In most of the ways my job is ten shades of awesome. It’s super relaxed, I have my own office and rarely have to speak to anyone. I could sit at work wrapped in a towel, playing rock and roll songs and stuffing my face with corn thins, and no one would care (I know this because this is how I spent Monday.) As long as my work gets done, everything else is gravy.
What does that even mean?
(Image by Kelvin Beecroft on Flickr)
I have flexible hours, my boss is awesome, the work varies and I get to be creative sometimes (well, as creative as I can be writing copy and playing around using my relatively mediocre skills in Indesign… which is kinda …which is better than not at all.)
But sometimes, particularly after weeks like this one, where I’ve done the same repetitive task eight million times, and will be called upon to complete it probably eight million more, I start to feel a bit like some kind of mindless automaton. The steps of said repetitive tasks become quickly ingrained and I complete them almost thoughtlessly. Click here. Open that. Paste here. Make live. Repeat. Forever.
Perhaps I could teach the steps to a trained capuchin or an extremely well-programmed Roombah, outsource the boring stuff for a small price and instead read a good book (I think the monkey would be cool if I paid it in fruit and the occasional grub, and I don’t think the Roombah would expect payment at all.)
At night I could take the Roomba home and put my cat on it. Fun for all the family!
All misery aside, though, being able to lapse into somnambulism at work does allow time for day dreaming. And while you are daydreaming, well – that’s when the best ideas happen. In fact, some scientists actually posit that boredom is beneficial to creativity. So I suppose I should actually be grateful that I often have time to lapse into flights of fancy, because it could actually be helpful to my creative endeavours.
Anyway, I’m off to mindlessly click keys, press buttons and stare off into space. I’m getting paid to do it, and besides: who knows what I might dream up in the process.
Do you have a mindless, repetitive job? What do you do to cope with it? Do you think boredom and daydreaming aids creativity? Let me know below!
No alarms and no surprises huh? (Thank you Radiohead). Being a stay-at-home Mum can be like that. The groundhog-day-ness can be crippling. Other times it is so full of surprises, shocks and problems previously unforeseen that I wish there was some way to make it the same day in day out.
Do you reckon it’s boredom that brings on great ideas or is it monotony (they’re different huh? I can’t remember the last time I was offered the chance to get bored, but I know that when I do something monotonous like (dare I say it) ironing, my brain wanders off to some good ideas.
I’m not writing a book though, I’m writing a blog (shameless plug rachiebee.blogspot.co.nz) and for me blogging needs variety.
I think that monotony and boredom are good for allowing your brain time to make connections, if you know what I mean.
Like even though my mind’s surface is smooth and bleh, underneath there are things moving and churning and sea monsters and mermaids and dolphin-sex and stuff, but not literally dolphin sex… you dig the meaning of my terrible metaphor, right?
Ha – totally. Kind of like the sleep on it thing you were talking about yesterday which I also totally agreed with. I am loving your blog. So much food for thought. Do you read Laini Taylor’s blog? It’s well worth a look.
I’ve always been big on daydreaming. I don’t let it conflict with my everyday life, but a great daydream can go a long way. Imagining a goal I want to accomplish isn’t always sufficient. Fantasizing about what could happen if I accomplish that goal is enough to get me moving. Just like that, I’m more motivated and creative than ever.
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