Mael is concerned. He doesn’t want to be the latest victim of the Peter Principle: the phenomenon where people are promoted to their own level of incompetence.
An outgoing, gregarious personality, Mael is one of the most popular (and in-demand) personal trainers at a local gym. The owner has just promoted Mael. He’s now the Head Trainer at the gym.
With his new role comes a lot of new responsibility, including a whole lot more administrative details. Mael confessed to me: he hates details. He asked: How can I take on this new role and overcome my hatred of administrative tasks?
Here are three suggestions:
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Reframe Your Mindset
One of the things Mael has to do is go through spreadsheets of members, and reach out to people who haven’t come in to the gym for a while. He views this task with complete drudgery.Mael is a natural extrovert, and loves interacting with people. He’s always up for a great conversation. I asked him, “How different would it be to have a picture of each member in your mind as you were reaching out them?”His entire demeanor changed. Suddenly he was excited.If you have a clear purpose as to why you do what you do, it can motivate you in a whole new way.
2. Make A Game of It
Mael is a former Division 1 athlete. He loves competing.I asked him, “What if you turned your spreadsheet into a competition? What if you set an hourly goal of number of contacts, and continually worked to break your previous record?”Turning the task into a game got him energized and ready to focus on completing his tasks.
3. Use the Pomodoro technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.It’s a great way to take bigger tasks, and break them into short sprints, with a clear finish line. It’s a way to stay motivated and focused for manageable increments.
For Mael, the metaphor of “High-Intensity Interval Work” resonated quite strongly. From his work in the gym, he knows this is a great way to build strength and capacity over time.
What other techniques do you use to overcome your hatred of administrative tasks? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below.