Embrace the Mundane

Everyone loves the glamorous tasks, ones with instant gratification or results that garner visibility/clear benefits. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s often the mundane or the overlooked, that truly makes a difference.

Consider, dependency upgrades. They’re not the most exiting thing to deal with and are often problematic, for a multitude of reasons; you’re required to comb through lists, sift through documentation, handle unexpected errors and deal with legal reviews.

These updates though, are the bedrock to a healthy - robust - project; they patch vulnerabilities, introduce performance improvements and often allow development to continue at a faster pace by removing barriers.

The way he kept public actions within reasonable bounds - games, building projects, distributions of money and so on - because he looked to what needed doing and not the credit to be gained from doing it.

- Marcus Aurelius

I believe it’s about recognising the things that nobody else whats to do but often have a huge impact; even if they do go unnoticed. It’s about embracing the “boring” because you know that it contributes to the bigger picture of success.

Here’s why owning the mundane is crucial:

• Builds Reliability: When your constantly handling the behind-the-scenes work, your projects become more reliable (dependable).
• Reduces Technical Debt: Ignoring dependency upgrades, or other “maintenance” tasks adds up, eventually negatively impacting feature development.
• Develops Valuable Skills: Dealing with the mundane tasks often improves critical thinking, problem solving and the ability to research; skills that are essential.

When you next encounter a task that isn’t thrilling, consider this: it’s can be these moments when the most meaningful impact is made; embrace it, own it, and watch the project thrive¹.