Why it’s a good sign when your job feels boring

Starting a new job is exciting. Meeting new people, getting to know the tools and processes, learning about the industry and diving into unknown challenges. Every meeting and task requires concentration. The brain is on fire and one is wondering whether this job can ever be mastered. Time flies – and way too soon the day is over.

This sensation usually keeps up for a few weeks or months – until a certain routine settles in. The key people are met, the main meetings are known, the content can be handled.

You are still on a learning curve but it is not as steep as in the first weeks. You can still grow within your role.

But over time, you get trained so well that there are no challenges left. You do your tasks – but it feels boring. You have outgrown what there is to learn in your role.

‚Being bored‘ is a good measurement for when you need to move your positioning. Our brain is not made for feeling bored all the time. Therefore, it is time to find new challenges.

These new challenges can be at work – but certainly don’t have to. You can also focus on your family, start a new hobby or start a side hustle. But it is quite important to not ignore the feeling of ‚being bored‘. Your brain might turn to all kinds of destructive ways just to ‚kill time‘ and not feel the boredom, e.g. causing trouble at work or home or excessive partying on the weekends.

Let’s focus on changing your position at work. First you need to admit to yourself that you actually are bored by your tasks. Sometimes we have walked so long in a situation that complaining seems the only solution instead of moving out of the boredom. Once you have realized that you need to move, you need to find out whether this is possible with the help of your managers and within your company.

Testing the waters with your manager will feel challenging – especially when you have never talked to them about changing your tasks. Standing up for yourself is the first new challenge. Do you like the feeling? I bet, you won’t feel bored when you prepare for those talks.

If your managers are willing to support your journey, be precise in what you want and take notes of your agreements. It is your life that you spend at work. So make sure that you steer it in a direction where you want to go.

If your managers are not willing to support a change in role, it might be time to find a new role in another company. Then it is time to make your due diligence thoroughly. What is a must-have for your next role? (the salary is only a minor aspect among many) How can you find a company/team that will not only buy you for a role but is willing to develop you further so that you are not bored in 2 years from now? Check your network for open positions and take enough time to make a good decision.

Whenever you are in your new role: enjoy the new learning curve. Once you feel bored again, you know what to do.