Have an Ugly Day

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Author: Brook Noel

Article source: http://www.chartjungle.com/. Used with author's permission.

"Do something every day that you don't want to-dothis is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain." --Mark Twain

Have you ever had one of those days (or weeks) where everything on your plate was something you didn't look forward to-doing? I faced such a week this past summer. I remember going to bed, doing my positive thinking, only to come face to face with the bleak reality that there wasn't one thing on my list I felt positive about. I had ended up with a pile of things I didn't really want to-do, but all the same had to be done.

Just before drifting off to sleep that Sunday night, I had an idea. I would make the upcoming week an "Ugly Week." Since I knew Monday contained three tasks I was dreading, I would find every other task I dreaded and fill the rest of the day. I would do the same thing for Tuesday and each other day that week. Every morning I would start with the task I least wanted to-do. The more annoying the task, the higher it would move on the priority list.

Monday morning came and I arose, determined to have my "Ugly Day." When the mail came, I didn't look at the fun stuff — just the bills. As I went throughout the day, I chose the tasks that went "against my grain." I worked through the backlog of unattractive to-dos.

By the end of the week, something interesting had happened. I had marked off so many of those "weigh one down" tasks that I was in an incredibly good mood and felt so much lighter.

When you find yourself in a backlog of to-dos that you don't want to-do, try this "ugly-week" tactic. Too often, we let these tasks remain undone and drain our energy for other tasks. When we incorporate just one "unattractive" task into our day, it can weigh us down the whole day. If we have twenty unattractive to-dos, we schedule ourselves for a month of "feeling under par." Having an "ugly week" allows us not only to consolidate those unattractive tasks, but also to feel good as we wipe the slate clean with "done" marks.