Enthusiastic about many things, but never about work

funnyvideo

When I started the 6th form in the late 90s we had computers in the 6th form block connected to the internet which was the first time I'd come across such a thing. Next thing I found myself using those computers all the time. I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career, but the teacher picked up on the fact I was using the computers a lot and in their mind it was a no brainer I should go down the IT route and I thought why not.

As I went down this route it became more apparent I hadn't found a new interest in computers. I'd found an interest in the internet where I could read about things I was interested in. I was pretty good at doing IT type things like writing code though so carried on and ended up in an IT career.

One thing I've always done throughout my career is get involved in the extra curricular activities. In my first place there were monthly scavenger hunts at lunchtime where a colleague saw a side to me they'd never seen before. I was pretty competitive and loud trying to motivate the team to win and they were used to me sitting quietly at my desk looking bored.

In others places I've got involved in organising Christmas parties, summer parties, helping the companies adopted charities by organising fundraisers or using a "charity half day" to do some voluntary work there. I worked at a company where we were encouraged to organise social activities like bowling and I did several of those.

My main reason for doing all this is because it's a distraction from my real job. Put me up in front of the company to talk about the upcoming Christmas party and I'm enthusiastic about it. Put me up to talk about a new bit of software and you could probably tell how apathetic I am about it. A former colleague who I met for a beer with last week told me they saw me as miserable and didn't think I was worth bothering with until they saw me at a charity fundraiser I'd organised and saw a different side to me.

When I did presentation training around 2 years into my career I had to put together 2 presentations, one on a topic of my choice and one which was work related. The feedback in not such blunt terms was my presentation on my topic of choice was excellent and the worked related one was terrible.

I do try and find interesting things but they end up being nothing to do with my job such as seeing where in the country buildings in a database are located. 

Is it normal to feel like this? i.e. find interest in everything but what you're supposed to be interested in.

tacpot12

It's not normal, but not that unusual either. Many people drift into jobs, and many people's jobs have little that really interests them, but they can usually summon up enough interest most days to get the job done. They basically hide the issue so that their employer just sees them as a run-of-the-mill employee rather than a problem.  

Your description of yourself suggests that you enjoy people and enjoy organising activities. These are excellent traits if you are a project manager, but you will find little outlet for these in coding/software development work. Perhaps a change to a different role might give you more interest? I worked as a project manager for many years, and while I didn't especially enjoy the role, I always had a problem to solve and that I did find interesting.   

coffeehound

You might benefit from a review with a career consultant.  There are ofc various websites and books to identify your strengths and motivations and suggest suitable jobs, but the danger is that you end up having to start all over again at the bottom.  The benefit of a consultant is they are good at finding options to take you from your current role to a more suitable field without having to lose what you've already achieved

theoretica

Also, things can be less appealing as they lose novelty and you 'have' to do them.  Maybe a career as an event organiser would keep your enthusiasm, but maybe it would not.  I have hobbies I know I would not like as a full time career.

ginger_chocolate

I have experienced this for most of my working life too -  it's partly an ADHD thing in my case, so that might be something you want to explore - it probably won't solve the problem, but it might help you understand yourself a bit better and explore some coping mechanisms.

Also, it's just  hard staying interested in something you have to do for hours every day no matter what and don't feel like you have much choice in, even if the thing is something you feel like you *should* be interested in on paper. And frankly: getting excited about bowling = normal. Getting excited about a piece of work software = actually really kinda weird. It's the world that is messed up, not you.

I changed my career completely several times, and did numerous career consultations, read endless self-help books and all that jazz, before I finally accepted that:
a) most jobs are rubbish to some degree otherwise they wouldn't have to pay people to do them, and
b) it's just in my nature to be easily bored and distracted, to seek novelty, and not want to do what I'm supposed to do


 My current goal is to get into a financial position where I can do my main paid employment for only three days a week, then spend the rest of the time d**king around at whatever I'm currently feeling enthusiastic about.

Marcon

funnyvideo said:

I do try and find interesting things but they end up being nothing to do with my job such as seeing where in the country buildings in a database are located. 

Is it normal to feel like this? i.e. find interest in everything but what you're supposed to be interested in.

There's one bit of the circle you aren't squaring: finding a job which will enable you to encompass the things which you say you find enjoyable and interesting - and looking at your post, there's plenty of evidence that could be a winner of an idea. Sit down with the proverbial pen and paper and pick out from your own long post above the list of activities/things which you've enjoyed and then consider what job you could do which would enable you to major on these. Party planner springs to mind and there'll be plenty of other options for a creative mind like yours!

Slinky

Would a job in sales be of interest to you?  Selling is a talent and can be well rewarded if you are good at it. Background often doesn't matter so starting again may not mean a huge step backwards for a long time in terms of renumeration.

AskAsk

i like going to work simply for the social interaction and doing the job itself was just on the side!  the job itself was just something i can do easily and very well and get paid highly for it.  i don't really have any interest in it and in the past have found it so boring it was hard to keep going at times but i needed the money.

you sound like someone who would enjoy the social side of work so perhaps think about moving into consulting where you can get to a senior position, which will then not involve coding but use that knowledge to consult with clients and other professionals on the project.  you can get more jollies that way as well paid for by the company 

you will need to be prepared to travel as you will need to travel to client sites.

funnyvideo

Thank you for the replies. I do like the social side of things and this has obviously been lacking the last couple of years which has really exposed how boring I find the actual work.

I'd say it's also in my nature to do everything but what I'm supposed to do. I've just remembered when doing my A Levels I got all enthusiastic about researching universities and applying to them but never had that sort of motivation with my studies. Then at university I joined 4 different societies and sat on the committee for one of them but again I put a lot more effort into that than I did my studies.

Marcon

funnyvideo said:

Thank you for the replies. I do like the social side of things and this has obviously been lacking the last couple of years which has really exposed how boring I find the actual work.

I'd say it's also in my nature to do everything but what I'm supposed to do. I've just remembered when doing my A Levels I got all enthusiastic about researching universities and applying to them but never had that sort of motivation with my studies. Then at university I joined 4 different societies and sat on the committee for one of them but again I put a lot more effort into that than I did my studies.

Why? It's a serious question - and until you answer it for yourself, you're probably not going to make much progress with the answer. If it's a case of hating to do as you're told, then maybe working for yourself could provide a solution? 

TELLIT01

Most of my working life was spent in environments where things changed on a weekly or basis, so it always kept my interest.  The last few years at work were spent in a purely desk based and repetitive role and I was bored out of my skull.  I only stuck it out because retirement was on the horizon and the work wasn't exactly difficult.