To the SQL Monkeys

Will the grind ever make sense?

Building dashboards that collect dust, writing queries that help nobodies.

It's easy to feel like none of this matters. Then perspective shifts: this repetitive work ripples outward. Clean data flows to the finance team, numbers reach the ops team, dashboard helps the VP's decision.

Framing changes everything. From one angle, the job feels pointless. Look closer, though, and the work serves people in small, practical ways. Step back further, and maybe this phase is preparation for something bigger.

The Myth of Meaning

We keep believing we'll stumble into meaningful work around the corner.

But maybe that's backwards. Meaning doesn't just exist in the wild. It gets created, often right in the middle of the tedium.

The question is whether this reframe is genuine insight or just a coping mechanism. In my case, it's probably both. But what's the alternative? Drowning in existential dread over spreadsheets and SQL queries? At least reframing makes it bearable.

Discipline in the Trenches

The soul-crushing tasks aren't empty flasks. It's all practice. Every boring query sharpens discipline. Not sexy. Unglamorous. But necessary.

The grind teaches patience – how to show up at motivation flatlines. Could be that's the point. Build discipline now, push through easier when it counts.

Finding the Right Lens

It's all perspective. This work either helps others get things done, or it's groundwork for something bigger.

Zoom out further. In the "Grand Scheme of Things", most work is mundane. CEOs write decks, surgeons do paperwork, designers revise mockups. Picture Jony Ive adjusting button shadows by 2 pixels, again. Everyone has their SQL queries.

The grind isn't a bug in the system but a feature of being human. Learning to find purpose in the unremarkable might be one of life's essential skills.

It's impossible to know exactly where this grind leads. But for now, perhaps it's enough to focus on what's being built – the patience, the persistence, the ability to show up.

The Long Game

This isn't the climax. It's barely the opening scene. There's still a long way to go, and that's fine. All wins include grunt work. Grinding it out, learning to outlast the noise.

The grind feels empty right now. Part of the process anyway.

Someday, looking back, the pieces will connect.