How to Make Work Fun to Stay Happy & Motivated?

How to Make Work Fun

The average person spends 90,000 hours of his life at work. That is a little over 12 years spent at the workplace. Does it not then become essential that we take care to spend such a length of time meaningfully, in ways that make us genuinely happy and fulfilled? Work does not have to bore, it does not have to be an exercise in suffering and a salary a dividend that such suffering merits at its end.

With the right attitude and a more insightful perspective, anyone is able to make work fun and worthwhile experience. Below we shed light on some points that can help us to achieve more at our job and be happy.

Take the focus away from Competition and Workload

Dopamine which is the chemical our brains release when we are feeling positive and happy is also known to open all the learning centres of the brain making us more receptive to cues from our external world. Therefore, the more we inculcate positivity and inner happiness, the more successful we are and the more we are able to accomplish externally.

Instead of looking at your teammates or co-workers as competition start to view them as your support system at the workplace. Be a part of their support system yourself. Be more trusting, share knowledge, delegate, and be comfortable with being able to relinquish control every once in a while. Be open to asking for and accepting help when necessary.

Be Present

Participate whole-heartedly in your life’s experiences, both inside and outside of the workplace. When we get out (of our heads and our beds) and do things and actively participate in the world, we are less likely to get caught up in anxiety about the future of regrets about the past. Train the brain to see every moment as your own time, as opposed to company time or time you must spend helping your daughter do her homework.

One can learn, have fun and grow from every experience no matter how trivial. Therefore, be engaged in everything you do. Your certificates or material possessions do not make you an interesting person; it is the stories you have to tell or the experiences you have to share that makes people gravitate toward you.

Remember your happiness comes from within

Shawn Achor said in his TED Talk that 75% of our job success is predicted by our optimism level, our social support and our ability to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat. Happiness is not directly proportionate to the amount of success we have at work. So, every time we have a small success or reach a goal, it is important to allow ourselves to rejoice.

If we have the mindset to constantly keep pushing ourselves without having the grace to reward ourselves for our every little endeavour, every little success then happiness will always be out of reach. As humans we can be tempted to set our goalpost of happiness farther and farther away, pushing and ploughing, but if we want to be happy, we need to rewire our brains and learn to appreciate each and every one of our effort and achievements along the way.

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Work-Life Balance

Use your vacation days. Limit your overtime. Spend time with family and loved ones. Learn to compartmentalize your home life and work-life so that one doesn’t keep spilling into the other.

Power down your devices at least an hour before sleep and when at home and around family, give them your full attention and soak up all the love and affection that comes from being a part of happy, functional relationships.

Get a full eight hours of sleep. This is what will fortify your soul and prepare you to take on the challenges of a new workday from a place of positivity and a better perspective.

Do random acts of kindness, be grateful for everything you receive, meditate at least three to five minutes every day, exercise. It’s the little things like these that rewire your brain to adopt a happy and positive state of being and enable you to accomplish more and be genuinely successful.