Every work should have a balance of routine tasks and new, challenging things.
Routine tasks are tasks that you can
do easily, that you have gained mastery over. Sometimes these tasks
become routine because at one time they were challenging, and with time
and effort, you gain mastery. Other times, tasks are routine because
you naturally pick them up with little or no effort and training.
Mastery Challenges are those tasks
that you don’t yet have the skill and mastery for. These tasks
take applied effort, time, and energy. Mastery Tasks require you
to use your personal style, your skill, talent, knowledge, and creativity.
Yesterday and today, I chaperoned my
son’s high school retreat at SharpTop Mountain. The two days
were a nice change of pace from my work lately. I worked at the
retreat, but on a different type of work: routine work. This
routine work was a blessing, a joy, and a retreat. I washed dishes
with the rest of the dads on the pit crew. My job was to sort the
silverware, dishes, and salad bowls. One guy scraped the food off,
the next rinsed them, and sent them through the high pressure washer and
sanitizer, and I helped sort about 3,600 pieces of silverware, 2,400
dishes, and 1,200 glasses over three meals. I quickly developed a rhythm
for gathering the forks, knifes, and spoons. Interesting enough,
there was a natural order to the way they were mixed up. With
each tub of silverware, one group of utensils seemed to be more
easily picked out first and then put in the container. This load, knives first; next forks. Finally the spoons.
Routine work. My routine at SharpTop was fun, easily mastered, and gave me a good feeling of accomplishment. It was somewhat therapeutic to work without having to think a lot. I found that as I sorted, my thoughts drifted, and I pondered my family, my life, my faith, and my work. I had a few inklings and planned a bit for what's next in my life and my work--all the while sorting silverware.
Too much and too many Mastery Challenges tend to drain you after a while. Mastery Challenges should be balanced with a routine that gets things done but is not too taxing.
Drink Coffee. Do Good. Thank
the Pit Crew next time you go out to eat at your favorite restaurant.
Good blog and I often ask why does this all feel routine. You mention an interesting word when sorting silverware - rhythm.
This is my new word for routine - rhythm. When I look at something negatively it's routine to me. When I look at that same thing with redemptive lenses its rhythm.
A Chesterton quote to help the cause:
"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." - GK Chesterton
Posted by: Roy | October 14, 2009 at 07:01 AM