Most work is not glamorous. You need to show up, put in your time, go through the necessary steps and get to an end point. The component of time needed is the antithesis of every article on productivity.
Good work takes time no matter how productive you are. No matter how skilled you are there is always a need for preparation. For sometimes you don’t know what will be asked of you. There is a component of work that involves continuous learning so that your skills keep building and evolving.
Work can be tedious. There is not always the flow that people talk about when they talk about doing something where they are immersed, engaged and where time just flies. There are times when you need to plod through instead of run.
Our attention and interest in our work and the specific project we are working on will vary. There are responsibilities in our job that we may not “really” like but that need to be done. When this happens the work becomes more tedious but it is no less important than things that you like to do.
You see glamorous is a romantic word that is risky to use with our work. All work involves our energy, attention and effort. What outcome it has may be seen or not seen. It rarely is our place to judge.
To remain balanced, we just need to continue to do our work keeping our eyes open for opportunities that will broaden our experience and sharpen our skills while doing the things that are important but never glamorous to keep moving ahead.