This is the next blog in my series on how to increase your happiness at work. This one focuses on how to bring variety into your work and workplace. Because even if you love your job, it’s good to mix things up a bit in life.
We humans get bored. Even if you love the work you’re doing, it can feel a bit stale unless you have some variety. Here’s a few ideas as to how you can introduce that variety:
- Take advantage of any opportunities to step out of your comfort zone and embrace new areas of work or meet new people. Growth is a key route to happiness at work, and growth comes when we push ourselves to take on different challenges. Even if these don’t necessarily work out as planned, having this variety in your work portfolio and the chance to extend your networks will keep your work life fresh and allow you to expand your skill set.
- As well as varying what you do, a simple step you can take to introduce variety into your work is to change how you do things. For example, you can change the order in which you tackle tasks. Try doing the things you normally push down your to-do list first thing in the morning. You might find you feel so proud of yourself for accomplishing those things that normally hang over you like a bad smell that you treat yourself to an extra latte and that boosts your happiness levels too. This is in fact a common habit adopted by successful people – they do tasks they don’t like first, and then they can settle down to the work they actually love without that nagging guilt of things they know they’re putting off hanging over them.
- Another way of creating variety is changing location. Why not have some meetings in a coffee shop or while walking outside? Some conversations are actually more productive if you’re walking side by side. The act of walking can help alleviate any social anxiety around emotional topics and can promote a more natural flow of conversation and ideas. And if you’re working remotely, doing some meetings as you walk with earphones can help refocus your energy and break up the constant round of online meetings.
- Finally, think about introducing a variety of social events for your team. Your working environment and team culture are central to how happy you feel at work, and fun interactions with your colleagues are a great way to enhance your daily work happiness. You could introduce a short social question at the beginning of your team meetings (e.g. What do you love best about the Xmas holidays? What’s made you smile this week?). Or play online games over a lunch break. Have a team chat where you share silly stories and videos or arrange mutual days for heading into the office.
What are you going to do today to bring some variety into your work or working environment?