On a Monday morning, you can find me rushing through an hour-long work-out so I can get back to my desk. I run through my apartment, sloppily grabbing a snack and a sweater on the way, all while my mind races with excitement, ideas and projects I'm dying to start. I'm that in love with my work; to the point where other priorities often take a back seat to my passion and dedication to it.
If you've visited my site HerAfter, you know what this is all about. I realize I'm a very lucky lady; my full-time job is to write articles that help women live consciously, feel beautiful, and access their potential for personal peace. I also recently launched a new Lifestyle Guide to Happiness and Self-Esteem available on Amazon to help you even more. But this work is also truly work; it takes a lot of unpublished articles, a lot of soul-searching, photo design and website maintenance, editor deadlines, and a tremendous amount of honesty and facing of my fears. Make no mistake, it's work.
Before becoming a writer, my feelings about any career were the opposite. I'd avoid work, run from it, distract myself from it while I at the desk (music, falling into web surf black holes, you name it). While building a career you're deeply passionate about is obviously the quickest way to love your work, it's not always an option to drop everything and start following your heart. Even if that's your ultimate goal, it's ok to start where you are, with what you have. Not having everything lined up perfectly - the perfect job, the perfect responsibilities, the perfect resources - is no reason to keep from loving your work. As with all of life, it's a process, and every process requires a starting point. So start now, where you are.
Tips to Love Your Job Again
Set Boundaries
One of the biggest reasons that our work becomes tedious rather than enjoyable is because it bleeds into the rest of our lives. This is especially true in jobs that are highly stressful, have deadline-based projects, or require a lot of research or creativity. It might seem productive to bring your work home with you, or offer your weekend hours to your Monday presentation, but such habits are having the opposite affect, at least on your heart. Compartmentalizing your work will allow you to further develop the rest of your life, and bring a clear head and heart to the office. So when the work day is done, offer a short meditation before you leave the office, so you can leave feeling fresh. Turn off your smart phone when you get home, vow not to visit work-related applications or websites while off the clock. This does require that you make your work hours more productive, but by not working outside of work, you'll get the rest you need to be energized, and get more done while you're there! The most effective tips to love your job again require that you make your job your job, your life your life.Proper boundaries will include mental, physical, and emotional limitations. In whatever way works for you, set boundaries so you can balance your work and life. That includes banning stress and worrying about tomorrow from your pre-sleep routine!
Learn a New Skill Outside of Your Job
It will blow you mind what a little self-development can do for your work life. If you have a project, skill, hobby, or extra-curricular activity you've been meaning to try, a slump in work dedication is the perfect time. It doesn't matter if the activity relates to your work, it will still benefit you by sharpening your mental skills and expanding your creativity and imagination. Photography, for example; learning this new skill will open you up to new perspectives, and seeing new details, which can help you in the office to think up new solutions. Calligraphy, cooking, painting, dancing, anything works! It's important to remain a student of life, to follow your curiosity, and to be continually open to new ideas and thoughts.This is especially important if your work has started to feel mundane. Expanding your mind and creativity will help you start expanding beyond your current job in ways that can help you feel excited about new challenges. It might be just what you need to present a new idea, product or protocol change that could transform your entire company.
Find the Need You Fill
It's easy to lose sight of what we're doing and why, when the drudgery of everyday responsibility sets in. Your bosses needs, your long office hours, your corporate commitments; it can be hard to see the result of your work in the real world. So take a day, an afternoon, even just an hour to get out and reconnect with the impact your work makes. Maybe that means getting away from the desk for a day and visiting the families you work for, or going to the businesses you consult for to see what the customer experience is like. It will be different in every field, but if you've been feeling trapped, a trip to the other side of your job can make a huge difference. It can also help you recommit to the intentions you started this job with.
Be Honest with Yourself
This tactic is a little more challenging than the other ones, but much more important. Rather than look at how your job has failed you, flip the script and ask how you've been letting your role down. Take the time to really ask yourself - where have you gotten lazy in your job? When, and why? Did something happen to make you lose faith in your company, your role, yourself, or your coworkers? What have you stopped offering your cause and company? How are you feeling about the work you do and services you offer? These are tough questions, but can offer you a very enlightened and liberating view on what's happening for you, and what you should do next.Often we avoid these types of soul-searching questions because they know that the answers will require that we take responsibility, and sometimes make major changes. But that's exactly what you should be doing! It's the only way to break through to your happiest, most fulfilling future!
Quit If You Need To!
Life is too short to stay in a job you truly hate. If you're unhappy, don't let money alone be the only reason you stay. Quit if you need to; this is your happiness we're talking about. No job is worth sacrificing your health, happiness or well-being. If these tips to love your job again simply don't work, simply know when to walk away.
Rachael is a writer, blogger, cancer survivor and the author of HerAfter.com, a women's site about conscious and stylish living. After years as a fashion journalist, she now writes women's lifestyle articles about life, love, style, and thriving after surviving not just cancer, but all of life's big battles. Catch up with her on Twitter ( @RachaelYahne ) and read more of her work on her website, and in her new ebook, Her Happier, Healthier After -- A Women's Guide to Building Happiness and Self-Esteem