# Tips to make boring work more enjoyable/go by faster? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2019, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382 "2019-01-25T10:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JakeRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/1 "2019-01-25T10:47:10Z")
I am starting my very first job and while it is easy, it is also really boring, I check some small metal parts for any damages and I get a box of like a 1.000 of them and check each and every one, then another box,etc. I also have to stand while doing this for 8 hours (with two 15-ish minute breaks) Does anyone have any tips on how to make this not feel so boring, maybe something I should or should not focus on,etc. ? I probably don’t have adhd, but I do get easily bored and often get anxious waiting for something to finally happen. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/2 "2019-01-25T12:13:46Z")
Are you allowed headphones/earbuds? Audio books or full-cast audio dramas (Big Finish does them if you like Doctor Who or Dark Shadows) might work. ---
**Author:** ![JmeTN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9dc877/32.png) [@JmeTN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JmeTN)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/3 "2019-01-25T12:29:07Z")
When I’m doing tedious tasks that don’t require much thought, music helps me more than anything else. Are you interested in learning another language? Download free apps that teach you something while you check the parts. Or let this job teach you the art of patience. Let it be a growing experience to overcome your anxiety or bored feelings. It is only tedious if you let it beat you. Think of it like ninja training, lol. ---
**Author:** ![Hapax\_Legomenon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8c91f0/32.png) [@Hapax\_Legomenon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hapax_Legomenon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/4 "2019-01-25T16:42:54Z")
Counting is good for a repetitive task. Keep a runnimg total in your head of exactly how many widgets you’ve done, or if you have a daily target, count down to it. Figure out major fractions of the work and you can cheer yourself up with ‘Only five-eighths to go!’. If there is more than one way to do the task, pick a different way at random each time. If you have a chekclist, go up it, then down it, then do every other time and go back and do the other half. Alternately, can you do the work one-man-assembly-line style? By which I mean, first check each of the hundred widgets for possible defect 1, then go back and check each of the hundred widgets for possible defect 2, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/5 "2019-01-25T18:16:46Z")
Make a game of it. See how many you can do in an hour, then try to break that record.[/skinner] ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/6 "2019-01-25T18:27:00Z")
[Whistle while you work!!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIwa9sPFT5I) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/7 "2019-01-25T19:14:44Z")
I agree with the suggestions about music or audio books, if that is allowed. Once you start pulling down that paycheck and seeing your outside-work life improve, you may be OK with the boredom. IMHO, boredom will be much better than constant drama. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/8 "2019-01-25T21:35:20Z")
Silly answer: Do it naked. everything is more fun naked (with the possible exception of frying bacon). No so silly observation: Your company does 100% QA on small metal parts? Those must be some mighty expensive parts, have a sky high defect rate or have a huge risk/cost of failure, otherwise you are substantially adding to your cost of goods for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/9 "2019-01-25T21:46:07Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > I also have to stand while doing this for 8 hours (with two 15-ish minute breaks) :eek: No lunch break? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-to-make-boring-work-more-enjoyable-go-by-faster/828382/10 "2019-01-25T22:22:50Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > No so silly observation: Your company does 100% QA on small metal parts? Those must be some mighty expensive parts, have a sky high defect rate or have a huge risk/cost of failure, otherwise you are substantially adding to your cost of goods for no reason. How many defective parts does the OP find in a day? And what would be the consequences of one of those defective parts was shipped? I guess if he’s working in Serbia the cost structure is a little bit different.