Always got something better to do than your chores, your homework or even starting that new exercise plan? Welcome to the club!

Rustling up the motivation to start a less than exciting task like doing your homework, tidying your bedroom or taking your dog for a walk canbe a bit of a struggle. After all, it’s often way easier to make like a couch potato and veg out in front of the telly than do any of the above. So how do you get the get up and go to do the chores that bore?

REWARD YOURSELF

Next time you’re faced with the world’s most boring task, set yourself a time frame in which to achieve the job at hand and then, if you manage to complete the task in the allotted time, reward yourself with a treat. It could be that chocolate bar you’ve had your eye on or an hour on the sofa with a copy of favourite magazine - whatever makes you go “Mmmm” can be used as a motivational tool to give you the ooomph you need to get the job done.

MAKE A PLAN

Sometimes boring tasks just seem too un-doable simply because well, there’s so much to do. Instead, break the job down into smaller chunks and work through each stage step by step. Make a checklist and put a line through each task once complete - you’d be surprised how satisfying this can be. In no time at all you will have finished your geography revision and can then watch the box guilt-free for the rest of the evening. What’s not to like?

WHAT’S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN?

OK, so this is a bit of a scare tactic but sometimes it can help to think what the worst case scenario would be if you didn’t do the job at hand. You don’t tidy your bedroom - Mum won’t let you go to the party this evening. You don’t study for your history test - you fail and have to take it again. Sometimes it’s just easier to do the tedious task than face the consequences of not doing it.

THINK POSITIVE...

Instead of thinking up all the negative things associated with your job, try and turn them into positives. For example, don’t think: ‘yawn, taking the dog out is soooo dull,’ instead think ‘Hmmm, fresh air in the park with my fave pet and I get to eye up the fit lads playing footy at the same time - yey!’ See, it’s easy!

MAKE IT FUN!

Get motivated by making a dull job fun! Whether you decide to revise with a mate or dance around your room to music while you dust - no job is so bad that it can’t be improved by adding an element of fun to it.