Run the Same Way Everyday
We were in the same location for 2 weeks. On day 1 we ran the road. It was great but I don’t like to go the same way every day, so on day 2 we tried a couple paths. Sadly each one got us to an impasse of deep water in less than a mile. On day 3 we went back to the road so I could get internet to send this blog post. I wanted to try some of the other paths but how would you be reading this now if I had? And day 4 - back to the road (for the internet), but now I was bored, boreder, boredest.
On day 5, still needing to go to the road for internet, we found 2 very short paths off the road so they at least added some variety. Amazingly, even that small amount of change made it not so boring. Being faced with running the exact same way everyday for 2 weeks had two negative effects on me:
#1 just the thought of having only one route available made me bored
#2 I felt cheated that I was seeing all the same scenery day after day (instead of seeing 10 different sceneries)
This got me thinking about staff, and myself when bored at work... When we get bored, we stop wanting to do whatever it is that’s boring us. If it’s a must-do thing, we do it but not well or mindfully (accidents and mistakes waiting to happen) or happily. These things eventually transfer to our feelings about the whole job, the people we work with and the whole organization.
Why do we allow ourselves to get bored? Why don’t we do something about it? I can think of at least two reasons. Some people don’t even realize they’re bored. They may recognize that work isn’t fun anymore but not know why. Others recognize they’re bored but, like me on the run, need to keep doing whatever it is (for me it was the need for internet service).
What can you do to help your staff person recognize that boredom is what’s causing their lack luster performance? If you have an idea that what’s causing the poor performance is boredom with that task, tell them - “Your last 3 weekly management reports have typos on each page and have less details than all your previous reports. I remember a time that was happening to me (only say this if it’s true) and I realized I was bored of writing the same format, same categories every week. Can you tell, are you feeling differently about writing your reports recently compared to the past?” If they say they can’t tell or they don’t feel any differently then explore other issues about report writing that might be causing the boredom.
What can you do to help them get what they need (for me - internet) or see another way to do it (save up all my internet work and do it all on one day, have someone else do the blog who has internet)? Ask them what they need in order get the task done and feel more engaged, more excited about it. If they can’t come up with anything, give them some multiple choice ideas. If nothing seems to click it may mean the task, no matter what way it’s done is boring or has become boring to them. This is when we move to “see another way to do it”. What if another person could do this task and they could do one of that person’s tasks? What if they could help another person learn this task (sometimes helping another person learn renews your interest in a task)? Whatever “what ifs” you talk with them about, do your homework ahead of the conversation. The last thing you want is to explore a work around that you can’t actually allow them to do.
The earlier you catch the boredom the more likely you are to be able help them find a way to stay engaged, turning the solution to the boredom into a great new opportunity for them and your organization!