If your level of frustration with your working hours is more about what you are doing in them than how many of them you are working, how do you increase the proportion of your time spent doing things that are meaningful?

Try this suggestion from the #femlead Twitter chat. (Which sadly doesn’t happen any more.)

Volunteer for what you want before you get drafted into what you don’t want! (@ProfessMoravec)

Too many people treat service as something that they just have to suck up. Take their turn. And then end up doing jobs that are not well suited to their skills and personality, which turn out to feel meaningless (worthless, pointless, trivial, futile).

Why not decide what your best contribution is and volunteer for the things that you would actually prefer to be spending your time doing?

It is often the case that when you are doing work that you enjoy and are good at, you are more efficient and effective, too.

So you might even save some real time as well as reducing your frustration.

Related Posts:

What is your best contribution?

What are you waiting for?

Are you waiting for permission?

Risking doing the work you find meaningful

Doing what you want to do

Edited May 27, 2016.