Can work be simple?

If you are asking this question — or even empathizing with the sentiment — you need to think deeper about work.

Here is the positive news — yes, work can be simple. Here’s how.

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

For work to be simple, it needs to be internally, and not externally, motivated. That’s when work will flow out of you and when you will enjoy it the most.

To put it in a framework, simple work is:

Meaningful to you, not just a means to an end (status, money, power, fame) but an end in itself
Challenging
A fair use of your time and ability
Naturally flowing from your existing skills, or those you wish to develop
In the company of people you find stimulating

Notice how all of these factors really depend on you. Sure, there is an element of being around people who stimulate you but there is still a lot of “internal motivation” in that list.

All external motivators (e.g. status, wealth, income, etc.) can only cater to your material needs. The ultimate rewards here are greater access to goods and services by your having more power, money or fame which will enable the access to these.

If you find these external material motivators rewarding and find the associated work that gets you greater power, money or fame a useful way to spend your time then by all means do it!

But if you don’t, you might need to change the nature of your work and prioritise things that matter to you. The framework laid out above is a good starting point, but there are plenty of other tools, tips and techniques out there that can be of use. A good place to start a book called Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I especially resonated with his description of an autotelic worker — someone who finds enjoyment in the work they do.

To reiterate, the key to simplifying work is for it be internally focused. You need to find something that motivates you at the core of your being.

Now, simple work might not be easy, and in fact even the finding of said work might be not easy. But you can make that a mission of your life till you find such work.

The bad news is that, everyone changes and so will you. What you find simple and exciting in the present might become stale and un-challenging in the future.

If / when this happens, recognize that it has and go back to understanding what is simple to you. But, note this doesn’t mean you quit work. It just means you need a change and that’s okay. The only thing to continue to do is to keep your goals simple and internal, not complex and external. That’s the only way to happiness :)

Thanks for reading.

Sukhi

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