The Wisdom of Work

When it comes to time, all of us are equal: we are given 24 hours a day. How we make use of that 24 hours makes all the difference in the world. The bum in the street and the billionaire lounging on his private yacht have all made very different decisions that brought them to where they are today.

It is true that some people are creatures of circumstance, having been born in families deprived of basic needs like food or shelter and some are born with silver spoons in their mouth. Those of us who have to eke out a living would have no choice but to spend a greater part of the 24 hours doing something that would allow us to live the rest of the hours doing what we personally choose.

The simplest division of a day is to have it sliced into three:  a third devoted to work, an equal amount to leisure and the rest to sleep.  If one is blessed with the opportunity to do meaningful work which one also enjoys, then that's a perfect life. All my life, I've attempted to do that.

I've always accepted the fact that there's no such thing as a perfect job. Even if you are working for yourself, running your own business, there will be aspects of your job which you would not be so fond of--like chasing for payments, reading and responding to tender documents, managing difficult employees and handling unreasonable demands from customers.  But you take it in your stride, even with some gratitude, because it is still better than toiling under the hot sun or cleaning dirty toilets.

The key to tackling tasks that you dislike is to reframe it. Instead of lamenting the fact that you are again forced to do something you dislike, ask yourself: what could you learn out of it? Nothing, you might say. But doesn't it allow you to practise patience and discipline? How could the boring task be done more efficiently? Is there a way to make it more enjoyable?

Even if you think what you're asked to do is completely stupid, the opportunity to learn something out of it is still present: why is it so stupid? How would you have done it differently? Or perhaps you think it is stupid because of your own egoistic sense of superiority? 

Often employees subconsciously express their hidden resentment against their bosses, by complaining about their jobs and questioning the management's decision. Every time such dissatisfactions arise, question yourself instead: what is the real cause of your resentment? 

Do your work seriously and responsibly, but do not take it too seriously. It may sound contradictory, but it is not. Doing your work seriously means that you do not compromise on quality, no matter how trivial the task is. Not taking things seriously means that you put things into proper perspective: most likely the thing that stressed you most is actually not a matter of life and death. No one is going to die if you fall short, despite your best efforts. Perhaps your ego might get slightly bruised but that's alright. Learn from it. Move on. Next task please!

Every time you do something, you inevitably become better at it. Even a repetitive task, like data-entry. Seek ways to do it even more efficiently. Is there a Windows short-cut which you do not know of? Is there an Excel formula or macro that could help you automate the task? 

Work does not have to be that intolerable. Most of the time, you get to help someone else down the line to do their job better.  That's how colleagues become friends. In my long IT career, I'm fortunate that I've never found myself in any work environment that is toxic. We had a lot of fun playing hard and working hard. In the end, work, if you know how to treat it right, is just an opportunity to hang out with friends.