Filling the Work Day with More Joy and Meaning (Jan 2021)

Welcome back. The past year has certainly taught us that life is short. We know that we owe it to ourselves to enjoy the time we have since many of us spend a lot of time at work today. A guide to find more joy on the job. Beth Ridley is a leadership expert and workplace culture consultant. Can't talk today. Hey, Beth.

Hi, Molly.

Happy New Year to you.

Thank you.

You too.

Happy New Year.

Thank you. It's so great to see you. Let's talk a little bit about finding more joy at work. It's truly, you know, we spend so much time at work doing these things. We should enjoy it.

Yeah, we really should. And, you know, there's some really simple things that we can do to help bring more joy and meaning in our workday. It's just a matter of finding small things that we can do consistently. And I like the small things because.

They actually get done and they add up, too. So the first one you suggest is prioritize you. So what do you mean? And can you give us a quick example?

Yeah. This is probably the most important thing and also the thing that most of us find hard to do. So we give a lot of ourselves at work. People expect a lot of ourselves at work and then also at home. And what ends up happening is we do, do, do. We give, give, give the next thing, you know what, the day gets away from us. We haven't done anything for ourselves. That is a sure way that leads to burnout and also a feeling of resentment because you're not prioritizing even a little bit of time for you. So I like to say schedule a little bit of time for you every day, even if it's only 15 minutes. We schedule everything else that's important, like going to the dentist or going to the doctor. So if you put it on your calendar, you're a little bit more likely to protect that time. And I like to say put a little bit of time first thing in the morning on your calendar for you. So for me, for example, I'll just fix a cup of tea in the morning, so sit for maybe 15 minutes. And then I feel like if the rest of the day gets away from me because of everything I have to do for work or for home, at least I felt like I've had 15 minutes of myself and it helps to sort of stave off that feeling of resentment.

I totally get that. And for me, it's meditation. I love the idea of a cup of tea, something that kind of settles us and gets us kind of like right with ourselves before we start Jumping into the day and all those two do things on our list. The next one you say is play to our strengths. Can you give us an example of this?

Yeah, I think this is something also that we overlook a lot. So at work, usually we're always told, like, what we have to be better at or like what we need to improve in order to meet the expectations of others. But the truth of the matter is if we do what we're good at and also things that energize us, we're going to be more intrinsically motivated and quite frankly, better at it. So just think about what is it that you're good at and that you really are energized to do and enjoy doing and find creative ways of working that into the workday. So here's a fun example that I like. So I have a friend, she's really good at baking. She just really loves it. She's also a project manager at work. So you start to think, well, how does she integrate baking into that? But when she gives her monthly updates, she just throws in a little pro baking tip or one of her favorite recipes. She feels good because she's really expressing herself in a unique way at work. And honestly, her co workers like it too. It just sort of makes. Makes her stand out. So little things like that go a long way.

Yeah, I like that, Beth. And like you said, it's fun, It's a little levity, it's light. And I think sometimes we need that lightness, that brightness. Especially now. The next thing you say is embrace an attitude of gratitude. And I want to tell you, I think this is out there. Everybody talks now about gratitude and abundance and all of these things, but some people who aren't used to practicing it don't know how to do it or how to be grateful.

Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, there's a ton of research out there that shows reflecting on the good things in life and expressing appreciation of others really does boost mental well being and it helps you feel good and it also helps other people feel good. So it's a great way to spread joy and positivity at work. And I think the easiest way to do that is to let people know when you appreciate them and to simply say thank you more often. I think that's a great New Year's resolution. Just simply try to say thank you more often throughout the day.

I like that. And when we do it with our coworkers, it boosts them. They deserve it. I think it's just overall, it makes you feel good too, which is wonderful. Lastly, you talk about reflecting on your why.

Yeah, again, really important. All of us, we work so hard and we get sort of like in execution mode and tunnel vision and we start to forget, like, why this hard work actually matters. Why are we doing all this? Again, leads to burnout and resentment. But if you can just pause a little bit and reflect on the bigger picture, why all of this matters, and connect to a higher purpose and meaning, I think for leaders, one of the most important things that you can do to set a positive tone in the meetings is at the beginning of the meeting, remind people why this work matters to the bigger vision and mission of the organization. Usually we start the meeting, we jump into the agenda, people are quite settled in, and it's like you just go through the motions and set the intention. It takes an additional 30 seconds. I guarantee you will have a different meeting because people will start to remember, ah, this is why we're working so hard. It actually does matter.

I love that. Beth, thank you so much. Happy New Year's to you.

Thanks, Molly. Happy New Year to you.

Absolutely. And to review these great tips again for putting more joy and meaning into your workday, head to themorningblend.com thanks, Beth.