I remember a supervisor at one of my first jobs picking up on a number of silly mistakes I had made and saying, “I don’t think it’s that you’re careless, I think you couldn’t care less.” She was right. There were a dozen things grabbing my attention and the job wasn’t one of them. It’s easy for productivity or the quality of work to suffer if the job is not grabbing your interest. However, there are some things you can do if you find a care-less attitude preventing you from doing your job.
- Look for creative ways to make your current tasks more interesting. For example, you might be able to take certain tasks outside the office —say, to a coffee shop— and complete them, without the usual office distractions.
- See if it is possible to trade or share tasks with a coworker One person’s tedium is another’s challenge. You might hate number-crunching in a spreadsheet, while a co-worker hates writing documents. Trading tasks could address the attitude problems for two or more employees.
- Ask for more challenging responsibilities. Job boredom often comes from not having enough to do. Adding responsibilities can make an old job seem fresh and new.
- Schedule your work to best manage routine or tedious tasks. Most jobs have some parts that are less desirable than others. Making use of scheduling to optimize the completion of such parts. You can group low-energy tasks together and schedule them for a time when your work energy is low. You might alternate tedious tasks with challenging tasks giving some balance to the day.
- Look for a new job. In the end, if you can’t make the changes necessary to stimulate you current situation, perhaps it’s time for a job change; either an internal move, a position in a new organization or a career re-direction.
Don’t stand by and let boredom hold you back. Grab a hold of opportunities to make your work more interesting.
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