Remember what they pay you for
Years ago I read a blog post about an idea that I still come back to from time to time. The blog post has been lost in the years’ worth of browsing history, so I can’t credit it, but I can still share it forward. The idea is simple: remember what they pay you for.
There are (hopefully) some parts of your job that you enjoy. If money wasn’t an issue, you’d do them just for the fun of it. As one example, I’d interview people about their wishes, needs, and work all day. For anyone else, it’s something different but usually something that you’re good at.
Then there are some parts of the job that you don’t especially enjoy. For me, I really don’t like transcribing interview tapes. There are ways around it, but that’s a different topic. I also enjoy UI design a lot, but the sixth iteration of the same component might not be something I’d be super excited about. Both tasks are still a part of my job. The bits of your job that you don’t enjoy still need to be done, and as a professional, you should do them efficiently and without (much) grumbling.
Your employer or client wants you to do something you’re good at and enjoy doing, but they also need the other things from you. You need to do all parts of your job, whether you enjoy them or not. If you’d do the fun parts of your job for free, it could be argued that you’re only getting paid for the things you wouldn’t do for free. That’s what remember what they pay you for means.
This idea has been directly applicable to my work life. When I’m struggling with being efficient and not grumbling, and motivation is hard to come by, I remember that this is what they’re paying me for. Then I get it done, so I can go back to doing the fun parts.