How to Get Out Of the Boring Bits in Your Job

What’s the one thing in your job you could lose that would make you a very happy professional?  And how would it feel to never have to do that task again?  Go on, dream a little bit.
 
Hold on to that vision, because there are clear ways to step out of work you are bored with today.  But, before we go there, let’s look at some the excellent reasons you should move away from tasks you’ve “out-grown” at work:

• You likely took that task on when you were new in your role and were on a learning curve; several months (or years) later and your skills have grown, meaning you can take on more complicated, value-add work.
• When tasks no longer hold challenge or learning for you, they can either become comfortable places to “rest” at work (you can’t be 100% super-charged all day, that isn’t healthy), or these tasks are annoying reminders that you are not valued at work.  Check in and see which it is, because you only want to work yourself out of what is no longer serving you (and keeping some predictable, comfortable work on your plate is OK when it lets you recharge for the more interesting-to-you work).
• You know you have more to give, and you feel passionate about putting it to work where you are today, but your manager may not see it the same way, yet.

 
Full disclosure, there will always be routine work in every job that isn’t exciting to do; the goal is not to get to 100% juicy work (80/20 is a more realistic split).  The goal is to ensure you highlight your skills and readiness to support increased value-add work so both you and your organization can benefit. 
 
So, have you identified one or two things you’d be happy to lose from your job description?  Here’s how to do just that:

• Consider why this work needs to be done (what is the value-add for your organization?) The work you’ve identified may be complex, but it is also likely predictable, making it ripe for re-thinking.   Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn’t mean it can’t be improved, automated, or even eliminated.  You may need to consult others and look at this from multiple perspectives to understand what is possible with this routine work.
• Document it.  When you are getting ready to move any work to a new person, the first step is to have a complete set of simple instructions on how to do it well.  This makes moving it a much easier sell to your manager, who is weighing the risks of having someone new do something your team or organization relies on.  Your boss is more likely to say “yes” to moving this work when the risks in doing so are minimized.
• Your manager not biting on moving it to someone else?  Then consider the risk of having only 1 person (you) able to do this task, and work with your manager to understand the value of having more than one of you trained (and good) at doing it.  At the very least it may get this off your plate some of the time (and you gain valuable experience in teaching someone else how to do it).
• Think like a business.  When you took on this task your salary was likely lower, significantly lower if you’ve had a task assigned to you for several years.  However, your salary has increased over time (do the math) and that changes the “cost” of having this work done.  Consider helping your boss see the value of having this work re-assigned to recognize the relative value (vs. cost) of completing it (tread carefully here, you don’t want to make it sound like this work is beneath you, or someone else is less valuable than you are at work).

 
All of these options can help you move boring things off your plate at work, but the most important part to getting this done is making sure you have a strategic upside to offer.  Demonstrating to your manager what value-add you can bring to other critical work (or how you can take on more of the challenging work you have today) is key. Here again, you’ll want to highlight the opportunities for the business in considering this change, keeping it de-personalized and ego-less.
 
It’s important to shine a light on the work you do from time to time and evaluate if it is the best use of your evolving talents and skills.  If you think your boss is doing this, keep in mind how busy they are…do they really get the “thinking” time needed to assess if everyone is optimized in their roles?  Not likely.  You need to advocate for yourself, or risk letting this happen by chance.  Of course, if you have really bright co-workers with lots of potential who advocate for themselves than even chance won’t help you.
 
Think about it; what is the worst that could happen in advocating for what you know you are ready to do?

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