Some tasks, be it grocery shopping, folding laundry, exercise, cooking, etc., can get really monotonous overtime. That is the reason why we skip the activity altogether and look for shortcuts. But the key to having a healthy lifestyle is to find a way to make mundane tasks more enjoyable because these tasks play a significant role in helping us stay physically active.

One effective way is by pairing a boring task with an interesting one that you enjoy. Hearing a podcast while cooking, listening to good music during workout, listening to an audiobook while chopping vegetables, rewarding yourself with one episode of your favorite show post workout, etc. can be some ways to tackle house chores and form personal habits. The trick here is, you have to consistently do the exact same pair of tasks everyday in order to form a solid routine.

This is the most nervous system-friendly approach to handle this problem and is called dopamine anchoring. You are activating the dopamine system by doing something fun with a mundane task and overtime, your brain starts to associate the pleasure with the boring task itself, making it easier to do.

This specially helps with serial procrastinators and people with ADHD. It also helps with motivation and self confidence because you tend to accomplish so much more in a day.

BUT! Oh yes there is a ‘but’.

You have got to know when to stop using fun tasks as a crutch. Work on tapering off the fun tasks once you’ve built a routine doing the boring tasks. The dopamine effect of the fun task wears off overtime so you look for cheap dopamine fixes like junk food or doom scrolling. It is also not as motivating as it was before so the original purpose of it is lost.

At the end of the day, your focus should be on building a healthy routine, not to solely rely on reward systems to get through your day.