How to Challenge Yourself at Work

Finding yourself going through the motions with nothing happening in your role? Challenging yourself, building your skills and improving your performance will reinvigorate your excitement and lead you to new opportunities.

Your job becomes more meaningful when it is enjoyable, stimulating and exciting. This is what it means to be engaged in your role.

Many employees experience days or even long stretches where they become bored at work and fall into a rut. So, what is the solution?

If your job isn’t as satisfying as it used to be, don’t sit back and do nothing about it. Laziness is not a good look in anyone’s eyes and quiet quitting doesn’t help anyone. Why not at least make things more interesting for yourself?

Challenging yourself at work will not only make you feel more engaged, but it will also improve your career performance, provide opportunities to enhance your skills and prove to your manager that you’re worthy of that promotion or pay raise.

1. Push yourself out of your comfort zone

Every job has certain tasks that may require you to exert more effort and time; tasks which employees tend to shy away from. Maybe it’s something you’ve never done before and don’t know where to start. Or, maybe it’s something you know takes a lot of time to do and you’re not looking forward to committing to the grind. Challenge yourself by tackling these tasks head-on; embrace the challenge and feel more accomplished.

2. Don’t procrastinate, jump over the hurdle of getting started

Everyone is guilty of procrastinating at work from time to time. We put off tasks we don’t want to do in favour of easier work. Ticking off easier tasks makes us feel accomplished. But, if we’re constantly pushing away the harder tasks, stress towards those tasks starts to build up.

To combat procrastination, call yourself out when you hear those intrusive thoughts telling you there’s something else you could do. You know, the ‘it only takes a second’ and ‘I still have time to do it later’ excuses we all tell ourselves.

3. Knock out daunting tasks first

A good way to get these daunting tasks done is to get them out of the way first thing in the morning. Your energy and concentration levels are likely to be higher earlier in the day.

Just like getting up early to exercise, the feeling of ticking a huge task off your list puts you in a good mood. It sets the momentum for the rest of the day, making you feel more engaged!

4. Try something new and expand your horizons

If you feel like you’ve exhausted your own role and the responsibilities within it, speak to your manager about other types of work you’ve been interested in trying.

Not sure what you want to try? Use this time to figure it out. Think about what you’ve enjoyed doing in the past and where you want to go in your career. You could also think about current skills you’d like to further develop.

The worst that could happen is that there isn’t anything suitable for you now, but your manager will now keep you in mind for future projects and have a better idea of what you’re interested in.

5. Be competitive

A little competition can go a long way at work. In some cases, overtly striving to one-up other employees can generate conflict and make you unpleasant to work with. In other cases, friendly competition can create good banter and lead to high-performing teams. If you do want to initiate some competition, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Help each other and share your advice
• Don’t sabotage, play fair
• Celebrate everyone’s wins
• Cheer each other on, especially when things get tough
• Use your own achievements as your benchmark in defining new goals

6. Build professional connections

Peers and colleagues play a vital part in your overall career success. Vicarious learning can be one of the most effective ways to improve. Make sure you stay connected not only with your own team members but also with the wider corporate network.

While building connections isn’t necessarily a way to ‘challenge yourself’ (for some people it might be), we’ve included it because it is a great way to develop your motivation. Let us explain.

Building relationships with other people and becoming friends with those you work with creates great camaraderie. Having relationships where there is mutual trust and respect can be a powerful characteristic of teams in the workplace. In ‘The 4 Disciplines of Execution’ by Chris McChesney, Jim Huling, and Sean Covey, the authors stated that people perform better when they are motivated to not let their team down.

Talk to people that you wouldn’t usually talk to and chat with colleagues in other departments. If it seems too premature to get to know people on a more personal level, start by gaining a better understanding of what they do in their roles and think about ways you could help them in your position.

7. Take initiative and find new ways to achieve in your role

Don’t always wait for your manager to delegate tasks to you. Ask if there is something you could take on. Showing that you are open to new tasks will prove to your manager that you are capable of doing more. Great employers will always invest more in their most devoted employees.

8. If your manager is busy, find clues in past conversations

Think about past conversations you’ve had with them. You might remember your manager talking about processes they’ve wanted to improve or new things they’ve wanted the team to start doing. Evaluate whether you could start some of these things and discuss them with your manager once you can get a hold of them. They’ll appreciate that you’ve tried to push the limits of the team further and remember this when considering you for leadership positions, potential promotions, or pay raises.

9. Try to solve problems yourself when you’re stuck

It’s all well and good to ask for advice when you rely on others to complete things for you, you’re only disadvantaging yourself. When you depend too much on others, you forget how to figure things out for yourself, and you stop learning and growing.

Completing a task on your own from start to finish, will not only make you feel more stimulated but provide a greater sense of achievement and accomplishment.

When you get stuck, ask yourself if this is something out of your realm where you need IT to come and help you, or, ask yourself if you can find a solution on Google.

10. Evaluate and re-evaluate your skills and flaws

Don’t wait for your review to evaluate your performance; instead, make it a consistent habit to reflect on how you performed.

Take a moment at the end of each week to reflect on the week. The challenge here is, to be honest with yourself and don’t be too critical when you evaluate your weaknesses. Reflection isn’t about beating yourself up over failure. Remind yourself of your wins, that you are capable and that you’re achieving more than you have in the past. The most productive way to self-evaluate and grow is to think about the actions you can take to improve or play on your strengths.

11. Maintain a positive attitude

Having a positive attitude is one of the most desirable characteristics of an employee. Not only to your employer but to your peers. No one wants to work with someone who constantly complains and finds limitations in everything.

You only go as far as the limits you set yourself and this goes for teams as well.

Always approach tasks with an attitude and a belief that it is achievable. If something is not working, regroup and think of reasons why it isn’t working. Then, find ways to do it differently. Recognise the potential within yourself and your team; never underestimate the ability to accomplish great things.

By challenging yourself in your role, you’ll feel more motivated, find yourself achieving more, and make leaps and bounds in your professional development.

For more tips to advance your career and unlock your full potential, check out our advice hub here.