How do I deal with selling being mostly paperwork now?

You came to sell, the connection, the persuasion, the close, and somewhere along the way the job became forms, approvals, and process. Mourning that is honest. You are grieving the part of the work you loved being crowded out by the part you tolerate. Still, the administration is not the enemy of the sale. It is what carries the sale across the line so it becomes real and gets paid. You have mastered the machine that others fumble. That mastery is quiet, but it is why your deals actually close while smoother talkers watch theirs die in committee. Carve out and protect the part you still love, the real conversation with a buyer, and give it your full attention when it comes. Do the admin efficiently, in blocks, and let it be the vehicle, not the point. Keep a little of the work sacred so the job still feels like yours.