Boredom at Work

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I am getting really bored with my work, which is quite repetitive and monotone. I find myself working for a bit and then constantly checking my email/Facebook, coming up with random silly things that make me laugh and get distracted from the task at hand, etc. I then lose my motivation to go and show up late, get depressed/into other things, etc...

Ideally, I would like to work full-time at a job that is dynamic and constantly engaging, unlike the monotonous data entry and computer tasks I need to do nowadays, but this is a stepping stone to other things that will be more intellectually stimulating.

The people I work with can focus for much longer, it seems, and don't get distracted/silly.

Any tips on how to focus properly on boring work and just get it over with?

My advice would be to complete what you are given, then do the Facebook thing/take a break, etc.

I actually do pretty much the same thing you do--except, alas, I've made a career out of it; whereas your present job is but a stepping-stone to perhaps a great career in ABA/autistic advocacy.

Are they very watchful where you work?

Can you listen to music, a podcast, or an audio book while you work?

I wish I had an answer to that. I got to that point in my last job. My bosses, by that point, would let me take on some cool projects or help out significantly and I could focus on those for hours at a time... alas, the boring work was still awaiting me.

I was trying to transfer to a job that I'd be more engaged in for like 7 years... finally had to leave my company to do it. I miss them, but, it was a good move.
For my first couple of months here, my software wasn't ready yet, so I was helping out someone else and basically doing more repetitive and monotonous work and thought I'd made a huge mistake, but, thankfully, once I started doing what I was hired to do, I've kept up my interest levels.

I'd love to hear any coping/motivation methods anyone else has, because we have only so much control about when we move on to more stimulating roles.

That'd be easy if the work had a definite end, but these are huge projects that typically take at least a month each to complete. Good for you - I can't imagine making a career out of work like this, it's way too draining for me. They're not very watchful there, but they're "finish ASAP" projects and I'm sure being slow is noticed. I would like to increase my productivity because I have other things to do, like chores and phone calls/emails to take care of once I get home in the evening, so I can't afford to procrastinate too much. Plus I need a good reference for grad school, that's the whole point of volunteering to do this work.

Sometimes, if it's pure data entry. If it's work involving listening to audio/videos with audio, then I can't.

One suggestion I have is to get a standing desk or to work while standing, if at all possible (you can modify existing desks so you can stand by stacking your keyboard/mouse on a cardboard box or something, even). With jobs that are boring like that, if you are just sitting down in a chair all day your mind will start to waste away! If you stand, it helps keep your blood moving a bit and your mind more alert/focused.

I second the music suggestion. I had a job for a year where I would basically sit and click for 8hrs a day, with next to no variation and hardly any human interaction. It was essentially the most boring job I can imagine, and music helped me survive it!

To make things less boring you can look for ways to improve existing systems at your workplace. For example if they have some Excel spreadsheet that you enter your data in to, are there any ways that it could be significantly improved? That sort of thing!

You have a really busy life! That's good (in a way).

How is the reading material within your projects? Is it interesting?

Sometimes, at my job, I get to read accounts of events which caused meltdowns.

It's okay, it's just scholarly journal research articles. Nothing emotionally triggering.

I have the same trouble, but I took a very different route. I got diagnosed with ADD and started taking Adderall. That was a few years back and it has helped a lot! I still get bored but my brain does not automatically look for something more stimulating. This of course only works if you have ADD but quite a few ASD folks have ADD too. I never noticed it because my ADD is missing the H in ADHD. The hyperactivity part causes problems early in school which leads to a diagnosis and treatment early in life.

Anxiety is a different issue though. If I'm anxious about something my brain will find something unrelated to focus on. I have not found any solution other than trying to face the anxiety and overcome it.

Scholarly journal research articles could be interesting....

For sure, that's a very small part of my duties though, unfortunately. The rest is mostly point and click kind of work.

I don't have ADHD/ADD for sure. I think I'm just an extreme extrovert and am probably experiencing what many other extroverts like me experience. However, I am surrounded with introverts in my day-to-day life (including at work) so I have no clue how other extroverts cope with stuff like this. I despise email so that wouldn't help me much for sure. I find I need to hear a person's voice and have a conversation with a voice in order to "bring me back to reality" from the weird anxious state I get into if I spend too much time doing solitary work.