when I was employed by others in a longtime job, what I had to overcome was mostly boredom and frustration. Now that I’m my own boss, what I face daily is dread. Little bits of dread, but … dread.

Like figuring out software. I loathe it. Loooooooooooathe it. Loathe. It.

It’s like math’s first cousin and math is my personal Satan. I would rather have major surgery than deal with either. At least in surgery, you’re unconscious.

So I will go to extremes of evasion – networking! writing thank-you notes! - to spare myself the worse agonies of learning online tax-filing or blog management or – haaaaaugh - bookkeeping software. They’re death by a million wrong mouse clicks.

Small wonder then, that I experience a sense of personal triumph when I force myself to cope with any of these evils.  Not just wrangling software. Giving (eek!) presentations, say, or drafting proposals (ugh) or paying bills or figuring shipping costs (noooooooooooo) or tarting up my own press releases (ick ick ick). I practically have to tie myself into a chair to get them done and even then, I’ll keep trying to spring myself by diverting the guard – me – with any tiny bribe or attraction.  The guard is particularly susceptible to e-mail and cups of hot coffee. 

But eventually, somehow, I do them. Sometimes out of pure shame, I guess, or the (if possible) even greater fear and panic brought on by the prospect of failure. Yeah, disgrace – it works for me.

Something has to. Because – and I don’t know what this says about me – my own positive incentives do no good. I can dangle big rewards in front of me and I’ll just swat them out of the way and go find a piece of chocolate or some fuzzy socks or a movie to be happy with. But if I scare me enough, the job gets done.

Note to managers: Don’t try this at work. It backfires when your staff members are people other than you.