The top 3 signs you’re bored on the job are:

  1. you wake up dreading the day,
  2. you’re depressed every Sunday at the thought of the week ahead,
  3. you don’t see any room for advancement or none of your projects/responsibilities interest you.

Try these tips to refresh your work spirit:

  1. Focus on the good: even though you are bored, are there any aspects you’re grateful for? A short commute? Your coworker who’s become a friend? A fun project, even if it was in the past? The experience you’ve gained that makes you more marketable? Health insurance and paid vacation?
  2. Focus on what you CAN control – which may include a marketing plan to get yourself a new job Start putting together the pieces – update your resume and LinkedIn profile. Find out what resources are available to you for little or no cost through community colleges, career ministries, professional associations and the school(s) where you got your degree.
  3. Write down every job you’ve ever had – even going back to your childhood paper route! Make 2 columns and jot down what you loved in one column and hated in the other. What patterns or commonalities do you see? How can you get/do more of that in your current role? Talk to your boss for ideas – there may be a special project you can tackle.
  4. Focus on making your non-working hours as fulfilling as possible. While it’s great to be 100% fulfilled at work all the time, it’s very rare. The important thing is to make sure that your values are present in some aspect of your life. They are inherently motivating and energizing. The more you can incorporate at work, the less bored you will be!

Our energy and enthusiasm is palpable to others. If you’re coming across as bored and disengaged, you’ll miss out on the best projects, teams and opportunities for advancement.

Also, it’s a long time until most of us will be able to “retire”. We need to enjoy the journey as well as the destination.