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What to do when you get bored at work
Most of us have experienced those periods where we come in to the office, sit-down, and continue our work on the same type of wall detail for the fourth month in a row. Consistency and repetition is a crucial part of growth in any craft, but after a while, our dynamic and creative minds can become weary. We start to lose interest in our work, maybe even grow to dislike it, and slowly lose our enthusiasm for what we're doing.
So what should you do if you've been pigeon-holed into one task for an extended period of time? As simple as it might sound, the best is to speak up to your project manager or principal about it. Sometimes leadership will unknowingly give you the same kind of work over and over again because they know that you will do a good job at it. And almost all employers will be happy to hear that you want to take on a larger role and obtain more responsibility. With that in mind, here are three things to consider:
- Acknowledge your current responsibility. When communicating to a supervisor that you'd like to take on new tasks it's important to acknowledge what they have entrusted you to do at that time. So if you are currently on a project where you're working on ADA details you might say: "...after I wrap up this project I wanted to see if there were any opportunities that I might be able to start contributing to in the design process. I feel that I'm ready to tackle a new challenge and contribute more to the team..."
- Be specific if you know what you want to do. If you want to do wall details then ask if there are opportunities to do wall details. In the same way, if you want to do Construction Administration, ask if there is a project that would allow that. In all cases, the most important thing is to acknowledge the larger goals and capabilities of the entire team. Sometimes a change might not happen right away but a good employer will work it out in due time. It's also a good approach to ask your mentor or supervisor what they feel would be a logical next step in your development.
- Focus on the benefit, not the complaint. When you're talking to your principal about something you've been bored with you want to focus less on the fact that you are tired of your current task and more on your desire to grow into a more dynamic role. The framing is one of asking for more responsibility and more challenge and less so on the fact that you are "bored." In this way, you come off proactive and as a team player instead of a whining employee.
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4 Comments
Boredom is a sign of immaturity.
Every job has tasks that are less pleasurable in one way or another. If you take pride in your work you address these with the knowledge that they are a vital part of a larger context and that each and every component of the project is important.
Except maybe reflected ceiling plans.
Agree with all of the above.
Unless the ceiling is shaped and interesting, and not just T bar.
Miles, I made a very similar point, in an annual review meeting, to my office's brass when I was still junior. Growth and opportunities flowed in my direction shortly afterwards and I still try to push that POV to the new staff. Most don't care, but some might. That's who I want working with me.
RCPs are one of my favorites, after elevations and plans. Can’t say there’s any part of a drawing set I don’t enjoy to some extent. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been consistently given more responsibility every time I ask. If you’re not getting increased responsibility when you’re asking for it, might be time to switch firms. That’s the biggest reason I ended up switching the last time. Smartest move I could have made at the time. The catch is you need to be consistently accurate and efficient with whatever you’re already being given. If I’m handing out redlines to a junior staff and have to mark up restroom layouts 4 times in a row, with errors coming back every time, redlines not being picked up etc, I have zero faith in giving that person more responsibility. However I may instead try and give them different low level tasks to figure out what they are good at.
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