Creating Rituals with Meaning to Feed Your Motivation

Do you resist doing “boring” tasks, like cleaning and organizing?

I confess, I have not done the Marie Kondo method that Marie describes in her funny and charming little book, “The Life-Altering Magic of Tidying Up.”

Still, I loved the book, both for its main principles about the meaning of “things” in our lives and her amusing insights sprinkled through the pages.

I am thinking of this book again following a conversation about using the activity of organizing as a way of preparing for the next big meeting.

We realized there was a concept in there that turns the routine chore of “cleaning up” into a meaningful ritual, of “getting ready.”

By adding meaning to the words “cleaning” or “organizing” - and it could be “cooking”, or “taking the trash to the curb” — they become metaphors, signifying their larger meaning: of taking care, of making space, of feeding, of enjoying. Of being prepared.

Making routine tasks into meaningful rituals is a way to create dopamine, help you remember, and feed your motivation.

At work, could you reframe doing your productivity reports as setting aside time for acknowledging your work; your sales calls as making a connection; your challenges as practicing resilience, and learning.

Try it? Pick a “boring” task and consider what it might mean for you. Would reframing it by this new meaning be a motivator for you?