Canteen Fundas: Keep monotony at bay with challenges to make work interesting

Bhaiyya, let’s have fun today,’ said Rahul. ‘Too much work. I need a break.’
‘True,’ said Rahul. ‘But I wonder why work is not fun. And why fun cannot be work.’
‘How can work ever be fun?’ said Rahul. 
‘Yes, bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘I don’t understand why people say we must enjoy our work. How’s that possible?’
‘Good question,’ said Rakesh. ‘If we understand how, our lives will be brilliant. Tell me, why is work boring?’ 
‘Because we have to do it,’ said Rahul. ‘And do the same thing every day. We need to concentrate, use our minds.’
‘So going to the canteen is fun while going to class is work, right?’ asked Rakesh.
‘Absolutely, bhaiyya,’ agreed Rahul.
‘What if attending canteen every day between 9 and 5 was made compulsory,’ said Rakesh. ‘Would that be fun?’
‘No way,’ said Rahul. ‘It’s like class then. What’s the fun if they tell us what to do, when and how?’
‘Looks like things are not fun when they are imposed’ said Rakesh. ‘And when they are not interesting. Now, if we can crack these issues, we can make work fun.’
‘How, bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.
‘By watching Chotu closely,’ said Rakesh. ‘Washing cups, cleaning tables and serving chai every day is hard, boring work. Chotu can choose to hate his job or enjoy it. What do you think he is choosing?’
‘He looks like he is thoroughly enjoying himself,’ said Rinku. ‘How has he made his work fun, bhaiyya?’
‘Let’s ask him?’ said Rakesh. ‘Chotu, how come you enjoy your work so much?’
‘Bhaiyya,’ said Chotu with a big smile. ‘I’ve no choice with regards to what I do — washing, cleaning and serving — that’s my job. But I can choose how to do it. So I challenge myself — I wash my cups spotless, clean quickly and make all customers happy. These are my decisions.’
‘You decided to make work interesting by adding a challenge to it. And you’re getting better at your work,’ said Rinku. 
‘I know some people who think fun disrupts things,’ asked Rahul. ‘How do we choose, bhaiyya?’
‘Rahul, you can choose to wash cups or to break them,’ said Rakesh. ‘Just like you can choose to disrupt a class or learn. Choose what helps you grow.’
‘l choose to add extra ginger to my chai,’ said Rahul. ‘And make it interesting.’

Pro Tip: To make work fun, choose how you want to do it. Add challenges to make work interesting and get better at it.