Knowledge Work is So Boring

Not for me, it isn’t.

I get a lot of stimulation from work.

Most of my work buddies have something to add to my life. There are stories to tell and life hacks to share.

Their personal minutiae of challenges and hobbies and dreams enhance my mental library of recordings.

Up the ladder, leaders in my business are strong and highly observable about the way they do their job.

Learning opportunities that are formally shared as part of professional development programs give me even more to think about.

But it’s the work I really enjoy

I suppose it’s because I like getting things done.

Nothing is more satisfying than ticking off a job from the ‘To Do’ list.

Nothing is more beautiful than a completed colour-coded spreadsheet of data, with headings, columns, grids and error-free formulae.

Or the impactful presentation that is used repeatedly to show a business case to an audience of nodding bean counters.

Nothing fills the day with satisfaction more than finishing a paper in time for reporting to the board. A paper that has all that was achieved and shows off the aspirational plans to continue the trajectory.

Satisfaction is in the completion

So, record everything you’ve done (I use Notion, creating Action Lists) and tick it off to get that feeling of completion.

The joy is in the congregation

But even more, the foils and foibles, the sins and successes of my work colleagues will always sustain me more than they can know.