Not everything in work or life is exciting. Some things just need to be done.

Take the humble task of taking out the garbage. Every household, workplace, and schoolyard relies on it. Without it, things pile up, the environment suffers, and let’s face it – the smell isn’t pretty.

I often use garbage duty as a teaching moment – with colleagues, clients, and yes, my children. Because when it comes to tasks we don’t love, we always have two choices:
∞ 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Acknowledge it’s not glamorous, but it has to be done. Get on with it (ideally without the grumbling), and balance it with other things in your day that bring energy and joy
∞ 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲: See the bigger picture. Taking out the bins is actually critical to the smooth and efficient running (and smelling) of a household. And maybe you can find a way to make it lighter or more fun as well.

Now that my kids have moved out, bin day is back on my list. And instead of resisting it, I’ve learned to approach it differently – with structure (work from one end of house to the other), I crank up some music with a playlist that would probably surprise you, and yes… I occasionally add a bit of humour, and dance along the way).

The truth is: in career and life, we all face our “𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀.” They’re unavoidable. But how you 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 to approach them says a lot about how you approach everything else. And in my experience, it was those who just got on and did the “less fun tasks” without the grumbling, or found a way to reframe them, that people remembered when the “more exciting” tasks had to be allocated.

How are you 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 to handle the things in your world that aren’t fun? And just for fun, what’s a song on your playlist that might surprise people?