The easy answer is “find a different job,” but that won’t be the focus here. We’ll assume that leaving isn’t an option for this discussion, at least for now.
When I think of what could define a “boring” job, there are two different definitions that come to mind:
We often hang a lot of our self-worth into our profession. In both types of jobs, this can cause issues. Many jobs focused on physical or emotional labor are viewed as “lesser” than things like knowledge work. When it comes to bullshit jobs, the fact that there is no positive contribution to the world can be crushing regardless of the title’s prestige. As you can imagine, linking these jobs to your value as a person won’t be helpful.
When we look for meaning in our lives, we usually mean what effect our actions have on other people.
When it comes to our first category, labor jobs, the focus is almost entirely on what we do for others, so defining our job that way can significantly impact how we view it. While society may not value these jobs, they value the results. This was highlighted during covid lockdowns as essential workers, aka the things society requires to keep functioning, were overwhelmingly these jobs.
This can be much harder when it comes to things that could be classified as bullshit jobs, but it is still possible. You don’t need a middle manager with competent employees, but you still have an opportunity here. You can advocate for your team, allowing them to be more productive in their work. In roles where you are there to put out fires instead of fixing things, it is possible to “sneak in” progress towards those long-term fixes.
This is not always possible, but we have more control over what we spend our days doing than we realize in many cases. Your core job may be set, but you might have some flexibility on where the specific focus is. Quality work can be more impactful than doing a lot of busy work, and on top of that, it can be more satisfying to complete a project knowing that you did a good job.
Another aspect of this is the little extra things that are part of many jobs. You may spend 75% of your effort on your main duties but have 25% left to work on other small tasks. Even if the core is fixed, you probably could have some say in that last 25%. You can work towards having that part of your week be dedicated to something you find valuable. As a bonus, these sorts of things tend to look good on performance reviews as it can be viewed as things like “taking initiative.”
It’s possible that your day job may not be something you will ever find fulfilling. In that case, there’s nothing wrong with seeing your job as just a paycheck and focusing your energy elsewhere. A typical example of this in my field is when it comes to game dev. Plenty of developers would like to work on games, but AAA studios are notorious for their poor treatment of workers. One way to solve this issue is to take a low-expectations corporate job that pays well but doesn’t take much of your mental energy to complete. This frees up that energy to work on the game you wish was your job. The long-term goal might be to make the game your job, but that won’t happen for most devs. Instead, they balance using their skills between what can pay their bills and what they enjoy.
Maybe instead of working on some sort of side project, you want to spend your time or money on volunteering. For whatever reason, you may not be able to work for something like a charitable organization. However, they might be able to make use of your skillset on a part-time basis.