Time & Energy...ON Purpose!

you absorb the energy around you, And you give energy to those around you. ​ make it good stuff. there is no time to waste on life-suckage. nanea hoffman

Recent research has confirmed a majority of employees in the U.S. report being bored at work.  And this appears to be a more frequent issue for millennials - specifically, bored at twice the rate of other generations at the SAME company! 

Which begs the question, HOW CAN WE INVEST OUR TIME & ENERGY...ON PURPOSE?

Start by understanding what causes boredom...

Is boredom dictated by the situation? No. It's usually observed where one person is totally enthralled with what's going on while another person is so bored they become impatient, agitated and irritable for having to be there.

Can a person choose not to be bored? For a while, at least. You can actively engage in the event but, for a variety of reasons, you may eventually become bored (while others remain engaged). 

Factors that contribute to being bored at work?  Two! Employee and workplace.

Boredom: The Employee’s Part to Mitigate...

Engage! Boredom experienced by an employee is partially their responsibility and things they can do to make themselves “less bored”. SOLUTION 1: become more actively engaged in the activity than trying to become less bored; it's difficult to become "less passive". SOLUTION 2: find something you can lend your gifts / talents / strengths! It WILL do TWO things: 1. ENGAGE you! 2. BENEFIT the company since you are adding MORE value!

Sleep! A factor that makes a person more susceptible to becoming bored is being physically tired.  When we are tired, our mind doesn’t work as well and we have a harder time processing information (and staying mentally engaged.) SOLUTION: make sure you get enough rest! SEE the research that supports benefits of more sleep! 

Attitude! The more common (and important) employee factor is one’s attitude and approach to the task. Coming to the situation with a belief “This is going to be BORING” will lead to a negative experience. However, if you approach the task with a desire to learn and be actively engaged, your experience will be more positive.  SOLUTION: have the attitude “What can I learn from this experience?”

Boredom: The Workplace’s Part

Environment! Boring workplaces (or jobs) are more prevalent than totally negative, unhealthy work environments.  The opposite of a vibrant, healthy workplace is likely to be dull and unexciting – think of a gray, lifeless, low energy workplace. 

Common circumstances that create a boring experience:

• Non-interesting information.
• No sensory stimulation  (in other words, an extremely “plain” setting or environment.) — visually, auditory, kinesthetically - i.e. Learning through feeling.
• A sense your presence doesn’t matter.
• The information or task has no connectedness to your life.
• Expected to stay focused for long periods of time.
• Information processed is factual and has no emotional component.
• The task is repetitive, non-engaging and requires very little from you.
• You have no idea of why you are doing, or, what you’re doing, or, how what you're doing is related to the ‘big picture’.
• Besides the physical components, boredom at work essentially is an extreme example of disengagement – being “present” physically but not really “being there” mentally or emotionally.

If You Are Bored, What Should You Do?

Start with yourself!

• Are you not giving work a REAL chance because you go in tired most days? If so, develop a plan to correct this.
• Do you need to work on your attitude and expectations? Expecting life to be dull will typically lead to self-fulfilling expectations. 
• Ask yourself: what can I learn through this process (about myself, about others, about technology, about our industry, about our clients or vendors)? Learn!

 Evaluate your workplace! 

• Is my work truly uninteresting?
• Would almost anyone be bored doing what I do?
• Are there changes I can make to the environment to make it more lively and engaging?  HINT: Even changes in the physical environment can make a difference!
• Do I need to start thinking about pursuing alternatives?

Whatever answers you find, make sure you do yourself (and those around you) a favor.  Don’t settle for a non-interesting daily life where you are disengaged, sort of going through life in a stupor.  Make some choices that will help you truly experience life in the fullness it can offer.

My best to your quest!

​Mark
I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum ​performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

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