Often in work or in life in general we focus solely on the outputs: the final sale, the delivery of the product, the award, the close of a sale, the bonus, or whatever the reward is of finishing the job.
One of the challenges with focusing solely on the outputs is that we aren’t sure if we’ve been productive each day.
We should focus more on the inputs each day and measure the inputs. Another way of saying “inputs” is “habits.”
Regardless of what your role is, chances are that there are many parts of the job that are monotonous day by day.
Focus on how many inputs you need to make to be successful in your job. How many calls do you need to make? How many hours do you need to put in? How many resumes do you need to view? How many boxes do you need to stack? These questions obviously vary based on what your job is. But you need to know the answer or at least be constantly working to know the answer. (And as times change, you may need to change what you measure.)
Then figure out how to enjoy the process. Embrace the monotony of a daily job well done, regardless of whether there is some reward or some sort of dopamine at the end of the day.
Spreadsheets and Overalls 