I’ve been following James Clear for a few years – he writes about building good habits and I recently bought his book Atomic Habits (1). He shared in it something that truly resonated with me. It was the Goldilocks Rule (2).
“The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right”
He uses the example of playing tennis – if you are playing with a 4 year old, you might get bored. However if you are playing against a top professional, you may become demotivated. Now if you are playing with someone that is right at your level and maybe on the edge, you find yourself getting into it.
It got me thinking about tasks in my business. When I am doing super repetitive tasks, for example posting to different social media, I find myself getting bored very easily. Whereas, combining video footage challenged me, this was beyond me so I felt demotivated.
In both of these situations, it’s good to get help. I could get a virtual assistant to assist me with the tasks that are straightforward and also enlist help with specialists for the harder tasks.
If you are faced with the Goldilocks Rule, consider getting help with the tasks that are too easy or too hard, so you can work on what is just right for you.
Footnotes
1) Atomic Habits Book, James Clear
2) Goldilocks Rule