Sleepy

I need more coffee! And I need to quicken my pace! I shall march onwards to corporate governance. Urgh. Cadbury, not the chocolate, but a report.

Someone asked me how I sustain myself at work. "Doesn't the routine get to you?" or another common question "Work is the same, it's getting boring although it is only 6 months. How do you do it?".

Well, sometimes I'm thankful for the routine. It is a form of relaxation, like autopilot. Need not think too much. The nature of my job was a lot of ad-hoc analysis, even in the early days of my career. Was lucky to have a supportive superior. But in my line, there is always routine of some kind. And the thing that annoys me is when people tell me the routine gets boring. My question to them in return would be : Have you improved on the routine? Is it faster and more accurate now? Do you give value added analysis and reports to the management? Have you consulted the end user of the reports on things they may want to see or may not need? Do you know what your report is used for? How does it affect the bottomline?

A friend who does Accounts Payable made the mistake of telling me her job was boring 2-3 months after she started. My barrage of questions include : What's the volume of your processing? What's the range of invoice value like? Who are your largest vendors/suppliers? What does the company spend on? How much money is paid out every week?
No answer. All you do is processing? Yeah. Good, you'll be stuck forever.

The point is, sometimes opportunities are right in front of you. It is up to you to link things and learn. That's something they don't teach you. You can't complain that no one told you. The corporate world is a rather selfish one. You would be lucky if you get a good mentor. Most of the time, you have to take the initiative. And also prove that you are capable by doing the job you have really well. The things you learn now may not pay off immediately. But the exposure you get will one day prove to be useful.

As for now, I'm on sabbatical. Thank goodness :P