12 Simple Ways To Find Joy In The Mundane

December 14, 2022

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If you struggle to find joy in the mundane, try these simple tricks to make boring tasks fun! Learn how to enjoy mundane tasks that you have in your life. 

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No matter who you are or how glamorous your life is, you can’t escape the need for mundane tasks that need to be performed regularly.

It is a fact of life that we all have little things in our day that we don’t feel like doing and that feels like an uphill battle every time. 

Whether it’s hygiene practices, making calls, checking emails, taking long car rides, or just the little chores that have to be done around the house, we’ve all experienced the pain of the mundane in our daily lives. 

I used to dread the mundane tasks I had to do in a day, especially after I started living on my own. In fact, I dreaded them so much that they often got put off for another time. 

But you can only ignore your dishes and laundry for so long. Eventually, you find yourself out of plates and needing to tackle a mountain of items to scrape dirty food from. By then, though, the task has grown even more daunting. 


A sink with dirty dishes in it.
Photo by Anna Syla on Unsplash

And even when you do finish the task, it feels empty because you know you’re just going to have to deal with it again in the near future. Possibly even as soon as tomorrow. 

I went through this song and dance enough times that I decided that something needed to change. I couldn’t continue to dread such regular occurrences in my day but I couldn’t afford to ignore them, either. 

I came up with a bunch of tricks that helped me actually enjoy those mundane tasks and now I actually look forward to doing them each day. 

If you want to learn how to find joy in the mundane tasks in your life, the tips you will find on this page are certain to help! 

27 Simple Ways To Enjoy Mundane Tasks In Your Life

"simple ways to enjoy mundane tasks. 27 ideas to help you make boring tasks fun!"

1. Know your ‘why’ and make sure you believe in it

Before you try any of the other tricks listed below, it is absolutely crucial that you consider this first. 

If you are doing a dreary, mundane task every day, you will struggle even more to do it if you don’t know why it’s even important. 

For example, if you are taking fifteen minutes every day to dust your entire house but don’t actually care if you spot a little bit of dust here and there, then it’s not worth it to try to maintain a regimen that you don’t truly value.

Instead, think about backing off and doing that task once a week. 

Whenever there is a mundane task that needs to be done, you can’t learn to enjoy it if you don’t even believe it’s a worthwhile task in the first place.

So stop and think about why you are doing it first. 

For example, I know that I like a clean home. It brings me a lot of joy to sit in a space that is tidy and smells good. However, I’m not meticulously inspecting my space, so tasks like vacuuming and dusting don’t need to be done daily. Once a week is enough. 

2. Let something entertain you

The most basic (and obvious) thing you can do to make your boring task fun is to provide yourself with some entertainment. Here are some possible activities that are easy to do while multitasking: 

Listen to music

You could listen to something that you are familiar with to add a little energy to your task or you could use this time as an opportunity to discover new music! 

Listen to a podcast

There are so many different genres of podcasting and it makes for some easy entertainment. You could have a laugh by listening to a comedian, get enthralled in a radio drama, or join in on the oh-so-popular true crime podcasts. Whatever floats your boat, you’re sure to find something! 

Watch a show or a movie

As long as the task you are doing does not pose any safety risks, this is a great option! Pop on a show or movie that you have seen before on Netflix or your platform of choice and let it play in the background for a little extra entertainment. 

Read a book

This task is a hard one if you’re doing something more demanding but if you are doing something like waiting at the laundromat for your clothes to dry or taking the bus to work, reading a book is a great way to make that boring task fun! 

A laptop with Anne with an E playing.

3. Get Educated

Using the same mediums I listed above, you can use the time spent on mundane tasks for personal education! Below are some ideas: 

Learn a new language

By listening to music or a podcast from another language or watching tv in another language, you can pick up a lot! If you are wanting to brush up on a language you used to know or if you’re interested in learning an entirely new one, this is a great opportunity. 

Listen to sermons and lectures

Doing mundane tasks can become a lot more enjoyable when they open up an opportunity for you to learn new and interesting things. It can feel doubly productive to achieve a practical task and upgrade a skill. 

Watch how-to videos

How-to videos are a great way to make the most of mundane tasks. You can learn so much from them and you will end the day feeling so much more accomplished.

Depending on how much focus you can place on these videos, you can pick skills that are easier to take in or that require a bit more attention. The sky’s the limit to what you can learn! 

4. Get Social

Even as an introvert, it is amazing how quickly time can fly when it is spent with someone you love. The following suggestions are ways that you can get some mundane tasks done while still enjoying some fun social interaction: 

Make a social call

When I was younger, my mom was always on the phone chatting with a friend. It helped her to stay motivated as she tackled some of the more mundane tasks around the house. 

If you wanted to enjoy mundane tasks you have to do regularly, calling a friend or family member is a great way to do so. You could try a voice call or a video call, depending on your availability. 

It might not even be necessary for you to feel all that chatty, either. If you simply want to video call someone just to be in their [virtual] presence, this is a great option, too! 

And if a call feels like too much, you could also join a chat group online or get involved in a Twitch stream. These are all good ways to add a little social interaction into your day while still managing to accomplish all of the mundane tasks ahead of you. 

Have a visitor

As long as you are not someone who gets stressed by visitors in the home, this option is a great one for you! Invite friends and family over to keep you company while you tackle some of your more mundane chores. 

Even if they’re doing something different than you, their presence will be sure to help you better enjoy your boring tasks. 

Enlist help

Though you may find particular tasks boring, other people might actually find them enjoyable! Ask someone for help with whatever it is you are not looking forward to and you might find that the task becomes a lot more fun. 

If you’ve got children who are old enough, this might actually be a nice time to connect with them, as well. Children enjoy chores and seemingly mundane tasks a lot more than you may think.

Just make sure that, if you ask someone else to help you, the task may not get done exactly to your liking. 

A group of people putting their hands together in a pile.
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

5. Gamify everything

Everything instantly becomes more fun when you turn it into a game! Here are some ways you can turn your mundane tasks into a fun game you might actually look forward to playing:

Do a speed run

For anyone who isn’t familiar with video game lingo, a speedrun is when someone tries to complete a game in the fastest time possible. They play through the game hundreds of times, trying to get faster each round. 

If you have a chore or task that you find incredibly boring, this is a good way to both save time doing it and make it more interesting to achieve! 

Simply set a stopwatch and start your activity. When you finish the task, stop the timer and record how long it took you. The next time you do that activity, do the same thing and try to beat your past time. 

Keep in mind that this game is not a good one if you are doing a task that requires more care or precision. For example, playing this game during a commute or while you’re working with knives is maybe not the best time for it. 

Add features that are game-like

When you play any game, things happen every time you make an achievement. In video games, you level up or have fun music chime in to announce your achievement. In sports games, people cheer when you achieve something. In arcades, you get tickets and loud, celebratory noises to give you that jolt of energy when you accomplish something. 

But what do you get when you fold laundry for the hundredth time? Crickets. 

No one is going to cheer for you to accomplish mundane tasks but you can make things interesting by cheering for yourself! 

Here are some ways you can make your boring tasks fun:

  • Have a celebratory dance that you do every time you finish a task
  • Make up your own sound effects for when you accomplish something you’re proud of
  • Give yourself “experience points” every time you achieve something or record a “level up” somewhere in your home
  • Give yourself tickets when you finish a task and use those tickets to get a prize of your choosing

Switch up the routine or add challenges

Sometimes, the thing that can make your task feel boring is that you do it the same way every single time. By switching up some aspects of the activity, you can instantly make it more fun. 

If you’d prefer to keep the routine the same, you could also just add little challenges throughout the activity. For example, you could try doing the dishes with your non-dominant hand or maybe drive a different route to your destination and see if you can re-route yourself on the fly. 

As long as time is not a factor, this is a good way to add some joy to your mundane tasks. 

A woman leaning against a door thinking.
Photo by Paola Aguilar on Unsplash

6. Use Your Brain

Sometimes the best way to pass the time during a mundane activity is to engage your mind a little more. That simply means letting your mind wander a little more than it usually does. Here are some ideas on how you can do that with purpose:

Brainstorm ideas

Most people have a lot of things going on in their lives. Even without any form of entertainment, it is easy to come up with things to think about on a regular basis. 

Taking time to let your mind wander is a great way to find joy in the mundane. The time will pass much faster and you’ll have new ideas moving forward. 

Here are a few examples of things you can think about while doing your more boring activities: 

  • Have any upcoming events or trips? Plan out your day and figure out what needs to get done beforehand
  • Think up some future goals and dreams
  • Consider a routine in your life and brainstorm ways to optimize it
  • Create lists in your head (ie. favourite movies, favourite music, biggest pet peeves, etc) 
  • If you have something in your life that has been bothering you, try to brainstorm solutions

Make decisions

In the same way that you can take some time during mundane tasks to really think about things, it can also be a good time to make tough decisions. 

Doing mundane and monotonous activities allows your brain some space to explore ideas. If you are really stuck on a problem in your life, this is a great time to consider all the options and decide on the next steps. 

The only caveat here is that you need to be careful that your thinking is productive and not harming you. If you notice yourself spiralling into negative thinking, I wouldn’t recommend this tip for you. 

Meditate or pray

When people imagine meditation or prayer, they often think of a quiet room, nice smells, and a person sitting or kneeling with their eyes closed. 

Though this is one way to do these things, it is not the only way. 

Praying, simply put, is just having a conversation with God. Meditation is possible any time that you can quiet your mind. Doing mundane activities is the perfect opportunity for these two activities! 

While you are doing a task that you find boring, make an effort to slow down your thinking and really focus on the moment at hand.

How is your body feeling? What sort of sensations are you experiencing? Try to calm your thoughts and simply enjoy the moment. 

If you like to pray, this is also a great time to do so. Talk out loud or in your head and make sure you quiet your mind enough to wait for any responses coming your way. 



7. Make it epic

This tip is likely going to be the one to push people a little out of their comfort zone, but I promise you the effort is totally worth it! Taking mundane activities and turning them into epic quests is an incredibly effective way to bring some fun to a boring task. Here are some ideas to help you do that:

Pretend play

Have you ever watched a child play? You may notice that they find the most mundane things interesting. It’s because they are able to harness the magic of imagination. 

As adults, we often find ourselves too embarrassed to use our imagination but it really can be a game-changer if we stopped feeling so self-conscious and just went with it. 

To do pretend play, all you have to do is take a mundane activity that you find boring and come up with an imaginary scenario that makes your task seem more fun. 

Are you at a loss for ideas? Here are a few examples: 

  • While setting the table or cleaning your house, imagine you are a maid for Downton Abbey
  • While you tidy and organize your home, pretend you are a secret agent scouring someone’s house for the digits to their locked safe
  • In the car? Pretend that you are a chauffeur driving around an important client
  • Answering emails? Try acting like a secretary for a runway fashion magazine (anyone else love Devil Wears Prada?
  • Exercising? Maybe you are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and need strength or speed to survive
  • Cleaning dishes? You could be a bartender at the local adventurer’s tavern

These are just a few examples, but I’m sure you get the idea. I know it may seem silly at first, but honestly, if you just let yourself have a little fun with it, I’m sure it will make your boring tasks fun in an instant! 

Personally, this is my favourite way to find joy in the mundane because it’s easy to do and sprinkles a lot of whimsy into the day. 

Change your words

As a new mom, I find myself frustrated with the words people use to describe the role of a homemaker. They say things like, “I’m just a stay-at-home mom”, “I change diapers for a living”, or “I take care of the kids”. 

I don’t know about you, but none of those things sound fun to me.

On top of that, none of those titles even begin to describe the scope of what you do in a day. 

My husband told me that he used to call his own mom a “domestic engineer” when asked what she does for a living and I loved it!

Now I refer to myself as a domestic engineer, and not only do I feel it better describes what I do, but I feel more excited by my role as a result! 

It is amazing what word choice can do for a person. 

So if you are looking at some of your mundane tasks and thinking that they don’t sound particularly exciting to you, try changing the words a little bit. 

Here are some ideas to get you thinking: 

  • Dust hunting (dusting or vacuuming) 
  • Rejuvenating your cloaks and garments (laundry)
  • Taking a promenade (walking somewhere)
  • Conjuring spells (cooking) 
  • Taming a wild beast (caring for your pet) 
  • Checking the messenger pigeons (reading emails) 

Changing the words helps to encourage your imagination and also helps you recognize that, even though the task may feel mundane to you, it is still important! 

A comfy, cozy fall image with tea, an open book, candles, fall leaves, and fairy lights to set the mood.

8. Make the environment pleasant 

So many unpleasant things can be made better with a simple change of environment. These are ideas to help you improve the environment you’re working in so that you can turn your boring tasks into something a little more enjoyable:

Add a nice smell

Even when things feel chaotic or messy, a nice smell can really create a nice sense of calm. If you create a space that smells inviting, you will be much more likely to enjoy whatever mundane tasks lie ahead of you. 

So whether that involves lighting a candle, spraying a scent into the air, turning on your diffuser, or baking something delicious, do something to make your space smell good! 

Do the task outside

Obviously, this tip can be rendered useless if it’s the dead of winter or if it’s despicably hot outside, but if the weather is nice and you can easily do your task in the great outdoors, then go for it! 

If going outside to enjoy some fresh air isn’t an option, consider moving close to a window or putting on an outdoorsy soundscape. 

There is something so satisfying about doing something outdoors that is usually done inside. As a teacher, I used to use this strategy when my students couldn’t focus on the task at hand. The moment we got outside to do the same task, everyone worked better- and enjoyed themselves more! 

Make yourself a drink

Tea, coffee, juice, wine…whatever drink you enjoy, bring it with you while you do your more boring tasks. Simply having something simple to sip on while you’re working on mundane activities can help to make them a little more enjoyable. 

Create a clean and comfortable space

It can be really frustrating to work on a task you dislike in a room that is so messy it makes you feel tense. So before you set about your task, try to tidy the space a little. 

Unless your boring task is to clean up your space, in which case this tip is rendered a little redundant… 



9. Use the ‘piggyback’ method

Another great trick that is commonly used to find joy in the mundane is to use what is called the ‘piggyback method’. 

To use this method, you pair something you don’t want to do with something that you love.

In doing so, you may start to look forward to the thing you typically dreaded because you are thinking about the enjoyable thing that is ‘piggybacking’ on the more mundane one. 

For example, you might say that every time you do the dishes, you get to watch your favourite television show. Another thing you might do is create an amazing playlist that you only get to listen to while you commute.

When you ‘piggyback’ these fun items onto your more mundane activity, you may start to look forward to it more. 

10. Learn to value boredom

It can be a great thing to find ways to make mundane tasks more enjoyable but it’s also important to sometimes let yourself embrace the boredom. 

There are lots of reasons why boredom is good for you and your mind. It wouldn’t hurt to let these mundane activities remain mundane every once in a while. 

Obviously, you don’t have to do this every time but if you have been feeling a little overstimulated lately, a little boredom might be just the thing for you! 

11. Do what you can to make your task less overwhelming

Sometimes a task is just plain annoying but other times it’s possible to make the task itself a little easier by making a few small routine changes. Here are some small ways you can change your approach to a task so that it feels easier and more enjoyable to do:

Streamline your work

When you really dislike a particular task, it is even more annoying to deal with when you have to handle a bunch of inconveniences along the way. Even things you enjoy can become a chore when you don’t have the right systems in place to make it go smoothly. 

Imagine you are cooking a meal. It would be a thousand times more annoying if you had to work in a messy kitchen and you had to waste a ton of time searching for the tools you need. If you work in a clean and organized kitchen, it’s possible for you to even enjoy the task! 

So take a look at the tasks that you find boring in your life. Is there any way to make them more efficient and streamlined so that you can enjoy them more? 

Make sure the task can be completed fully

I’m going to use dishes as an example here because I know most people hate doing the dishes. It can be incredibly frustrating to clean dishes because it feels like a never-ending task. People just dirty more dishes immediately and it never feels like you actually accomplished what you set out to do. 

In a situation like this, it helps to do the task in a way that makes you feel like it is 100% complete by the time you’re done. 

For the dishes, maybe you designate three separate times in the day that you clean them rather than doing it constantly throughout the day. 

This means that three times every day, you will be able to look around and see a spotless kitchen which is way more satisfying than doing the task gradually throughout the day. 

Whatever boring task is ahead of you, try to make sure that you can 100% complete it by the end of a session. It really will help you to feel more enjoyment. 

Create systems to automate the process

With tasks that feel mundane and repetitive, it sometimes helps to put systems (or routines) in place so that you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the decision-making phase, as this can be particularly draining. 

Ditch the stuff that’s not worth the effort

Honestly, this tip is an important one for everyone to consider. Oftentimes, we find ourselves doing things simply because other people tell us it’s important. 

But not every task is necessary and if you find it particularly boring, it might be time to consider if it’s worth it. 

For example, if you dust once a week but you don’t actually care if there’s some dust around your house, maybe shift to dusting once a month. 

If there is something in your life that you are not enjoying, it is always worth it to consider why you are still doing it. Sometimes it is because you truly need to do it- your dirty clothes aren’t going to wash themselves- but other times it really isn’t necessary. 

Photo by Lital Levy on Unsplash

12. Allow yourself to be proud of your accomplishments! 

This may seem obvious to some people but I know that I struggle with this particular tip a lot. 

It can be really easy to feel pride about the big accomplishments in our lives. But in a hustle culture like the one we live in today, we are taught to believe that only big accomplishments are worth celebrating. 

I used to end most of my days feeling disappointed in myself for failing to make big achievements but it eventually became apparent to me that most days aren’t made up of big things. 

In fact, it is often the little things you do each day that make the biggest difference as they add up over time. 

Once I finally realized that my mundane activities had immense value, I started to enjoy them more on an internal level. 

If you can learn to see the value of your more boring activities, it will make it a lot easier to find joy in the mundane on a regular basis.  


I hope that you found some of these ideas useful to you today! It can be hard to find enjoyment in boring tasks, especially if it feels like that’s all you do in a day. But with these tips, you should be able to find joy in the mundane more easily!


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Meet the Blogger!

Genesis is a former elementary teacher and an avid writer. She has always been passionate about discovering new routines and systems for her life, and now she spends her time sharing those systems with others so that they can live a simpler life that is built for their unique needs. She believes that we all have the power to live an authentic life that never feels like a ‘daily grind’, and her goal at In Its Season is to do everything she can to help others create that life for themselves through habit-building, routine-development, and lifestyle tips. Read more about the author and what her site is about.

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Welcome to In Its Season, a place for you to discover routines and habits for a better life, homemaking tips for managing your home without overcomplicating things, and Christian living tips to help you grow closer to God.

I am a person who loves the simple things in life and wants to encourage you with the joys of everyday routines. Read more about what I’m all about and how I came to realize the importance of living out my most authentic life.

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