When I was about 7, I really wanted a Barbie. She wasn't exactly a Barbie, more a princess doll, but in the same general ballpark.
As a young kid, I didn't have the money to buy the doll for myself, so I did what every kid does: asked my parents to get her for me.
No dice.
But they did come up with a nifty little plan: the point system.
On the fridge, we posted a chart of chores and how much each chore was worth. At the bottom, they posted the number of points that would get me the doll.
So everybody won: I was happily working away washing windows and weeding the yard, taking out the trash and doing the dishes on my way to the coveted doll. And my parents weren't doing any of these chores.
Now, as entrepreneurs, we are in a similar position to mine at 7: there isn't always as much capital as we'd like there to be. And we also have a ton of chores to do, tasks to accomplish, and benchmarks to hit.
I have decided to revive the point system as a motivating factor in my working life. Because if there is one thing I hear all the time, it's that people have trouble avoiding burnout when there is such a massive volume of things to accomplish.
So, here's how to set up the point system for yourself and your business (and an explanation for that bread loaf pictured above):
image: Caroline Donahue for Remabulous.
Here is how you can get prizes AND get all that crap work done you need to do.
Step 1: make a list of all the hideous and least desirable chores you need to do for your business. Filing, shredding paper, setting up spreadsheets, organizing, errands you hate, scary phone calls, etc.
Step 2: Assign a point value to each task. Make the especially scary ones higher in value.
Step 3: Come up with a really juicy reward: a massage, or a pedicure, or a dinner at your favorite restaurant, or a fun thing you've wanted for quite a while (like a breadmaker!)
Step 4: Decide how many points your reward(s) are worth. Post a sheet on your fridge or bulletin board with the rewards you have come up with and the points needed to reach the reward. If you have a big ticket item, try to make that coincide with a big intake of pay or an income goal that will cover the treat.
Step 5: Plow through those lists, record the points, and when you reach your goal, go out and enjoy your reward.
Step 6: Enjoy the reward without guilt.
Step 7: Repeat!
My reward for a recent series of benchmarks was a breadmaker. I had put it on the list of 31 things I wanted to do while I was 31 and I am pleased to say that I baked my first loaf of bread- it is delicious pesto bread that I have eaten a few slices of with brie- and I couldn't be happier.
Now I just need to figure out how many points buys a nap!
Share your tasks below and what you think they should be worth in points...
Turn your chores into earnings and reward yourself!
See... even grunt work can be fun!
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