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>I don't even know where to begin, so I'm just going to start venting.
>
It's good to get this out of your system. Do you feel better now?
>
>Frankly, my own problem-solving skills haven't helped me with this one -- I
>get all riled up and irritated.
Join the crowd. However, maturity, whenever it finally creeps up on you, will give you a more philosophical perspective on your inability to control the actions of others. Some people attain this state at an early age. I'm not one of them.
>I didn't get in to this career path to be
>Tommy Template. Anyone have similar problems?
Yes. Lots of us.
>Solutions?
Here I can help you, Brian. This requires an attitude adjustment.
If you are a contractor, repeat the contractor's mantra, calmly, slowly, rhythmically, until your pulse slows and your blood pressure decreases: I get paid by the hour.
If you are an employee, remind yourself that you are doing what your boss wants you to do, you are doing it well, your boss is pleased with your work, and you are being paid handsomely for it. Most of all, remember, it is just a job. It is not who you are; it's what you are doing at the moment.
Okay, now that your attitude is aligned with the reality of the situation, you can begin to develop tactics to lessen the volume of these tasks.
One approach is to start sending out an email Tip or the Week (or incorporate one into the company's email newsletter, however frequently it comes out). Keep it simple, friendly, and upbeat. "Here's an easy way to [whatever] in Word. ..."
No matter what you do, only a limited number of people will pay any attention whatever to what you try to teach them. You will have to continually remind yourself that this is not your problem, it's theirs. But there is job security in making other people's documents look good. Don't knock it.
If the issue is that you are not getting your _real_ work done, talk to your boss about giving the template work a lower priority. Or talk about hiring an additional resource who can share one or more kinds of work with you (or relieve you of the mechanical work altogether, if that's your preference).
I'm sure others will have better suggestions, but this is a start. Calm down, Brian.
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