Tuesday Tips

Today, I’d like to ask you the question I ask every one of my coaching clients…

       Do you have fun at work?

Most people’s answers are negative (“no”) or neutral (“sometimes – not often”)

Does this sound like you?

If so, here’s a simple, quick way to make work more fun:

1. Find the fun – identify what bits of work you enjoy most
2. Schedule the fun – schedule time in your diary/calendar for these fun things
3. Stick to it – when it’s your scheduled time for your fun thing, do the fun thing! Don’t ignore it, and do something un-fun instead

Here’s a quick example:

1. Find the fun – let’s assume the things you enjoy most are creating new stuff, learning new things, having lunch and going for three walks a day
2. Schedule the fun – book these things in your diary. For example, Monday 10am-10.30am is creation time, Tuesday 2pm-2.30pm is learning time, 12.30pm-1pm every day is lunch, and every day has three 5-minute energy/walk breaks scheduled
3. Stick to it – as above, when it’s time for these fun things, do them! Don’t bump them in favour of tedious stuff you hate

When you approach life like this, you prioritise the things that you find fun.

And work has to fit round them.

But the vast majority of people do the opposite – they schedule their work stuff only. And, if they get time, they fit fun around that.

But there’s never time. So there’s never fun.

And, when things aren’t fun, you run out of energy, motivation, positivity, happiness.

With the example ‘fun stuff’ I said above, that would take a total of under five hours per week. This still gives you lots of other time to do your day job.

But if five hours feels like too much fun for you (!), that’s fine – choose less.

But absolutely, definitely, always schedule more time than zero time for fun.

Or you won’t have any fun.

And that just sucks.

Action Point

An obvious one this week. Do the three things above – find the fun, schedule it, stick to it!

(And if you have a team that reports to you, also do this exercise with them. Everyone benefits when they enjoy their jobs more – especially you).