Why Do I Find Work So Boring?
There is a common belief that doing something that you love will make your work exciting. In fact, this belief is partially true as it only covers one minimal angle of the problem.
Yes, of course when you do something that you love, you will find work much less boring but does this mean that a person who loves his job never gets bored of it?
The quick answer is: He will still get bored sometimes.
But why would a person who loves his job get bored of it?
The first explanation is that when we get forced to do something according to certain fixed rules, we are more likely to get bored.
Why do interesting tasks become boring?
Let’s suppose that you like to read about psychology. In such a case, it would be joyful for you to read an interesting psychology article. But if someone forced you to wake up at 8 am to read certain psychology articles, then the task will certainly become less joyful.
When we find ourselves forced to stick to certain rules, we have to exert a greater amount of self-control. If, for example, you felt like hanging out with friends while reading a psychology book, you will need to exert a lot of self-control to prevent yourself from doing that.
In such a case, the interesting task turned into a struggle where both your conscious and subconscious minds want totally different things. For example, while the conscious mind wants you to work and stick to the rules, the subconscious mind wants you to stop working and have fun.
Being forced to do uninteresting tasks
Even if you love your job, you will still have to do some uninteresting tasks in addition to the interesting tasks you do. I love writing, for example, but I don’t really like online marketing, but for my business to grow, I must do some things that I don’t really like.
While delegating some of the boring tasks is an option for me still it’s not really an option for an employee who gets his tasks dictated by a boss.
The theory of boredom
Boredom happens when we start comparing what we are doing now to what we might be doing instead. If, for example, you were reading an interesting book then compared this to something much more exciting, then you are very likely to feel bored.
For example, if you love watching movies, then thinking about watching a movie while reading the book will make the reading process boring. Now because a typical employee will be stuck at work doing certain things at certain times and dates, he will probably feel bored from time to time. The job doesn’t match your personality.
People tend to hate their jobs when the work style doesn’t match their personalities.
Some people, for example, hate routine and prefer unpredictable environments. Others might get really bored if they sat at a desk for 8 hours instead of doing something more interesting outdoors.
The fact that we are different makes certain jobs suitable for some of us but not for the rest of us. When you get the proper self-understanding, you will certainly know about the proper kind of job you should be looking for to reduce work-related boredom.
