Everyone wishes that their Mondays thru Fridays are filled with meaningful work. That there is never a break in the action. That their days are filled with meaning and purpose and passion and all that other good stuff. That’s the ideal. That’s when we can really look at ourselves and say that we’ve made it in life.
Everyone wants to have a breathtaking work experience. To work in a job that pays well, where they have a nice team and a good boss. And that there is no dull moment at all. However, those types of jobs are few and far between.
The majority of us probably have work that is less than ideal. Where we don’t like our bosses. Where we have too much to do. Or even too little to do at times. I can’t speak for everyone. I’m lucky to be in a job that I enjoy and find fulfilling. But, at times, there are also lulls in the action. At times where it feels like there’s nothing to do.
And sometimes I ask myself, is this it? Am I just supposed to be working like this for the rest of my life? I don’t ask these questions in a bitter type of way. Again, I like my job. I am thankful to simply have a job that is flexible with little pressure as of now. But, even the best jobs are not perfect.
For me, throughout the week, there are lulls in the action. Times where I’ve already sent out all the daily emails. Communicated to all our daily suppliers and customers. And now, there’s nothing left to do. During those times, I sometimes twiddle my fingers and wonder what to do at the moment.
I tend to be proactive and start looking for new customers. Or I look to better understand the business inside out. I tend to look for nooks and crannies where I can continue to improve and become a better professional businessman.
So, lulls are an opportunity in themselves. They are a means to look for ways to improve at your job. They don’t make it that much easier to withstand though. Sometimes, I find myself watching YouTube videos about sports or comedy while at work. Sometimes, I find myself wondering about what the evening will bring.
So, there’s that. Not every moment is action packed for me. And it’s been a learning experience. I always assume that work should be fulfilling from start to finish. From head to toe. Monday thru Friday. 9 to 5. All the time. It should be purposeful and filled with passion. But, none of my jobs I’ve had were ever like that.
I even worked for Marvel Entertainment, my dream company when I was young. But my responsibilities had its lulls as well. There were busy days of course. But there were also days when I honestly did next to nothing. And there was just nothing much to do. It really depends on where you work. I’d have to say that many people work in jobs that are way too demanding. Where no break is allowed. Where rare vacations are scorned.
Think about the Amazon warehouse workers that must fill up highly expected quotas and barely have time for even restroom breaks. Those are not your typical ideal jobs neither. Honestly, I don’t really know what the ideal job looks like. It seems like there are always kinks in every job you take. Even your supposed dream jobs.
I guess there’s no one size fits all policy. There are drawbacks to everything we encounter. And we just need to learn to deal with it. These lulls in action also come on the weekends too. Ideally, my weekend would be one where it’s action packed. Where I am hanging out with friends day in and day out. But, sometimes, that’s just not the case. Especially with the Omicron variant running amok.
Some days, I just need to be okay with hunkering down and binge watching a TV show on Disney Plus. Or watching some good old fashioned football and basketball from the comfort of my own room. Nothing “purposeful” or “fulfilling”. Just pure old entertainment from a first world country. And I should be grateful for that. So, no one day is perfect. There is no ideal situation or scenario out there.
At work. On the weekends. At home. There will always be lulls. There will always be imperfection wherever you go. Don’t get too enamored with the supposed perfect individual living out their perfect action-packed lives on Facebook. That is not the case for the most of us.
There are still a lot of problems out there in the world. People are suffering and will continue to suffer. Thru disease. Homelessness. Mental health issues. Drug addiction. Financial problems. The list is endless. So, whenever we encounter the inevitable “lull” at work. Just realize that that’s life’s imperfections rearing its head. We are imperfect individuals leading imperfect lives in a beautifully imperfect society.
But at the same time, we’ve come a long way and we should be grateful for where we are at right now. So, lulls are simply something to deal with ordinarily. They shouldn’t be met with resistance. They should be met with acceptance. It is an opportunity to be proactive and to better yourself in every little way that you can. So, that society moves forward in the right direction individually and collectively.