The Secret to Enjoying Your Work

Boring work is bad work. It's bad for the company and for the employee. When people get bored, they dream about the grass on the other side. Their productivity decreases; they become dissatisfied with their work, and things start to spiral steadily downward. Today, people stay at jobs for less time than ever, and more of them are dissatisfied with their work than they have been since 1987. You can wager, too, that they're more bored than ever. What's the cure for this boredom?

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." -Dorothy Parker

Being curious isn't just the cure for boredom, it's the antithesis of boredom. You cannot be curiously bored. But how do you stay curious? What if you're the type of person who craves change, but you've been in the same job for ten years? If you're struggling with boredom, here are five tips to keep you curiously engaged in your workplace:

1. Learn how to do what a colleague does. You'll become more valuable, and you'll have something besides your normal tasks to think about.
2. If you have a routine, change it. Throw a kink in the machine. Get up earlier. Take a different route to work. Go somewhere new on the weekend.
3. Read blogs and books by the respected leaders in your industry. Along the way, you'll find yourself more interested in what you're doing. It's always surprising and refreshing to have your eyes opened.
4. Ask your boss what you can do to improve or contribute. The chances are good you'll be assigned new tasks and forced to adapt.
5. Cultivate energy. Energy helps you stay positive and plow through tedious tasks. Try eating healthier, getting some exercise, sleeping appropriate amounts, and taking breaks for fresh air and sunshine.

At NeboWeb we love what we do, largely because we try to stay curious. If you have any other tips for staying curious, drop them in the comments or send us a tweet.