Did you ever think if you had the right job, or the right business, you’d be engaged and enjoy each day? If you’re self employed, do you envy people who get regular paychecks? If you’re a cubicle inhabitant, do you envy entrepreneurs?
Don’t feel bad about the envy, it’s sending you a message. That message is not necessarily about changing your job; it’s about expanding your enjoyment at work. Seriously.
What is it about work that’s annoying? Let us list the ways:
- A few of the people you work with. Most are fab, there’s always at least one who’s not.
- Too much to do.
- Ugly work space.
- Having to get there early.
- Having to be nice to people when you don’t feel like it.
- You’d rather be somewhere else.
- You’re bored.
- You’re tired.
- There’s other stuff you’d rather be doing.
(Did I miss anything?)
It seems like life would be better if we didn’t have to work. That obvious logic, however, fails in the face of reality. People need work in order to be happy. It’s just that way.
“What you do is secondary. How you do it is primary.” Eckhart Tolle
The thing is, if you enjoy yourself at work, you’ll be better at it and when you’re skilled at what you do, you enjoy it more. Then you get really engaged and amazing things really start to happen.
Bottom line: more fun at work = more effective career.
Here are 27 things you can do to up the fun metric at work.
1. Bring your dog to work. (Or a kitten)
2. Have unexpected refreshments delivered to your meeting.
3. Ask trivia questions before a meeting and reward correct answers. (Click here for 25 conversation starters.)
4. Have a paper airplane flying contest and see whose plane goes farther.
5. Walk sideways to a colleague’s office or the copier, like a crab.
6. Have “Show and Tell.”
7. Dress up in evening wear.
8. Bring a gourmet lunch, with sparkling water, cloth napkin and place mat.
9. Have everyone write a thank-you note (on paper stationery!) to a preferred colleague, customer or supplier.
10. Draw stick people to illustrate your meeting agenda and the discussions.
11. Walk into someone’s office, turn off the light, turn it on, smile and then leave.
12. Take a group photo and post it.
13. Wear socks that clearly don’t match, see if people notice.
14. Perform a dramatic reading of the poem “Jabberwocky.”
15. Play classical music on high volume…like the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.
16. Have someone come in to do mani pedi’s or shoulder massages.
17. Do some sort of exercise break….could be dancing!
18. Ask a colleague if he’s an extra hand for that project and then give him a photocopy of your hand.
19. Hold a swivel chair race.
21. Come up with some crazy awards and give them out during a ceremony.
22. Take turns doing imitations of each other, or have everyone imitate the boss.
23. Have an improv workshop.
24. Have a coloring contest.
25. Make a limbo entrance using a bar at a commonly-used doorway.
The message is …. in essence, party where you are.
The job you have at this moment is the right one to enjoy right now. What do you do to make your work more enjoyable?
