Do Boring Stuff Well
by Motte Brown on 10/17/2007 at 2:37 PM
First jobs out of college can be absolutely dull. Mine was. Or at least most of it was. A large part of my day was spent entering data into a DOS system to generate constituent response letters. I used to tell my wife that a chicken could do it if you sprinkled enough feed around the F9 key.
It's just difficult to do well on tasks we find boring. But according to Lifehacker.com, it's a skill worth developing if you want to succeed in life. Whether you're a college student struggling with a boring subject or just starting a job doing nothing but data entry, mastering the mundane matters.
Lifehacker explains why with this quote from a tech recruiter,
I'm going to look for consistently high grades, not just high grades in computer science. Why should I, as an employer looking for software developers, care about what grade you got in European History? After all, history is boring. Oh, so, you're saying I should hire you because you don't work very hard when the work is boring? Well, there's boring stuff in programming, too. Every job has its boring moments. And I don't want to hire people that only want to do the fun stuff.
Everybody always wants to do the fun stuff, but it's the menial stuff that defines you, especially Christians. It's sort of like that saying about what you do when nobody's looking. Anyway, Lifehacker has some tips on how to do it and like it.
- Look at the long-term benefit
- Find what you can learn from it
- Think of doing it for someone you love
- Enjoy the interaction with the people
- Think and say something positive
- Gather with passionate people
It seems that number three fits perfectly with Paul's command in Colossians to work "as working for the Lord." All the others could become a natural outflow from it if you get that one right.
1. Carrie said the following at 3:29 PM on Oct 17:
Wow. This is REALLY good timing!! I have been at my first "real job" after college for over 2 years and it is what I like to call "The most boring job on earth. A trained monkey could do it well." It's to the point now where if something doesn't change very quickly, I will start submitting my resumè because it's been "over 2 years". I think I have served my time. :)
Things may be on the verge of changing (slightly) as I was talking with a co-worker/supervisor about how boring I thought my job was. Fortunately, I don't complain (during office hours) at all, so she knew that I was at the end of my rope and she offered "to go to bat" for me and try to get me more responsibility. She said "I don't know what you to go somewhere else because you're bored here."
Anyhow, it is necessary to serve time in the mundane, I have learned. I appreciate this article because I need to heed its advice. Especially #2 and #5.
2. Jess said the following at 5:14 PM on Oct 17:
Thanks for this.
It's helped me as a student and I'll be passing it onto my boyfriend, who's in his last year of college.
Jess xx
3. Adam T said the following at 7:09 PM on Oct 17:
Great point, and unfortunately I can tell you from experience that if you do a boring job poorly simply because it's boring, it can cost you promotions and money. :(
(I will also *never* be able to fathom someone who - gasp! - doesn't find history fascinating... let alone someone who thinks history is boring but is enthralled with comp. sci.)
4. Robin Munn said the following at 9:06 PM on Oct 17:
I used to find history boring. Then I finally had a good history teacher, and I found out what a vast difference a good teacher can make to the subject their teaching.
5. N said the following at 9:28 PM on Oct 17:
I don't think the word "boring" is really the correct term, but more like "aiming at the wrong goal". I find the secret to academics is learning how to learn. If you do well in a subject you don't like, then you are learning how to learn something even though you are not motivated. That is actually quite important, since in the real world, it demands you to know many skills to have a decent skills, and a lot of the situations that teaches the important skills are "boring".
In the Bible, why do you suppose the first quality of love is "patience"? :)
6. Val said the following at 10:18 PM on Oct 17:
For me, I just started my first post-college job and I often wish it were MORE boring so I could get a break in once in a while!
Anyone out there also in this boat?
It's probably hard to find a happy-medium, especially when first starting out...
7. Rachael said the following at 10:42 PM on Oct 17:
Thanks so much for the reminder!! I like that -- "mastering the mundane"...while I love the relational aspect of my job, there are mundane elements to it as well. And, although it's possible that an "exciting" or "adventurous" door might open in the future, it's very likely that it won't. So hopefully God will help us focus on our tasks as though we were doing it for HIM.
8. Athena said the following at 5:32 PM on Oct 18:
What a timely post. Very convicting and so relevant to all of us who have mundane aspects to their job and wondering why God is allowing this to continue! Funny how I used to welcome the mundane stuff at work because it was manageable and predictable! But now maybe I want something more. I know I know, God is sovereign but we are also responsible in making longterm plans. In the meantime, great tips. Thanks.