Dare to dream !

“Work is boring….colleagues are boring….I just hope it’s not Monday tomorrow”

Most people have that kind of mentality. And most of them start counting down for weekend on Monday itself (some do that on Sundays). They just dread going to work! In fact, it’s pretty hard to find someone who really enjoys their work (not to say there isn’t any, but those who think their work is boring far outnumbers those who think their work is fun).

But what if their work is not as boring as it currently is? What if their colleagues and their workplace is fun and very dynamic? If you’re thinking it’s impossible, then perhaps you should find another job. Because to me, anything can be turned into something exciting. Yes, it requires efforts but it’s not impossible. Here are some of the things which I can think of.

• Change the way you think about your work. Don’t treat it like something you are forced to do because you have no other choice (you always have a choice, remember that). Treat it as something more meaningful….maybe you feel your job can help others, or you feel you can help extend the business, or you can help people solve problems, etc.
• Decorate your workspace. I never like the open office concept because you don’t really have a “home” in the office. You’ll just move around all the time. I prefer to have a workspace for myself, and decorate it the way I like it – pictures, drawing, plants, etc. Simple/complicated, it’s all up to me. That way, it’ll make me feel more comfortable in the office. It definitely won’t change the work/assignments, but it’ll change my mood when I’m working on something.
• Mix with your colleagues. It really makes the entire workplace more entertaining if you have close friends around. If you don’t have any, then go make some in the office. Sometimes, when the work is really pushing you to quit, you will think of the nice colleagues you have.
• Work longer hours. If you spend more hours on a single assignment, you won’t feel hard pressed for time. Yes, you do tend to lose some sleep but you can also work at a more relaxing pace. Well, at least working at a relaxing pace makes me more productive and also makes the work more enjoyable. The moment you (or your boss) start chasing for deadline, is the moment your work loses its fun factor.

Of course, all these can’t beat the ultimate “Do what you are passionate about”. That’s the best, if you have the option. But most often than not, we’ll be stuck doing something we are not so passionate about in order to feed our family. So the least we can do to make our work more enjoyable is to do those things listed above.

Transform your workplace, your relationship with your colleagues and your mindset towards everything. It’ll really make things more interesting.

And hopefully, you won’t dread going back to the office all the time. Who knows, maybe there are something in the office which makes you want to go back more!

p/s…. if there’s really nothing you can do to make your work less boring and more exciting, then it’s time to find another job. Reason being, you simply can’t perform in a boring environment.