I cannot imagine a career that does not have annoying aspects, which we find disdainful. For instance, the Rolling Stones love playing live, but they dislike touring about. Even the most fortunate and wonderful job has its Achilles heel. And it is those negative aspects that can make or break you.
I can attest that in education I have never heard anyone suggest for even a moment that they enjoy marking, but it must be done. And how most of my colleagues delayed and dreaded the grading ordeal! However, I managed to get my marking done quickly and less painfully using self-discipline to make the task more bearable. What I did for the marking process is transferable to whatever aspect of your job you must regularly do, and especially dislike and procrastinate over.
An essential first step is to plan and design the exam to avoid the mis-steps and reduce the annoying aspects of the subsequent marking. I focused on maximum efficiency and effectiveness by carefully engineering the exam so subsequent marking was easier and quicker. As it is wisely said, a stitch in time saves nine.
Next comes setting goals to motivate and monitor my progress. These goals MUST BE: small, easily measurable, sequential, frequently achieved and not overly ambitious. These baby step goals are fundamental and ensure that I regularly experience the joy of successfully completing something.
Further, as the goals can be measured, I can monitor my progress and that I am getting closer to completion. I schedule celebrating my micro-completion progress with time outs and rewards. I might swap my focus to a part of the marking project that is essential but agrees with me more as a time out. Being able to benchmark my progress is motivating and I notice that my endurance improves once I am nearer completion and I can sprint to the finish once it is in sight. Rather than fighting with and procrastinating over the marking project, I must trick my mind and willpower to cooperate and collaborate with each other.
For me, self-discipline means I must regularly experience pleasure, a sense of achievement and then reward myself for a job well done. This discipline certainly made my overall job satisfaction much higher.
Reflection Source: www.Smallercup.org
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*: Whereas I used this process for years, it was consoling that the following book scientifically supported my process: "Neuro-Discipline: Everyday Neuroscience for Self-Discipline, Focus, and Defeating Your Brain’s Impulsive and Distracted Nature" by Peter Hollins