Public Service Announcement Its OK to be bored at work

Public Service Announcement Its OK to be bored at workPublic Service Announcement Its OK to be bored at workOpen laptop, type in password, scroll through email, check to-do list, start first task, get bored, open Facebook Ten minutes later, youre on your fifth Buzzfeed quiz and wait, what are you doing? Do you really have that short of an attention span, or are you - like the majority of your generation - just bored?In a Gallup poll, we learned that 55% of millennials are not engaged at work. So dont worry - if you find yourself gazing longingly at the clock every five minutes, alternating between webbrowser tabs, or furiously scrolling through your Insta feed, youre not alone. But just because everyones doing it, does that make work boredom OK?Maybe you literally have nothing to do. You already checked off all your tasks for the day, and now youre just sitting there like now what? Or, maybe you have plenty to do but zero desire or interest in getting it done. Thats boredom.But then theres this thing called active disengagement. According to the poll, 16% of us are in this state at work. Its when youve moved from just being bored to actually doing things that are counterproductive to work (online shopping, leaving work to do other things, looking for another job, working on a side gig on company time). Youre taking direct action to keep yourself from getting things done, and youre setting yourself up to stay in that state, indefinitely.Be careful if youve moved into this stage. If youre so disengaged that youre not getting your work done, ask yourself, why are you even there? It might be time to move on. Or, maybe its just time for a shift in perspective - boredom isnt your enemy. Its trying to tell you something, and its time to listen.Here are three times when, actually, its OK to be bored with your job (and what to do about it)1. Maybe its not your Dream JobWe all have to pay the bills. Maybe youre spending 40 hours per week at a job thats not even clo se to ideal. Thats OK. Its just your day job - for now - and hopefully, youre putting in extra hours outside of work on a side hustle or taking online classes to get to where you want to be.Take a moment to reflect. You probably dont entirely hate your job (if you do, maybe it really is time to move on). Think about why you took the job in the first place. Maybe it hasnt panned out the way you hoped it would, but is there anything you could do to create opportunities to feel more engaged? Is there something you still want to learn from this role? Talk to your babo about taking on a new project or participating in training sessions for new tools. Think outside the box, and take the initiative to do something outside your role.Personal example I was feeling ultra-bored at my executive assistant job (scheduling meetings and making travel arrangements arent my passion - sue me). But, then I heard that a new project had been assigned to a manager of a different team. It just so happen ed I had this exact project experience at a previous company, so I approached her and asked if I could help. Not only was she open to the idea, I could tell she was actually relieved to be able to have someone to work with on it.2. Youd like your job (maybe even love it) if you didnt have toEveryone has those parts of their job that are just like UGH. But just because youre bored with this one project or task, that doesnt mean your entire job is a snooze. If youre in a position to delegate that work to someone else or collaborate with a team member, do so (FYI thats not an invitation to drop all the grunt work on your intern). Knowing your areas of weakness is a strength in and of itself. Taking the initiative to actually do something about it is a sign of real maturity.If you cant outsource to someone else, try the worst things first approach, i.e. scheduling your least favorite tasks first thing in the morning. That way, youve already cleared the boring stuff off your plate before youre tempted to become unproductive.3. The dreaded lullAt nearly every job, theres an ebb and flow. The good news here is that most of the time youve got lots to do, but what about those days when all projects are completed and youre wondering why youre even at work today? Its OK. Take this downtime to appreciate a little reprieve from the madness, and use it to prepare for the next rush. Is there anything you can do now to make those crazy busy times a little less stressful?Train yourself up on Gmails functionalities - add some rules to your Inbox so you can spend less time clearing out junk mail every week. Submit your expense report early for once. Take a coworker out to lunch, and see if you can learn something new about what they do. Learn how to write a macro in Excel so you can run your reports faster, and then actually write it. Voila You just saved yourself and the company precious time, and you learned a valuable and transferable new skill.So, yes, its really OK if your e not perpetually energized by endless reports and data analysis. Whether youre biding your time at a day job, or youre just going through a slow period at work, remember that boredom is a natural part of life. Instead of trying to cure your boredom, pay attention to the message that boredom is trying to tell you, and use it as a tool to reexamine your priorities, change your habits, and improve your skills.This article first appeared on Career Contessa.