Updated for 2022: When you want to find joy at work: 6 tips to feed your “joy-meter”
I wrote this blog post in 2020 when COVID was just starting to dominate our days, news headlines, and kitchen table conversations. Almost two years later, I see people trying to figure out how to be stronger, more committed, happier, and more at peace. Last week I wrote about presence and strength as my focus for 2022.
Along with staying centered, we need to find joy again. You know those people who exude joy. It is contagious in the most positive way. Their smiles cause you to smile. You can't help but laugh when they laugh, even though you have no idea what the punchline is. Those people can turn around the gloomiest of physical or virtual rooms.
When I wrote this post in 2020, I shared six tips. My tips are the same, but I have refreshed them as I have learned more over the last two years. There are many ways to find joy. We get caught up in the spectrum between the mundane routines and uncontrolled chaos of work that we don't stop to appreciate what we have and how we can add value and effect change.
Many people feel you must solidify your purpose in life to find your joy. Finding your purpose in life seems to be what everyone is writing about today. I have no fewer than 30 books on my shelves (I still have paper books) about that very topic written by philosophers like Paul Coehlo, survivors like Victor Frankl, coaches like Martha Beck, and pragmatists like Jen Sincero.
I have been wrapped up in finding my purpose for at least 15 years. What am I here to do? What does the universe have in store for me? Should I be contributing more than I do? What is my calling? Or, my favorite mid-life question: Is this it? Is this all there is to life? These and many more questions have gone through my brain for a while now.
Some people genuinely feel "called" to something early in life. Others aren't sure what they should do for a living. One thing I have learned through all of my book reading and reflecting is that pondering this serious question over and over can drive you nuts.
There may not be a clear answer to this question, which is okay. There may not be an "I should do xxx" purpose statement written in the clouds. Perhaps we should focus on deriving as much joy and fulfillment as possible from what we choose to do as our career instead of constantly searching for something new. There is a reason we chose our current career path. We found what is at the center of what I like to do, what I am good at, and what I can get paid to do.
Let's use 2022 to find and drive more joy at work. Here are my six tips to help us do this:
Identify what you can control.
This phrase hangs on my home office wall. Seriously. We can drive ourselves crazy and waste our energy on people and circumstances we cannot control. This is the number one joy robber. A decent little exercise to do (I know you won't be surprised) is to make a list. Make a list of things you cannot control and decide how you will respond to them. Some of us are very good at saying: "Oh well. That didn't go the way I was hoping." Others are not good at this. We know something should be different, and we can't let it go. Knowing when something is out of our control, minimizing it, accepting it, and focusing elsewhere will save our mood, productivity, outlook, and even relationships. Think about (and document) what is in your control and focus your energies there. This not only helps you be productive but directly feeds your "joy-meter."
Feel gratitude.
If you read my post last week, you know gratitude was at the center of what I feel will help drive peace and kindness throughout the workplace and our world. How easy is it to get wrapped up in the day-to-day? This person stepped on my toes. My boss wasn't clear about what he wanted. I don't want to do that project her way. That customer is driving me crazy. But, honestly, there are plenty of things to be grateful for in and out of work if we just take a minute to think about it. I have a Gratitude app on my phone to list what I am grateful for on my train rides into the city. You may ask, if I am in a job I don't particularly care for right now, what is there to be grateful for? First, let's start with having a job. Not everyone does. Not everyone can have a job due to illness or other circumstances. I realize not everyone feels this way, but I feel lucky to be employed doing something I can derive joy from. How about you?
Do the "have-to's" first.
Every professional I have ever met has things they must do that they would rather not. These tasks can be killjoys if you let them. Over my career, I have listened to many professionals complain about reserving conference rooms, entering data, or being the support line for a process or system. Some of us don't enjoy these tasks, but they are necessary to keep the business running. Even at high levels, professionals have some not-so-fun things to do every week. I get these out of the way first in my day. Any time management professional will tell you to get the hard stuff out of the way first. For me, the hard stuff is the tasks I don't want to do. The challenging items that I love to do, I leave for my peak productivity time, which is 10 am for me, after two cups of coffee.
Start something new.
Nothing provides more energy, excitement, and joy than starting something new. While we need to execute the tasks that are part of our jobs, getting involved in something different or challenging can bring us newfound energy. Think about your organization and role. What can you start or offer to start that is currently not in your control but could be? Can you identify something that should be fixed, changed, or created that is low risk? There are plenty of these opportunities lying around that people don't have time for. If you want to facilitate or speak more, ask to speak at the next team meeting about a process or project you manage. If you want to analyze data, offer to review your team's dashboard and formulate insights you can share with the team. If you want to inspire more connection within your company, offer to create a newsletter or informal ways to connect people to people regularly. Make the opportunity you want to feed your "joy-meter."
Do something on the side/volunteer.
If you cannot find enough joy at work, do something on the side, whether for money or as a volunteer. Some people want to do more of what they do in their job for charity, like accounting or writing; others prefer to do something completely different, like packing lunches for hungry children or painting schools that cannot hire contractors. Whatever aligns with your values and interests, pick that something and get involved. If you prefer not to be hands-on, do something administrative or creative. I have never been turned down by a non-profit to help in whatever capacity I offered.
Work cannot be our entire life.
This is the most important lesson I have learned in my life thus far. I used to look to my career to fill up my entire cup. This only set me up for disappointment. My job was never going to be enough for me as I had tall standards and many things I wanted to accomplish in my life. I couldn't possibly get this all from work. That was unfair. I left a few jobs in my 20's in search of the most fulfilling job, only to find that I was disappointed every time. You can feel called to your career and derive great joy from your job, but life is more than work. Our lives have purpose, but purpose is not a single item. Your purpose can be multi-faceted, including your career, community, family, volunteer role, church congregation, or side hustle. I am sure you have more bullet points that support your purpose.
Living and experiencing joy is critical to one's sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. There are ways of feeling joy at work even when we feel frustrated. We need to think about our lives holistically and not just focus on our job or career.
We need to proactively, not passively, find ways to feel joy at work. If we wait for someone to make us happy or give us what we want, we will be waiting a long time. We must be the ones to reflect and take action. This has become an everyday habit for me to feed my "joy-meter." I hope you find what works for you.