Morally rewarding job: making the daily grind enjoyable

How do you feel about Monday morning? And what do you keep thinking about while travelling to work? How does your working day go: flies by like a flash or drags along with no end in sight? And finally, what is your job to you: a heavy burden or pleasure you get paid for? Too few of us can say our job brings us genuine pleasure. But there are some lucky ones, and quite a few of them, too! Would you like to see how it feels? Then let’s try learning how to enjoy what you are accustomed to considering a boring obligation.

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The beginning of all: self-tuning

First and foremost, you must clearly understand that every job can bring pleasure in the same way it can burden you and send you into a state of depression. If you let it, that is. Perhaps, a more accurate way to put it would be: you can only enjoy your job when you set your mind to it. So the first item of your plan is being eager to change something and self-tuning to achieve that. All you need to do is want to make your job morally rewarding and fun.

Analyze your goals and values

Prove to yourself that your job simply cannot be boring and useless. Go ahead and divide a large sheet of paper into two parts. Use the first one to write down the things that apply to your personal life, the other – that apply to your job. So, what makes you happy in life and why? Write down your conclusions on one half of the sheet. Below write down the things that make you unhappy and why. Below still list everything that motivates you throughout your life, gives meaning to it.

Now write down your thoughts on your job in the same order. What makes you happy at work? Why? And what makes you miserable and how come? Once you’ve analyzed the information, you will probably find many contradictions. For instance, what brings you pleasure in life can end up on the negative part of your job-related list. You will be certain to discover many positive things will match. These are the ones that will motivate you to work.

Analyze the things that motivate you throughout life and think how they could be applied to your job. Working your way through the items listed, you will be able to shift the emphasis from the negative to the positive moments and turn your work into pleasure.

A positive start is key to a great mood throughout the day

Surely all of us have our own treasure chest of things that create a positive mindset: favorite songs, books, movies, hobbies… Take advantage of those to super charge yourself with positivity for the day ahead. Having raised your mood that way, you will condition yourself to move in the right direction. And don’t forget about smiling. By smiling at yourself in the mirror in the morning, you will be able to take advantage of this magical tool to raise your spirits throughout the working day.

Traveling to work is not the beginning of your working day just yet

Many of us dive into work on their way to the office: they start answering phone calls and checking e-mail. This approach is totally incorrect, as it generates certain negativity even before you show up for work. The truth is, traveling to work is not the beginning of your working day just yet, so make sure you spend this time with pleasure: listen to your favorite music or audio book, have a conversation or… meditate. Why not? If you have any possibility of not getting down to work before you step over the threshold of your office – make sure to do so.

Make a list of most crucial tasks to complete

Depression often stems from you not seeing any results of your work, being stuck in one place day to day. In reality, the problem most likely lies in the fact you cannot properly organize your working process. Every day make a list of most crucial tasks to complete. If a certain task proves to be too complex, handle it in steps. Let every step become a separate item on your to-do list.

Minimize the irritants

Sometimes dissatisfaction with own work occurs due to the same irritants: unpleasant colleagues, unclear goals, tedious responsibilities. Try to minimize those irritants as much as possible. And don’t be afraid to ask the management for help. Keep in mind that the boss is always more interested in highly motivated employees than those just going through the motions without much enthusiasm.

Don’t absorb the negativity!

Bad mood is contagious, so try to stay away from depressed and grouchy colleagues. Learn to mirror the negativity or put it out with positivity. Respond to negative comments with generic business-like phrases; radiate positivity speaking about yourself. Instead of saying “It’s all good”, say “Everything is great. It’s a beautiful day!”

Focus on the positive

Learn to find positive aspects in everything. Learn to see the positive even in the negative, because this is just the flip side. Remember we talked about failures and their benefits? There can be no victory without failure. Make sure to keep that in mind.

Also, remember the value of your job. If it’s aligned with your life priorities, you like the schedule, the pay or the location (even one of those things will do), you need to be appreciative of it.

While taking your work for granted, it’s easy to lose sight of why it’s valuable to you. Should you lose this job, everything will change. Will you be able to keep moving towards your goals without your job? Highly unlikely. Pause to acknowledge that as well.

Make your workspace more enjoyable

Remember discussing it in “Making it until vacation”? The truth is, how cozy and aesthetically pleasing your working place is matters 365 days a year. Since we spend a great deal of time at work, it’s only logical to make it look and feel enjoyable so that you’d be excited to come back again. If you can add a nice picture to your desk, make sure to take advantage of this opportunity. Add a nice little pot with a flower or fragrant herbs, a fun mobile or bright colored stationery. Every little detail on your desk must radiate positivity. At the same time, don’t forget about maintaining the kind of order that helps you get into the right mood to do your job.

Take breaks

The project will not be finished sooner if you spend all day working on it without tearing your eyes away from the screen. It’s crucial to make short breaks that allow you to shake off the excessive pressure. We are not talking about the lunch break here (we’ll discuss it in more details later) rather than 5-minute long breaks every 30-40 minutes of work. They will allow you to boost your productivity. During such a break drink a cup of coffee or tea, stretch, admire the view or just meditate with your eyes closed.

Lunch as a full-blown meal rather than a snack

Stop treating your lunch break as a quick snack. Not only do we need this time to eat without any hurry but also to have a proper rest before the second half of the working day. If you pack your own lunches, you will save yourself some time you’d otherwise need to get some lunch at a café. This time can be used to take an enjoyable walk, get some fresh air, or have a pleasant conversation with someone positive.

Treat the work you do as a way of achieving your dream

Whatever our dreams, we can get ourselves closer to them if we really want to. Our job is a great tool for achieving our goals. Think how you could take advantage of your job to achieve what you dream about. Set yourself a new intermediate goal and move towards it day by day. If this is impossible without specific skills, start working on your personal growth.

Don’t stop in your tracks

Each of us – regardless of our job – always has a potential for growth. By learning something new, we expand our professional horizons. No one can ever know for sure at which point they might need that newly acquired knowledge. Try to take advantage of any opportunities for professional growth, explore related fields of expertise and acquire totally new skills. It will enrich your job not just professionally, but also emotionally. If you can’t do it without the assistance of your management, don’t be shy to ask for exactly that. Remember that your motivation and enthusiasm are more valuable to the company than indifference and lack of initiative.

Add game elements to your work

Even when we grow up we keep playing, although our games are different. Why not game elements to your work to make it more interesting? Challenge yourself and reach new heights even if they might not be that high (no pun intended). Set your own standards (unless you have some already) and try living up to them. Beat new records and set new highs, reward yourself with bonuses every time you reach a new level. Which bonuses and rewards those will be is totally up to you.

Once your working day is over, forget about your work

Unfortunately, when leaving for home, many of us don’t leave our work in the office. Some people literally take work home, finishing their reports after dinner or over the weekend. Others do it figuratively, constantly thinking about work in their spare time. Learn to leave your work in the office, resting 100% from it no matter how difficult it might be.

That’s it.

Having worked through the steps listed above, you will reach the point at which you will be able to say with confidence, “I do enjoy my job.” There is just one question that remains:

Do you get pleasure out of life in general?

If not, then any tips and recommendations contained in this article will be useless. Only by learning to live a positive life in harmony with the world will you be able to enjoy your job, among other things. Try living every moment of your life consciously, savoring every little detail, and then one day you will realize your job is more than just a daily mundane obligation, rather than an important and amazing part of your enjoyable life, every moment of which is filled with joy. Remember the wise words of Lincoln – “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

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