The Positives of Grunt Work

Grunt work is often a significant portion of our job that makes it feel like "work."  It is not the fun part of our day.  However, there are pros and cons to this well-known task.

Let's start with a definition.  Investopedia provides an excellent example.

Grunt work is an expression used to describe thankless and menial work. Grunt work can also refer to jobs that lack glamour and prestige or are boring and repetitive.

I think the keywords of "thankless" and "boring" are enough to provide the negatives for this type of work.  However, we have a bright side we can focus on as well.

I think about Tim Allen's trademark grunting sound as part of this factor.  Sometimes it is refreshing to turn off our brain to some extent.  Work can provide some of these opportunities.  The keyword in our definition that points to this is "menial."  Our daily work can be mentally draining.  We spend long hours solving highly complex problems.  While a vacation is an excellent way to recharge, we can also benefit from doing less challenging work.  Think of how some physical workout routines alternate days from light to heavy workouts.  Grunt work gives us a way to stay productive and yet expend less energy than usual.

The last word in the definition provides another positive insight.  Anything we run into that is repetitive is a candidate for automation.  That means we have a potential for a feature, product, or maybe just a side project (or hustle).

A simple example from my past was a "build and deploy" process for an application I was working on.  I was at a point where I was not only deploying code; I was rebuilding a database.  While I had a series of menial commands configured to get the job done, it still was time-consuming.  I had to sit there throughout the process.  I recognized the repetitive nature and well-defined steps were perfect for automation.  Therefore, I spent some time getting to know Ant and built a script that allowed me to enter a single command to get that process done.  I was then able to refill my water bottle during the process or otherwise regain a little time.

Episode Challenge: List recent grunt work and review it for some possible automated solution?

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