Can’t Get No Satisfaction?
Not really feeling the love for your job lately? The secret to job happiness is to soak up every single thing you do.
We all do this naturally when we’re having fun with family or friends, working on something we enjoy, or just relaxing. Zen monks, however, have discovered that four key approaches to work can help ease the boredom or frustration involved in tasks we don’t automatically enjoy.
- Tackle the tough stuff first! Henrik Edberg says that the monks maximize energy by tackling the most important work first every day. Putting it off, he says, only causes added worry throughout the work day. You can put a little Zen into your life by working on your hardest tasks in the morning when you have the most energy, and saving smaller tasks for later in the day.
- Give your brain a break. Allowing yourself a brief pause between different types of work will lower your stress and help you work more happily. That’s because the brain just needs time to switch from one task to another, like from email correspondence to handling phone calls.
- Create routines that help you work more efficiently. At home, it’s more effective to clean the kitchen entirely rather than stopping halfway through to clean the bathroom. The same is true at work: Create routines that work to your advantage. Are you best at handling phone calls in the morning or in the afternoon? When does report writing seem easiest for you: at midday or in late afternoon? Look at your to-do list and set it up in a way that works for you and your brain.
- Forget the work day. Zen monks release all their thoughts and worries about work when the work day is done. It takes a little practice, but train yourself to truly enjoy your time away from work. A short meditation on the train ride home can help smooth the transition; if you’re driving, listening to a certain type of music can turn your focus to fun.
Increasing your own self-awareness can help you work toward maximum job satisfaction. It’s not always easy, particularly when boredom sets in. However, making a change in your attitude and in the way you approach your job can go a long way towards keeping banality at bay.
