Anyway, my fulfillment comes through finding ways to be more efficient. I was a grocery selector at Food Lion Distribution and we got paid based on how fast we went. In a short while I started picking up all the trick such as how to carry lots of cases at the same time, the fastest way to traverse the aisles, how to keep your pallet jack moving for a short time while you threw stuff on it, etc. I actually thought warehouse work was fun bc of all the efficiency tricks to learn.
When I became a personal trainer, it took mastering efficiency tricks to a whole new level. Non linear workout progressions, pairing antagonist muscle groups, utilizing workout complexes, optimizing the nervous system, placing importance on compound exercises, etc all blew my mind at how much of a difference it makes. One of my clients made it from doing assisted dips with a 100 lb counterweight to doing weighted dips with 60 lbs added onto a belt in 3 months with these tricks(he weighs 255)
Finally, I realized my truest passion for efficiency when I got my first manager job at the gym. At that point, not only are you responsible for you own efficiency, but for every staff member's at the gym and the gym in general as well. I strive to make as big of a difference as I can in how well everything runs and the really rich gym owner has given me a lot of insight on efficiency as well.
What the hell dude you put beautifully what I was having a hard time even beginning to write down. I won't say I obsess over efficiency but I usually try my damnest hard to streamline whatever I do.
In one of my past jobs I had to file arguments in the prossecution to client complaints. I soon realized most of my answers had lines like "according to screen X, field Y, the attendant wrote blah", "protocol number X bears the message blah". In order to optimize my time, I had several of those often-repeated lines saved in a notepad, so most cases were simply an exercise of copy/paste and filling in the blanks and my productivity skyrocketed.
One time I spent over an hour at home solely rearranging, renaming, recoloring and redrafting my games spreadsheet. Didn't even notice the time pass because it was geniunely fun to do that.
I derive immense joy from figuring out improved ways to carry out things, from the quickest route in a Mario 64 or Banjo-Kazooie level (within my abilities) to how to do dress/undress faster to the optimal course of actions between waking up and going to work. This is useful for chores I hate doing such as ironing clothes and washing dishes. The less time I spend doing that shit, the better.
I can relate to what
jumpluff says in that I feel good about learning more about something I'm interested in (or myself or human behavior in general) and being helpful to others. I'd go further and say that making a positive difference (lol this oxymoron is delicious) in someone else's life is one of the basic goals I have in life. Be it
offering good advice, making them laugh or just listening to their problems makes me happy because even if at the end of the day I fail at this life thing, I made the journey of someone I care slightly easier. I also, similarly to jumpjump, used to get burdened by their problems and get overly involved but over time I learned how not
to.
It feels particularly satisfying when I get what a verse in a song or a line in a book is supposed to convey.
I can relate to the general sentiment in this thread that getting better at a hobby is fulfilling, particularly those we invest a lot of resources into. By the same token, the inability to get better at them is very frustrating.
I'm normally uninterested in buying stuff for myself, even if it is a basic need like clothes and food. However, I love to spend money on books, getting home with a stack of them only to realize I have no space for more books (my backlog is ridiculous). But this is probably me being a try-hard, eh. Giving presents feels incredible though, few things are more rewarding than a wide-eyed, grinning face followed by "holy shit man, thank you!". :3~~~~~~
