Think of a task you dislike and on a scale of 0-10 assess how motivated you are to do it. Choose any task that is less than a 5 and more than a 1. Bear that task in mind. We’ll come back to it.

When something just is not motivating

The first leaves are falling off the trees. Raking is on the horizon. Not my favourite task. Really, it’s just  a time sink. 

My life’s as busy as anyone’s. There’s work, there is always some housework to take care of, even though I share the load 50/50 with my partner. There are my beloved hobbies – way too many of them, and most take time for regular practice. There’s my favourite pastime in the world, reading, and I never have enough time for it. Work related reading happens on a  Sunday morning in the local café, if I am lucky. An indulgence. So, yes, I mind the raking. 

Not everyone can be motivated for everything…

The truth is that we can’t all be motivated to do all things. Yet, some things need to be done, by us.

So how can we motivate ourselves to start – and finish – things we are not intrinsically motivated for? How can we influence others to accomplish tasks they are not thrilled about? These were questions I was sitting with when putting together a talk and a workshop on motivation last week. 

I decided to let the participants role-play a motivation interview that Adam Grant and Andrew Huberman role-played in this episode of the Huberman lab. It resonated with me and had me reflect on my motivation with regard to the upcoming leaf raking season. Here’s how it goes:

… but we can link unwonted tasks to meaningful outcomes

Interviewer: On a scale of 0-10, how much do you (not) like raking?

My answer to that would be: 3-4.

Interviewer: What makes it a 3-4 and not a 0-1?

Answer: At least it is outdoors, so it ticks my boxes of fresh air and nature. It’s physically demanding which saves me exercising. And I could even put on my headset and listen to my favourite current book.

Interviewer: Wow, the raking seems to tick quite a few boxes.

Answer: Yes, actually, noticing all the things that I can get done while raking, I would probably now give it a 5 or a 5-6.

That’s a motivational interview. I linked a task I am not motivated for to things which are important to me. That’s what Adam Grant calls “linking a process you don’t enjoy to a meaningful outcome.”

You can try this motivation technique on yourself and with your team when you’re having trouble motivating yourself.