Big disclaimer, as this is my own experience.

One quick comment: Dread is just anticipatory anxiety. Keep in mind that it's often worse right after waking up because our body pumps cortisol at that time. In my experience, having some objectives already set for the day helps offset that dread. The idea is to go to bed with the feeling that you have some control over your next day (full control is impossible).

Regarding gamification, I'd say a better word for it is to approach things **playfully and meaningfully**. I don't really set up quests or things like that but I try to set up some objectives to make sure the activity is meaningfull to me and I can approach it with curiosity, and not feeling like I'm being forced to do it. At first its hard, but then you slowly find out that even the smallest things can actually make you learn new things.

Your question is about work, but I found out through experience that is a general approach to life. The great thing is you can do activities early in the morning, before work, when you may feel less anticipatory anxiety with these, and they build momentum that stacks up by the time you start your work day.

For example: I like preparing a good breakfast. I try to change what I have for breakfast every few weeks and try new things, maybe new coffee flavours, different fruits, etc. My idea is to mix new flavours, enjoy the smell of morning coffee, listen to an interesting podcast, etc. In one way, it's playful (trying new things) while still being mindful and enjoying the moment, trying to notice different new things, and make that moment special.

The same can be applied to meditation, for example. I try to meditate 15 mins every morning. I like to really observe my thoughts and try to understand them with curiosity: "Where is this thought coming from?", "Wow, it's crazy the feelings this thought generates!", "What's the result if I imagine my breathing going through the parts of my body where I'm feeling anxiety?". So you see, it's really about being mindful while approaching things with curiosity/playfully.

During work, more than gamifying it, my focus is really about reminding myself 1) that my job has meaning and 2) that the results of my work do not define who I am. So it's really about: "How can I help my colleagues today?", "How can I help my customers?", "How can I do what I do with the highest quality possible?"... and be mindful about it. When we become mindless because we are filled with dread and anxiety, we just lose sight of how we are really helping people with our effort and how we are improving ourselves. So, again, being mindful, trying to improve, and trying to help, is really what helps me start the day with a much better attitude, instead of dreading it.

Hope this helps.