6 Ways to Make Work More Enjoyable

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Work fills most of your adult life. You are at your workplace, most likely, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. That is by far the majority of your week. As such, one would hope that you enjoy your work. At the very least, you should not hate it. Unfortunately, that is all many people can say about their job. They do not hate it. They also do not, however, enjoy it. Even when you love your job, you are unlikely to get up in the morning and be excited to go to work. Frankly, there are probably things you would prefer to be doing with your time. If nothing else, you might just hate needing to get up early.

Work does not have to be a place of misery, and it does not take much to make your work a happier place. From doing your work to the actual physical space of your workplace, there are a variety of ways to make your time at work more pleasant. Here are six ways to make work more enjoyable for yourself.

Play Some Music

Music has an incredible effect on your mood. That is why movies have carefully created scores and why a sad song can bring you to tears more effectively than a thousand tragic news stories. Sad songs make you sad. Upbeat songs make you happy. Heavy, pounding songs make you ready to pick a fight. Slow, soothing songs make you want to take a nap. Take advantage of music’s ability to influence your mood and create a playlist of songs that will keep you motivated, focused and energized at work. Then, you can either play that music on loop throughout the day or turn it on when you need an energy boost.

When possible, use instrumental music so that the lyrics do not distract you from your tasks. Movie and video game scores are often perfect for this as they are deliberately composed in order to generate an emotional response without distracting the viewer or player from what is happening on screen.

If you feel that you need lyrics in your music, choose songs that are sung in languages you do not speak. This will keep your brain from splitting its attention between, however subconsciously, listening to the words of the song and actually doing your work.

Decorate Your Space

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If you are already reluctant to go to work, sitting down in a plain, grey cubicle will do nothing but make you wish that you had called in sick. Make work a little more pleasant by turning your physical workspace into a place where you are happy to spend time. Clean the stacks of paper off your desk so that you are not visually overwhelmed, and replace those piles of paper with some small knick-knacks. Choose things that are visually attractive without being distracting or that have pleasant memories attached to them. Pin up pictures or favorite quotes on either your office walls or the sides of your cubicle. Those little personal touches may not seem like much, but they can help you to feel like the space is your own. That coffee mug with the terrible pun on it that your brother bought you for Christmas is not going to revolutionize your life, but you might smile when you see it. That little bit of brightness might be enough to help you through a terrible day.

Take Your Lunch Break

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Employees today are often pushed to squeeze every bit of time they can out of their work day. As a result, many people end up eating lunch at their desks. They think it is allowing them to get more out of their day. In reality, though, it might only be making them miserable.

When you eat lunch at your desk, you are less productive because you are multitasking, you are more likely to overeat because you are distracted and you are denying yourself a chance to stop sitting. None of these are going to make you more productive or happier.

Taking your lunch hour helps you split the day up which makes it appear to go by faster. That hour away from your desk also gives you some time to rest your brain. Taking a break from your tasks lets your mind relax and can actually make you happier, more energized and more productive when you return to them.

Find the Purpose

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Most people want to feel that they are making a difference with their lives. They want to feel like the work they do and the time they spend doing it is important. They want to feel like they are contributing to something bigger than themselves.

To make work seem more pleasant, focus on what you are doing that is important to both the wider world and your company. It can be easy to become discouraged and lose motivation when you feel like your efforts are meaningless. Focus on either how your work individually is helping people or think about how your company is doing good in the world. Then, pay attention to how your individual work helps the company. You may feel like you are just another cog in the machine, but without each cog, the entire machine breaks down and fails.

Live Healthy

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Anyone who has every gone too long without eating or skipped out on sleep knows that it is hard to be happy and keep your spirits up when all you can think about is doing what your body demands. There is a reason that people invented the word “hangry.”

Being at work does not automatically mean that you can get away with ignoring your body’s needs. In order to be happy, you need to take care of yourself. Eat healthy foods, and avoid munching on processed sugar when you are at work. If you really need a snack, eat a handful of nuts or some fruit. Either will give you a longer lasting boost of energy than a chocolate bar, and you will not suffer the same sugar crash later.

Eating healthy is not enough on its own. You also need to get enough sleep and exercise. Without those, you will find yourself feeling a bizarre combination of groggy and stir crazy.

Make Friends

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The saying is that misery loves company, but actually, company can be a good way to keep misery at bay. Having friends at work is a good way to help you keep your spirits up. You will have someone to talk to when you desperately need a break. You will have someone to complain to when you are beside yourself. You will have someone to help cheer you up when you are feeling down. Reach out to your coworkers and make a friend.

Friendships at work often extend into off hours. This means that you will have someone to talk to about the fun time you had over the weekend and can look forward to upcoming events together. Making friends at work will vary in difficulty depending on your office culture and how much time you have for socializing at work, but it is worth it to put in the effort to have a friend at work.